If talent is defined as our natural aptitude or skill, then natural best implies that our talent is applied for its optimal result.

Michael Jordan provides an excellent example of somebody functioning at their natural best when he was playing basketball. Not only was he a great athlete, but everybody, including Michael himself, recognized that athleticism alone was not enough – if it was then Michael would have been a great baseball player as well. Instead he was just a good baseball player, not a great one.

Not only do great leaders recognize talent in others (i.e. what a person could be, or is, good at), but great leaders help bring that talent to the surface, give that talent opportunity, and challenge individuals to work hard to apply that talent for the very best possible results. They also share the kind truth when they see a talent that is being wasted (unapplied) or focused in the wrong direction (misapplied).

Work is work, but it should not be hard work. When we are doing things that come naturally it does not feel like hard work, even though we may be working hard. Individuals come alive when they apply their talents, almost like self generating engines.

Great leaders recognize that when people are provided with a forum within which to exercise their talents they will drive themselves much harder than anybody else could. Hence, great leaders simply provide opportunity, encouragement, awareness, and accountability.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Normally when we think of positivity we think of a positive mental environment, which was the subject of HERBISM #8. That kind of positivity is important, but the subject here is about a leader helping their people believe that something is [realistically] possible.

For example great leaders do not put forward goals they themselves don’t believe are achievable. Faced with unrealistic targets most people shut down rather than rise to the occasion.

This is also not just optimism. In fact, positivity is much more helpful than optimism. To demonstrate the point I am reminded of an interview I heard with a P.O.W. who survived many years in very difficult conditions as a prisoner of war. When asked what kinds of people are most likely to survive as P.O.W.s he answered, “positive realists.” He said that the optimists started by saying they would be rescued in a month. When that didn’t happen they said they would be rescued by Christmas. When that didn’t happen they said by Easter. They kept telling themselves a rescue was imminent, even though they had no basis for that perspective. He said the problem with optimism is that it is not rooted in reality and eventually people lose hope. The positive realists face the reality of their situation and choose to do positive things in spite of their situation. In other words, the positive realists make the best of their difficult situation.

Great leaders lead with positivity in five significant ways:

(Rather than fear)

Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, I learned many life lessons while attending summer camp on a small island off the west coast.

I still remember, almost 50 year later, my cabin leader gathering us kids together and sharing a truth about motivation. He said, “there are only two sources of motivation…fear and desire…and you need to choose which one in going to dominate your life.”

I have reminded myself many times during challenging times to choose desire rather than fear. That takes intentionality as we can all attest that fear is so much easier to adopt during a struggle.

Desire is positive; being drawn to something. Fear is negative; trying to flee something.

The study of the brain also reveals that desire creates positivity chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin), which allow the brain to function better and think more creatively and with great clarity. Fear on the other hand causes the body to produce a hormone called cortisol, which causes the brain to shut down and causes the body to go into fight, flight, or freeze mode.

Fear has value in very limited circumstances and for short periods of time…like escaping danger…but causes us to work in “battery mode.” Eventually the battery runs out, which does not make for a good long term strategy.

The better strategy involves positivity and desire, which allow us to regenerate our power sources in “plugged-in  mode.”

While I have had the privilege to meet Alan Mulally on two occasions, what has left a greater impact are the principles that he shared and lived. I will never forget his approach when others said, or acted out in such a way that suggested, they did not want to do something he wanted them to do.

One such story I often share with clients involves a senior executive who was baulking the culture Alan was trying to instill at Ford. When the senior executive stated that he did notwant to attend the mandatory weekly Business Plan Review meetings Alan calmly responded, ”it’s ok if you don’t want to attend the meetings. Not wanting to attend does not make you a bad person. But you will need to make a choice if you want to stay on the team.”

Great leaders understand that desire naturally generates within a team that is aligned around a common vision, mission, set of values, goals and objectives. Great leaders further understand that fear, intimidation, coercion, and policing ultimately erode desire along with the vision, mission, and performance of the organization.

Great leaders recognize that their greatest power resides in their ability to influence and align a team, to give them choices, not to use that power to boss people around.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

It doesn’t matter who you are, feedback is rarely easy to hear, especially if it is not positive.

That’s why it requires courage to look in the mirror and receive feedback, let alone seek feedback.

According to scientific research there are three elements that together determine how much of our potential we achieve:

• the brain – that which we are naturally endowed with—it is like the hardware of a computer. But by itself it is just a glob of human tissue.
• the mind – similar to software or the operating system of the computer. By itself it also does nothing, but together with the brain it produces thought.
• relationships – similar to software developers who write the code to increase the capability of the computer. As such, the development of the mind depends on the quality of our relationships and our willingness to take in new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives.

To function as people we need all three. To increase our potential  as people and leaders we need to increase the amount of input we receive through relationships.

Hence, to be a great leader you need good mirrors; people who will provide unfiltered feedback.

Recognize, however, that giving feedback to those in power, and especially to one’s own boss, is hard to do. There is always uncertainty and fear around how such feedback will be received and whether it will result in ramifications and retribution.

Great leaders understand that without unfettered feedback they and their organizations will not get better. With transparent feedback, however, they are able to expand awareness and perspective in order to make better decisions and execute better actions. For that reason, great leaders surround themselves with people they can trust and who will tell them the truth, even when it is difficult to hear. Further, great leaders don’t just wait for feedback, they actively seek it.

Are you fostering healthy and honest relationships that provide you with the feedback you need in order to expand your potential? If not, it’s time to look in the mirror.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Hunger is a powerful motivator. It goes far beyond just wanting something. It suggests that we have a lack of something – a need that yearns to be satisfied.

In the journey for more we invariably come against obstacles that require greater motivation and effort in order to persevere. Without true hunger many people turn back and give up the quest. That is why great leaders need to be hungry, so that they do not shrink at the first sign of opposition.

Greed on the other hand, while also being a yearning, does not start from a point of need, or lack of something, but rather from a position of abundance. Unfortunately, it is a yearning that will never be satisfied and therefor keeps driving ahead for more, to the point of unjustly taking that which belongs to others.

That is why Andy Stanley said, “greed is not a money issue. It is a Heart issue.”

Life is ultimately about pursuit and sacrifice. Science tells that everything is decaying and unless we keep building we will eventually have nothing. It is like a sandcastle that keeps falling apart, sometimes almost as fast as we can build it.

We are constantly making trade-offs and sacrifices involving: time, money, health, relationships, vision, present/future, etc.

Both pursuit and sacrifice are good things as long as they are kept in perspective and only affect us and what is ours. As soon as we cross over and start sacrificing things that belong to others we enter the minefield of greed.

In the words of Mwai Kibaki, former President of Kenya, “Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.”

Printable image. Just click on the image and print as you normally would.Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Are you a leader?

Are you coachable?

Being a great leader is not just about the ability to coach others, although that is a really important attribute, it is equally important that the leader is coachable themself.

Nobody is the entire package by themselves. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses, or gaps in our capabilities. That is why teams are so important—others filling in our gaps and expanding capacity.

None of us has arrived—even if it were possible [to arrive] it would only be for a split second. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that everything is decaying and that unless we keep growing we begin shrinking. The only way to keep growing is to understand what we need to improve and that understanding invariably comes through others if we are willing to listen and be coachable.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

WHY is the key to effectiveness and productivity. It is also the catalyst for team synergy.

Understanding WHY is central to motivation, inspiration, buy-in, and alignment. In fact, scientific research shows that our need to know WHY is rooted in the same part of our brain that accounts for 75% of our decisions and behaviors.

Great leaders invest time explaining WHY so as to harness the passion of followers. Poor bosses only tell WHAT and then spend time prodding and policing.

The expression [Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime] could be restated as [Tell a man WHAT to do and he’ll do a task. Tell a man the WHY behind the task and he’ll help you fulfill a vision].

People do more of what they want to do than what they have to do. Hence, great leaders invest time explaining WHY so that people can align around a common purpose and willingly give their best to further the cause.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Isn’t the goal of leadership to help people get along and  avoid conflict? How can it possibly be a good thing for people to be in conflict with each other? And why would a leader want to mine for it?

Great questions. The first thing we need to do is clarify what we mean by conflict. I believe there is a difference between destructive and healthy conflict. I also believe that when people avoid healthy conflict it often leads to destructive conflict.

In HERBISM #16 I claimed that Leaders Pull Splinters. This provided a great visual for healthy conflict. Pulling splinters can hurt depending on how deep the splinter has penetrated. Pulling splinters requires a form of conflict–going after an issue, disrupting the status quo, and removing an obstacle or impediment.

On the flip side imagine what happens when a splinter is ignored. It usually leads to an infection as it festers. Eventually the damage and discomfort it causes is much more severe.

Now imagine how a team works together in an organization to achieve the best possible outcomes for its stakeholders.

Great leaders understand that all options need to be on the table in order to make the best possible decisions. And, in order to get all the options on the table every member of a leadership team needs [a safe environment in which] to speak their minds openly without holding back.

Great leaders recognize that when people are holding back trust is lacking. Hence, they mine for conflict and address issues head-on instead of shrinking away.

Great leaders embrace vulnerability knowing that if they don’t go first their people won’t follow. In the process trust and healthy conflict emerge and lead to an environment of creativity and communication.

In the words of Patrick Lencioni, author of The Advantage – How Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, “In an environment of trust, conflict is nothing more than the pursuit of truth in order to achieve the best possible results”.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Every great achievement is made possible by passion.

Work without passion is a grind. Work with passion is a thrill.

Great leaders pursue passion in themselves and release passion in others knowing that passion is the energy that enables them to persevere against all odds and to achieve uncommon success.

We are all born on purpose and for a purpose. Follow your passion and it will likely lead to your purpose. That discovery will ignite an even greater passion, to provide the energy to keep going when others give up.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve greatness without passion.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

#HERBISM

Fake it until you make it.

If you have been in the automotive industry for any length of time this phrase is almost as well known as the definition of insanity. Unfortunately, many people in the industry actually believe that it’s possible to fake it without being perceived as a fake.

Abraham Lincoln claimed that you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. In other words, ultimately your true character will become evident.

Leaders are repulsed by fake-ness and choose character not only in themselves, but in others. They understand that character is who you are and is a manifestation of what you truly believe. It is formed over time through the habits, actions, words, attitudes, and thoughts that have been embraced and cultivated. As such it represents a foundation that provides followers both comfort and a sense of security.

Since character and trust are closely linked, leaders carefully consider their words, attitudes and actions understanding that character is easier to maintain than it is to recover.

Most hiring manager’s talk about the importance of the three Cs (Competence, Chemistry and Character) when recruiting new staff. Chick-fil-A places a greater emphasis on character than competence, suggesting that they hire people based on aspects that can’t be taught and teach what’s missing.

Here are a few simple ways to discover a person’s character:

• Look at a person’s friends;
• Look at the way a person earns and spends their money;
• Look at how a person behaves when they don’t think anybody is watching;
• Look at how a person responds or reacts under pressure;
• Look at how a person uses power.

Final thought: If you need to choose between talent and character, consider the words of Bill Belichick, “Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.”

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

#Herbism