LES FIGHT!

If you are like me you loved every ninja movie as a kid, and high up on the best kid ninja movies of all time was "3 Ninjas." The epic story of three brothers whose grandpa takes them in during the summers, teaches them how to be men, and instructs them in the way of the ninja. They commonly refer to him as grandpa, or sensai. One of the best lines from any movie is what the sensai grandpa says to his grand kids Rockey, Colt, and Tum Tum (their proper ninja names) during training. "You never pick a fight, unless you know you can win." Those words echoed in my little man heart, and obviously i never forgot them. While this is great advice for real fights, and for most things in life it holds true but not always for leaders.

If you are a leader, or are learning to become one you will have to fight. Now i don't mean scrap, argue, or insult people. But you will at some point have to draw a line in the sand and say ENOUGH! It may be a rude customer taking out their unhappiness on a member of your team. It might be someone who swears they are correct, or trying to deal with an attitude of entitlement. It might be a competitor playing dirty, or slinging mud at your business on social media. What ever it may be, as a leader you will face conflict.

A leader advocates for and fights on behalf of their followers.

This is something i had to spend years learning, naturally i am a person who would rather make peace than charge face first into conflict. As a leader you don't always have the luxury of making peace, given that if possible peace can usually be the best option. But when the enemy is real, and will not be charmed or persuaded into resolution, you have a fight on your hands. As much as i LOVE the classic sensai quote, "You never pick a fight, unless you know you can win." As a leader winning is not the most important thing, the most important thing is the fight itself. People want to follow someone who fights for them, who will defend them, their work, their well being, and their integrity. People abandon so called leaders who flee at the first sign of trouble, and distrust them accordingly.

It can be easy to try and evade conflict, or let people work it out among themselves. A leader spots the oncoming freight train and tosses themselves in front of it to push their followers out of the path of the train. Leadership is sacrifice. In the film "3 Ninjas" the sensai learns the evil plan of the villain Snyder who kidnapped the 3 ninjas and goes on a solo mission to stop him. In doing so he breaks his own rule, Snyder is hold up on a massive freighter fully stocked with his evil ninja mercenaries. In his heart the sensai knew he could not win a duel against Snyder who is in his prime, not to mention the evil ninja army. But he used stealth and surprise to attempt the rescue of his grand sons. I am not going to spoil the ending but you get the picture.


What does this follow?

To a leader his followers are more important than himself. A leader has to fight for his followers if he really believes in them. Winning helps, but standing up and fighting is more important. When it comes to your team the sensai quote would be, "Fight for your team, even if you know you can't win." That is what a leader does. Act.

Motivate? Nahh

Have you ever been on a team full of talented hard working people and not accomplish your goals? Everyone wonders what is missing, why didn't this team demolish their expectations?

I have found in some cases a lack of motivation can cause an all star team to fail. Anyone remember the men's USA olympic basketball team in 2004? Insane talent? Yes. Gold medal? Nope.

Many people think of motivation as a thing you do with kids, and if we are all adults we should be completly self motivated. I do believe in self motivation, and I don't get all of my motivation form leaders. Honestly because I can't leave something as important as motivation in an incostitant persons hands.

So what can motivation do for my team? It might be the change that just puts you over the top, or it might help your team improve. It might make the members of a team enjoy what they are doing. It might give them sight of the value they bring to the team, or give appreciation for how critical their role is.

What does this follow?
I will take an ok team of semi-talented kind of hard workers that are motivated, over an all star group that isn't hungry any day.

A great leader is an intentional motivator.

How do I motivate my team?
Get creative, take the time to know your people . Find out what they like, buy them coffee, invite them over for dinner. Ask for their input, ask how you can make their job better. Make sure they know you are on their side. Give them straight up compliments, thank them for little tasks regularly with honesty.

Macro Leader vs Micro Manager

The fabled razor-backed micro manager, a beast so fierce it knows your every move. Before you even care, it has planned your coming month, and even year. If this micro monster has its way it would drink every ounce of creativity from your soul and not allow you to make any decisions, other than the decision to do what your told. 

All hilarity aside, this can be too true. Many of us have experienced a micro manager, or have some controlling tendencies. I will now make a case for macro leaders, as opposed to micro managers.

A macro leader builds relationships and manages through trust and delegation. They communicate vision, and listen to those they lead. They are willing to do things other people's way if it gets them to the over arching goal. A macro leader leaves work, confident knowing that their people can handle themselves. A macro leader can sleep at night.

A micro manager obsesses over details and manages through fear and continuous contact. They communicate stress, and give way too many instructions. They care more about how things get done, and lose sight of the big picture. A micro manager takes work with them everywhere worried about how/if things will get done. Micro managers start from the innocent seed of caring too much, and being a perfectionist. That can grow into what we call "control freak" tendencies.  A micro manager has a hard time sleeping because of their worry and stress.

Those are some traits of each, before i even ask i know everyone would rather have a macro leader as a boss. If not you need to get your face examined, you might have a concussion. Here are some profiles of how average person reacts under each a macro leader and micro manager.

A subordinate of a macro leader, feels like they contribute value to their team. They look forward to going to work to see their friends. They feel like they are aloud to have friends in their team/work place. Their work is more creative, and productive because they are motivated. They invest time and brain power into getting better at their job. They care about their job/task because they have been trusted, and they know their leader cares more about them than their job. Their job is more fulfilling.

A subordinate of a micro manager, does the least amount of work they can to get by without being punished. They count the minuets and seconds to the end of the day/shift/week. They take as many breaks as they are aloud. Their work is average at best, and lacks innovation and progress, and it often regresses. They don't care about the end product as long as their manager is off their back. They think all their manager cares about is their task, and not them as a person. Work is #1 on their things to loath list.

Some of these differences have to do with personal motivation. Yet on the whole is true for how people react to these styles of management.

What does This Follow?
People will actually follow a macro leader, no one willingly in their right mind follows micro managers. As a leader trust and delegation produces the best outcomes, fear makes zombies not followers. Spend the time to build relationships and trust with teammates or employees. The classic "they have to know that you care, before they care what you know" always applies. 

Sea Vision

Scenario:
Water as far as the eye can see, you're on a sail boat a drift on the ocean at the mercy of the wind and waves. Without a destination and a direction you could end up anywhere on the earth. That is reality.

Dear world traveler, here are a few things to consider
Even though Antarctica looks pretty, i hear you should pack a coat. If your heading to China it might require stocking up on more food. If you think your in the Bermuda triangle, getting to denial is the first step to being lost at sea.

It sounds funny when you place vision in this context. These are common sense tips that everyone should know. Yet it is amazing how many of us will live our lives without vision. We don't know where we are going. We don't know where we want to go, and we don't know how to get to the place that we can't decide we want to go to. This is a commonly referred to as blindness.
There is a step in between vision and blindness i would call "Sea Vision." This is where we get comfortable floating, starring at the water as it goes up and down and knowingly don't chose a destination because it would mean change, and change can be difficult. So we keep our anchor down, and sit in the same place, and all we will ever see is the sea. It may not result in a crash or catastrophe, but it will never get us to a meaningful destination. 

Vision is paramount, it is a necessary trait of a leader. A great leader is someone who has vision, can communicate it well, and knows the steps necessary to get there. For various reasons the leader does not need to tell the entire plan up front, but can at least communicate the big picture. To go back to our sailing analogy, a leader or in this case captain has decided the destination and charted the course. The captain has identified potential delays and risks, but remains flexible with the how knowing that the destination is most important. It can be easy to get tied up in the sails of how and loose sight of the shore. A great captain keeps the ship heading in the right direction. 


So what does This Follow??
This follows how we lead and who we follow. If you are a leader, get your vision checked, check it yourself and make a decision to use it. If you are not a leader, find one who has vision, and follow them. A leader without vision is a liability. A follower without a leader is lost.