Do you belong to a great team? Use this checklist to find out...

Did you know that a 2015 Gallup survey revealed that, “The percentage of U.S. workers in 2015 who Gallup considered engaged in their jobs averaged 32%. The majority (50.8%) of employees were "not engaged," while another 17.2% were "actively disengaged."

When you consider the number of workers who are checked out, this is astounding. On many levels this is a problematic statistic -- however, we won't wade too deep into this today. 

Although, I do have a question for you.  

Which category would you place yourself in — engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged with your job?  And furthermore, if you are part of the majority of folks who are disengaged, what factors have contributed to your disengagement?  

My guess is that there are multiple issues in play.  I’ll even bet that one of the contributing factors involves the dynamics of the team that you are part of.  

Are you part of a highly engaged, kick butt (in a good way) team or one that is creating significant stress and draining the life right out of you through the bottom of your feet?  

How can you know whether you are part of a cohesive team or a dysfunctional team?  I’m glad you asked. 

Patrick Lencioni provides a simple checklist in his book, The Advantage, that you can use to determine whether or not you are part of a high-functioning, cohesive team.  

Read through the following six statements and check all that apply:

• The leadership team is small enough (three to ten people) to be effective.

• Members of the team trust one another and can be genuinely vulnerable with each other.

• Team members regularly engage in productive, unfiltered conflict around important issues.

• The team leaves meetings with clear-cut, active, and specific agreements around decisions.

• Team members hold one another accountable to commitments and behaviors.

• Members of the leadership team are focused on team number one. They put the collective priorities and needs of the larger organization ahead of their own departments.

So, how many statements were relevant to your situation?  If your answer is three or fewer statements, there is a solid reason to feel the way you do.

If you would like to create some great discussion with other members of your team, pass this checklist on to them and see how many statements they agree with.  

**Please be sure to clear this with the leader of your team first :-)

Chances are, your team can do better.  And if it does, imagine the positive impact it could have on your life and everyone around you.  Imagine how much happier, healthier and more productive you would be.

Here’s to creating legacy cultures.

Today's big question: how will you find significance in each moment?

Today's big question.

How many times have you heard someone say, “Wow! Where has the time gone?”  Maybe it was after a great evening with friends or when you watched your child graduate from high school or turned 50 (like me…)?

As November kicks off and I look back over another summer that has come and gone, I find myself asking this question once again.

Your time...whatever your perception of it is, whether dragging along (like my son in school right now) or flying by (like I feel at 51) is your life.  Your time IS your life.

Although we cannot control the speed at which life approaches, we CAN control our intentionality to be fully present in each moment.

I had a conversation with a very close friend this past week who longs to be able to have more time with her grandchildren.  She felt frustrated that her time with them never seemed enough.  I could tell that she was feeling a sense of lost opportunity and regret.  I told her, “The reality is you have very little control (because of your unique circumstances in life) over how much time you have with them, but you have total control over making the most of the moments you do have.  Just embrace those moments.  Let your heart be completely open.  Be fully present.  Make these moments as intentional as you can and be grateful for every interaction you have with them, even if they are brief.”

There is a life to be lived in each present moment.  

Tolstoy said it best in his short story called "Three Questions." He said, “Remember then: there is only one time that is important. Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.”  

If being present in each moment is of utmost importance -- how will you find significance in each moment today? 

Priorities...or priority?

Have you ever noticed that truly successful people, whether personally professionally, all have at least one thing in common?  They have a very clear sense of their priorities AND they align their lives around them on a consistent daily basis.  

Check this out, though.  The word  Priorities is an interesting word. Originally there was no plural form of the word priority. The origin of priority dates back to the 14th century where it simply meant the first or prime thing to be done or notice.  Think about it...if there is more than one, then it ceases to be primary.

Let’s make this a little more personal.  How about you? Do you wake up each day with a clear sense of what is first or primary (besides that first cup of coffee obviously)?

And if you don’t, how do you get to the place where you are really clear on what is most important, on what is priority?  

Taking it even further, how can we get to the place where that priority is so important to us that it compels us to get out of bed in the morning with a deep sense of purpose?

We can get there by answering some bigger and more foundational questions.  I’ll leave you with a few as I close…

1. What do you want out of life? I mean, what is it that you really, really want?  In order to understand what is most important, you need to first understand what you really want out of life.  Maybe it’s wealth, popularity or acceptance. Maybe you really desire companionship in a certain relationship. Or maybe you have a strong desire to make a difference in the world. Whatever it is, take a few minutes to stop and reflect and honestly answer that question.  Take your time. I’ll wait :-)

2. Bigger question...Why is that so important to you?  Be honest.

3. And why is that important to you?

4. And why is that important to you?

As John Maxwell has written, “When you find your why you find your way.”

The reason that truly successful people have such a clear sense of what is most important is that at an even deeper level they understand WHY that is so important to them.

And when you get clear on your “Why”, you gain a very powerful and added benefit.  You gain a clarity of purpose that serves as the overarching compass for every decision, every investment of money, every expenditure of time, every relationship you build, and every career path you choose.

3 things that cause leaders to lose their way...

We are experiencing a crisis of integrity in our culture today and it starts with leaders.  You've probably heard the phrase, "Speed of the leader, speed of the team."  I think it applies here.  Just last week we've learned of another story in the news reporting on sexual allegations against one of the highest ranking officials at the Vatican.  I am deeply disheartened every time I read a story like that.  And unfortunately, stories like that are not limited to religious leaders.

In a 2002 Barna Research poll participants were asked "whether they had complete confidence that leaders from various professions would consistently make job-related decisions that are morally appropriate."  Here is a breakdown of the percentages of those who agreed:
3% - Executives of large corporations
3% - Elected government officials
3% - Film and TV producers, directors and writers
5% - News Reporters and journalists
8% - small business owners
11% - ministers, priests and clergy
14% - teachers
Those numbers should give all of us pause for personal reflection.  Let's face it.  It's easy to watch or read the news and see the problems "out there" in the world.  We're all professionals at spotting character flaws in others, especially those in leadership...but not nearly as adept when it comes to identifying the blind spots in our own character.   

To illustrate this point, a recent study conducted with college students revealed that 84% of those polled believe the US is experiencing a business crisis.  And 77% believe CEOs should be held responsible for it.  However (this is pretty funny), 59% of those same students admit to having cheated on a test.

I believe that most leaders start out well with a desire to do the right thing, to build something of lasting value, and make a positive difference in the lives of others, but not all leaders finish well.  So what causes leaders to lose their way?  There are potentially many factors, but I'm going to talk about 3 of the most significant that I have seen.

1. The wrong definition of success - I love John Maxwell's definition of success.  He defines success as, "knowing my purpose in life, growing to my full potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others."  How different would our world be if that was the vision of success that people were striving for?  Far too often, however, the pervading definition of success centers more around doing whatever it takes to win and stepping on whoever I need to step on along the way.  If you want to get a vivid understanding of what I mean by this, I encourage you to watch the movie, The Founder.  It's the story of how Ray Kroc built McDonald's into one of the largest restaurant franchises in the world.  I was pretty depressed after watching it.
2. Insecurity - Are you solid in who you are at the core?  Do you like who you are?  Are you clear on your values?  Do you know who you aren't?  Insecure leaders will often make decisions based on the desires, expectations, and values of others rather than aligning their decisions with their own values.  They will often do things to be liked.  They will try to be someone that they aren't.   An insecure leader is like a ship without a rudder.
3. Choosing convenience over character - Doing the right thing often means doing the hard thing.  It means choosing principles over pleasure.  Our world is being devastated by the philosophy of situational ethics, doing what serves us best in the moment.  The Josephson Institute of Ethics, a nonprofit organization that exists to improve the ethical quality of society, states:  “Ethics is about how we meet the challenge of doing the right thing when that will cost more than we want to pay."

Bill George, in his book, True North wrote, “Real integrity results from integrating all aspects of your life so that you are true to yourself in all settings.”

As you reflect on these 3 factors, which one personally challenges you the most? What needs to change in order to strengthen your character and become that leader who is "true to yourself in all settings?"

Blessings!

Bill

Is your life on solid ground? It's what's below the water line that sinks the ship...

Recently I started receiving Time Magazine in the mail.  Don't ask me why.  I didn't order it...just showed up in my mailbox one day.  I'll have to track that one down.  Anyhow, I couldn't help but notice the cover and feature story of the most recent edition regarding all the chaos going on at Uber, the smart phone-enabled taxi cab alternative company based in San Francisco.

It was a fascinating read that covered the Uber's start, it's meteoric rise, and the recent setbacks it has faced over the past 12 months.  This is a company that, because of the aggressiveness of its founder, Travis Kalanick, and its  ability to recognize and capitalize on the timing of several market related opportunities, grew rapidly, becoming a global force operating in 570 cities around the world in just a little more than 8 years.  As of June 2016, Uber was worth more than $67 billion, (that's right...Billion)!  That's impressive.

But, the problem is  (based on many of the details in the article), the leaders apparently  didn't possess the character needed for them to keep pace with the company's growth.  Several issues  (sexual harassment issues, unethical business strategies that have resulted in pending law suits, a "game of thrones" political power culture, etc.) would indicate that while Kalanick and many others in the organization possessed a ton of talent, they lacked the supporting character vitally needed to build something lasting and sustainable. Most recently this has led to Kalanick's resignation as CEO.

What can we as leaders learn from this?  As I reflected on the situation at Uber, it reminded me of story from history that contains a very powerful principle related to this.  Do you remember the story of the Titanic?

The Titanic was considered "the unsinkable ship."  There was no travel liner that compared to it at the beginning of the 20th century.  It was unparalleled technologically.  Apparently the the captain and his crew shared the belief that it was unsinkable as it began its maiden voyage in 1912.  

As it was sailing across the Atlantic on the night of April 14, the crew received several messages from other ships in the area, warning them of impending danger.  They had spotted several icebergs in the Titanic's path and were attempting to alert the Titanic's crew.  All of the warnings, however, were ignored.  Finally after receiving the sixth warning, the crew member from the Titanic who received the message shot back, "Shut up! I'm busy!"  They kept right on going full steam ahead, ignoring the warnings.

When the crew finally saw the ice berg, they attempted to turn the ship at the last minute.  They managed to avoid a head on collision, glancing off to the side.  Initially they thought they had avoided disaster because they were only looking at the 10% of the iceberg that was above the water line.  What they didn't see was the portion of the iceberg below the water line that ripped a gaping and fatal hole in the side of the ship under the water that doomed it to sink.  Over 1,500 people lost their lives that night.

This is very instructive for us as leaders.  Just like the iceberg, our talent (skills, personality, abilities, etc.) represents that 10% that everyone can see.  So that's what we as leaders often focus on and put all of our energy into developing.  Our character, however, represents the 90% of who we are when no one is looking.  And it is the 90% that must be solid if we intend to become the kind of leaders who build something sustainable, something that builds trust and leaves a legacy for others to follow.  If the 90% isn't solid, it will eventually sink us.

One of the laws of leadership that John Maxwell writes about in his New York Times best seller, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, is the Law of Solid Ground.  The Law of Solid Ground states that "trust is the foundation of leadership."  Without trust, leaders have no foundation from which to lead.  And without character, leaders cannot build trust.

I wonder how many of us, much like the crew from the Titanic, might be ignoring warning signs from our own life telling us that there is danger ahead because of some areas of our character (areas that no one can see) that lack integrity.  And how many of us are saying, "Shut up!  I'm busy!"

I encourage you to take some time over the next few days to do some self-reflection.  How would you evaluate your character on a scale of 1-10?  Who are you when no one is looking?  What warning signs have you potentially been ignoring?  What mid-course corrections do you need to make?

Remember, it's what's below the water line that sinks the ship...

Blessings!

Bill

3 Apps I use to help me get more done in less time...

How do you get more done in less time?  Isn't that THE question?  Well, there are many answers to that question and I don't want to give the idea that the point of life is to get a bunch of stuff done, but there is something to be said for leveraging the advances in technology to work more efficiently.

Our life is our time.  So why not benefit from some of the many tools that have been created to free up our time so that we can invest this precious resource in the higher priority areas of our lives?

The tools that I'm specifically speaking of are those amazing things called apps.  As of this morning, there are over 2 million of them in both the App Store (for all of you Apple fans) and 2.8 million in the Google Play Store (for all of you Android lovers...that would be me).

Because of this overwhelming number, you and I both know that when you're searching for a specific kind of app, trying to choose the "best" one can be overwhelming because of the sheer volume you have to choose from.

It's kind of like when my wife and I go to Home Depot and she wants me to help her pick out paint colors...NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!   Sometimes I honestly wonder if the paint color designers at Sherwin Williams have a sadistic side to them...I digress.

There are a dozen  or so apps that I use regularly, but I want to share my top 3.  I use these every day and they have become invaluable for me as a solopreneur.  The thing I love about these beyond what they do, is they can be used across multiple platforms, whether you want to access them from your computer or phone, and regardless of whether you are an Apple or Android lover.  Here we go.

1. Evernote - Evernote is an app that helps me capture, store, file, and organize information.  So many people waste an incredible amount of time simply because they don't have a system for storing and organizing information.  Trust me.  I know.  I am one of the more disorganized people on the planet.  That's why I love this app.  Evernote has an amazing filing system that helps me organize and retrieve my information through the use of notes, notebooks, and tags.  For example, much of what I do involves coaching, teaching, and writing, so I read...A LOT.  As such, I need a system that helps me capture and organize all of the valuable and relevant information that I want to use.  Evernote has a camera function that allows me to capture that information and then easily choose which notebook I want to save it in.  I have an "Illustrations" notebook that I keep all of my illustrations in and use tags to separate my illustrations into different topics.  This saves me so much time when I am preparing talks.  Evernote also has a really cool Web Clipper function that is an icon in my browser on my laptop.  Whenever I come across an article that I'm reading that I want to save or use, I click on the Web Clipper icon, my Evernote window pops up, and in a few clicks, store the information in one of my notebooks.  Evernote can be used for so many things...journalling, capturing recipes, storing pictures, storing documents, etc. In short, it's awesome!
2. Todoist - Todoist is my task/checklist app.  There are a ton of these kinds of apps out there and I have used many of them.  I like Todoist because it is so easy to use.  It allows me to easily enter tasks, set dates and times of when I want to accomplish them, set up recurring tasks, and organize them into my priority categories.  The mobile platform is awesome.  Enough said.
3. Buffer - Buffer is the app that allows me to send updates to all of my different social media channels in one simple place.  All I need to do is link my different social media accounts to my Buffer account and voila!  One update goes out to multiple channels.  Buffer even gives me the opportunity to set up a schedule of posts at the beginning of the week and then forget about it.  It automatically sends the posts based on the schedule I set up.

There you have it.  Those are 3 of my favs.  I'd love to hear what some of yours are for getting more done in less time.

Blessings!

Bill