Jell-O was a staple at our house growing up. Known more simply as gelatin or jelly in other parts of the world, this simple and classic treat is a fun and easy snack to enjoy with others. Jell-O might even be able to provide us with a reminder or two about leadership in the workplace and at home as well.
Simple is good
Jell-O is extremely simple and easy to make. Take the gelatin out of the package, add some boiling water, stir, add cold water, stir, refrigerate, and done. The treat is extremely easy to make, and that’s one of the reasons why it’s fun to make with children. It’s simple for them to do and hard to ruin or mess up.
The simplicity of Jell-O is a constant reminder that I need for myself and my team. I’ve seen high-performing individuals and teams go all in to tackle a problem, and in doing so, bring a giant PowerPoint presentation and complex interventions to meet the need. “If one solution will help mitigate the problem, surely 5 solutions will do even more?”
A term I use with my stakeholders and problem solvers is that simplicity wins over polish or process. Your end user will almost always prefer some simple and easy to use compared to something that is slick but complicated to navigate. Simplicity really applies to all areas, not just technology and interface solutions. A simple cadence on a calendar (Every first Monday is our Executive townhall), an easy way to check job openings, and a simple process to get the required work done go a long way.
Avoid the temptation of over-complicating your solutions and work. Your stakeholders and clients will appreciate it.
Be moldable
Jell-O molds! A simple search on the internet will give you nearly endless options of gelatin molds as you make your next treat. They were all the rage growing up. Who didn’t want to eat a gelatin R2-D2? One of the pluses of Jell-O is that it’s truly moldable to be whatever you want it to be.
Having the ability to be moldable is important to be a great leader and a wonderful citizen in your community. I think what is perhaps even more important, and difficult, is the ability to stay modlable throughout your career and life. You are typically much more open to feedback, knowledge transfer, and adaptable when you are younger and eager to grow or fit in. As you get older, it becomes easier to get set in habits, biases, and ways of work and living. Some of that is due to beginning to feel comfortable and not feeling the need to stay nimble. Other times, past success lends itself to becoming less moldable. Why change a winning formula?
Staying moldable means:
Flexibility and adaptability: Check yourself on your reactions to change that has recently occurred in your personal and professional life. How did you do? How resistant were you? What did you learn, or what skill did you gain?
Openness to learning: Speaking of learning and skills, what have you learned just in your regular life journey? Are things stale, or have you chased curiosity?
Resilience: How well, or not so well, did you weather a setback? Do you handle setbacks differently? Perhaps you have led through a big change at work well, but get overly frustrated at home during a small inconvenience. Your resilience can look different in different scenarios and environments.
Follow the rules…. or not
My mom could make us this fruit cocktail mix of gelatin and mixed fruit, and put them in these little glass containers for us to enjoy in the fridge. You wouldn’t find that unique mix in the recipe box. Some people put fruit in theirs, others add things like candy and even vegastables, while others will freeze it for a new, exciting consistency.
My mentor Paul Herman shared an illustration that to 20 years later, still resonates with me. He told the story of a good sports coach who helped the players play their position to the best of their abilities but was also open enough to allow their personalites and skillsets to shine. The coach wasn’t concerned if someone was a little showy, if one took the most direct route possible, and a third focused on speed instead of strength. As long as all of them understood the rules and could get a score, the other stuff didn’t matter as much.
There is certainly some maturity in that style of leadership – to let others shine, even if it means letting go of some of your personal preferences. Sometimes it’s ok to go out and try something new as long as you stay within the basic parameters expected for success.
Keep it simple, remain moldable, and remember that it’s ok to try new things in leadership and life. Be like Jell-O – a simple treat for others to enjoy.
Music has always been a part of my life. Music has always played in our house. I’ve been a performing musician who has been lucky enough to have my songs on the radio, and I’ve seen well over 500 bands over the years. Passing the Baton’s history is also marked with music from Finding Leadership in Music to a couple of other Be Series shows called Be the Record (Show 367) and Be a Song (Show 420).
Today, we’ll take one more spin on the music topic with Be the guitar. Let’s look at how a block of wood can inspire us to be better leaders in work and in life.
Unseen tension brings everything in tune
Guitars can be beautiful instruments to look at, but below their visual appeal and artistry in their creation lies hidden tension that brings them to life. The backbone of the guitar is hidden away inside the neck – known as the truss rod. This piece provides just enough tension to keep the neck straight and true. Too much or too little tension from the truss rod can cause notes to buzz, and if the problem consists, it can even ultimately ruin the instrument. There is also separate tension for each string to bring it to the proper tuning. All of them have to be dialed in just right, otherwise even the best guitar will sound awful.
Life and leadership are often the same way – we balance multiple areas of tension in what we do inside and outside of work. For many, that tension may look like:
Meeting customer demands vs costs
speed vs quality
simplicity vs robust offerings
quality vs quantity
care vs capacity
leading others vs taking care of yourself
What tension areas are you balancing (or perhaps need to balance) in your work and personal life? Take time this week to identify these areas and work to bring harmony in those areas. It’s always great to get feedback from the people impacted by those points of tension to see if you are getting it right or if you and your team could improve.
One function, endless ways to get there
At the end of the day, guitars all do the same thing. They play notes and chords and output sound either acoustically or electronically. If you’ve even walked into a guitar store, you’ve likely seen a whole spectrum of otherring and options – different colors, shapes, pickups, types of wood used, and different hardware. I’m not sure it’s a point of pride or slight embarrassment that I currently have 8 different bass guitars at the house. Each one is different from the other in how they look, play, and feel. Ultimately, they all accomplish the same thing, carrying the low end of a band’s sound and musical register.
I’ve talked over the years about people over positions. The concept is that a position or role doesn’t hold much value. For the most part, there is nothing special or unique about the job, despite how we sometimes convince ourselves otherwise. A company can likely fill your role in a relatively short time if they have their act together. What makes all the difference is you, the person, and your unique skillset and perspective. There is only one you, and that is truly a very valuable resource.
Sometimes it’s tempting to change yourself or not live out your work or personal life authentically, because you are trying to fit into a group or meet someone’s expectations. If you find yourself not being able to embrace your personhood, ask yourself a hard question: “Is this dynamic healthy and good for me?” If it’s not, perhaps it’s time for a change. If it is, then be sure to be an advocate and support others to show up authentically as well.
They can transform the person who welds them
I love playing music, and as funny as it may sound, I feel a sense of calling to be a conduit for the crowd to connect to the music and to the message of the song. Even today, I’m known to jump around and move back and forth across a stage space, yell out the lyrics, and give everything I have during our time sharing music with others. I joke that it almost feels like I blackout when we play; I don’t plan to do any of those things, and it all goes by in such a quick blur.
I also attend a lot of concerts every year. Am I that way in the crowd, or would I be that way on stage without my instrument? Absolutely not! For me, my guitar brings out one of the best versions of myself – one that is not self-critical or overthinks what I am doing in the moment.
Is your presence one that transforms others? I love bringing out the best in others, whether it’s helping a person meet their career aspirations or raise their capability to a level that they never thought possible. What small things can you do this week to elevate those around you – your co-workers, your leaders and those that you care about outside of work? Find one thing that you can do for a person in each of those three groups.
They require work and commitment to master
I mainly play the bass guitar, and it’s a deceptively easy instrument to play. Four strings, no complicated chords to learn, and you don’t need the same level of investment that you need for an electric guitar to get a great sound from it. All instruments require commitment and time investments for them to reach their fullest potential. In most pieces that I write today, I choreograph my notes, rhythms in a way that complements all of the other instruments and even the singers. In one song, I may play along with the piano, and I can do so because I learned music theory and understand that instrument’s capabilities. As the song picks up, I may switch over and mimic the bass drum patterns to make things feel really locked in. I can do this because I’ve studied rhythm patterns, have practiced percussion in order to know where the drummers are now and where they will be going as the song goes on. Finally, on the chorus, I may do a bit of my own thing and then hook into the melody of the singers to highlight what they are doing. It’s a complicated journey for a simple instrument.
Having those instincts and skills took time. I minored in jazz bass in college, and have played in many different styles of musical groups in my time as a musician. What do you want to be a rockstar in the back half of this year? Now is a great time to do a self-assessment of the goals that you set out for yourself at the start of the year and make adjustments to dial in the needed experience and learnings. Perhaps you’ve got the knowledge, but you could benefit from setting intentional time aside to hone your craft.
Enhance your leadership capability by being like the guitar – managing tension well, embracing your unique self, elevating those around you, and putting in the time and effort to play at the top of your capability.
I find farming to be a fascinating industry. There is a beauty and calmness to be seen as you drive by a field of growing crops. Underneath that calmness are highly skilled workers, complicated machines, and a focused plan and team to bring it all to life. Today, we’ll look at how our leadership can benefit from being more like a farmer.
Successful farmers lean into diversity
As a child, I grew up down the road from a peach orchard. Every couple of years there would be news stories of the family and workers starting controlled fires in barrels around the orchard in hopes of keeping the blossoms alive when a severe cold front came through. Sometimes they were successful and some years there were virtually no crops at all. Their entire success or failure rode on one crop and its return on investment was totally out of their control.
Many successful farmers leverage the power of diversity to better protect their income and also strengthen and increase the value of the land that they own. An example of this is crop rotation. A farmer may plant corn, and they know that the corn takes a lot of nitrogen out of the soil as it matures. Instead of using valuable resources and money to replace the nitrogen after the harvest, they may plant beans in the same spot after the corn is harvested. Beans add nitrogen naturally back to the soil and produce a second layer of income from the same plot of land.
In the same way, a leader gets more value out of their team when they invest in diverse thoughts and experiences in others. A team composed of the same life experiences, talents, and behavioral traits as each other is like the peach orchard; susceptible to critical failure with just one misstep. A diverse team on the other hand fills in the gaps of the other person, adding value in their own unique way.
They pull crops at the right time
The time to pull crops can be tricky. Pull too early and the crops haven’t matured/ripened enough and you lose a good bit of value. Wait too late and the crop can be ruined. We all know the speed of business is extremely fast in today’s market and everybody wants things now, including leaders with their expectations for their employees. I could share many examples where I’ve seen a leader promote a person or expand their responsibilities too early resulting in that person leaving the organization and a mess behind them.
Remember that your people are all growing at a different pace and a timeline that worked for one may not work for another. Slow down, nurture, and support your people on their timelines to help ready them for that next evolution in their work responsibilities and careers.
Farmers hate weeds just as much as you
No leader looks forward to the problems that happen on the team, just as a farmer hates seeing weeds pop up despite the amount of work that they put in beforehand to prevent them from sprouting. Weeds (problems) are going to happen. Just like a farmer must remove the weeds to maximize their crop, a leader must remove obstacles and problems so that a team can thrive.
It’s important to be proactive in addressing issues that you see – communications, behavior, and performance among the top themes before they grow into larger, work-stopping issues. Think back to a time when you had to deal with a big conflict or issue involving another person. More than likely you can draw a line back to when the issue had presented itself but had not yet manifested itself into the big issue it was when you finally addressed it. Farmers also know checking on weeds, isn’t a one-time activity, they have to constantly check for new ones that pop up overnight. In the same way, it’s important to consistently check in on your team and do health checks to make sure things are running smoothly, and new problems haven’t popped up in a new spot.
Farmers are disciplined
On the surface, farming may seem easy – throw some seeds in the ground, wait, collect the crops, and make money. In reality, farming is hard work requiring a very disciplined person who is strategic, a master of time management, and a good people leader in order to turn over a successful crop in a season. If you remove any of those three traits from a farmer the likelihood of being successful drops significantly. You’ll also serve yourself and others well by modeling the same disciplined mindset and leadership style. Previous shows that can help with strategic thinking, time management, and people leaders include:
Follow the farmers’ way of life by being a disciplined leader who is patient and caring with your team, while making sure that you have a diverse mix of talent. You’ll see your team grow and mature in a healthy way and will reap the benefits of your leadership for years to come.
Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a house that had hundreds of records and there was constantly music being played somewhere in the house. Songs can hold a lot of power too. Hearing a certain song can bring you back to a specific place in time, it can create an emotional response and it can help you focus and motivate you physically to get things done.
Today we’ll look at the parallels between a great song and fantastic leadership.
Every song has a structure
Every song out there is held together by multiple layers of structure. You have the tempo, which drives the speed of the song, the time signature which dictates the feel of the song, and the key which rules which notes to play. Without those things you don’t have a song, you have noise.
Think about times that you’ve worked on a team where there wasn’t much formal structure. More than likely there was a little, or a lot, of chaos. Certainly, there was a lack of direction and accountability, and more than likely it either slowed down the team’s ability to get to an objective or perhaps you never arrived at the conclusion that you wanted in the first place.
Here are some tips to ensure you’ve got a strong foundation for your team to make a great impact
Be clear on who the leader is, and what everyone’s role and responsibilities are.
Lay out a clear timeline on due dates, progress updates, and meeting cadences.
Communicate where to go for questions and support.
Make yourself available for questions from the team.
Check-in on progress and learn of pain points and hurdles.
Adjust the structure as needed for the team.
Don’t beholden yourself to a set structure with no willingness to deviate. One of my favorite kinds of music is math rock. It’s a music style where the musicians are heavily knowledgeable about the rules and structure of music and use that knowledge to mix things up in new, exciting, and unexpected ways. Be willing to mix things up to keep them fresh and relevant while your team rocks its way to success.
A great song connects emotionally to the listener
There are songs out there that people connect with on a very emotional level. Maybe they connect with the lyrics as it gives them comfort. Perhaps the song represents a specific memory or moment you had that was very important to you. The music itself can even stir or elicit an emotion from you by itself. A great song connects with your soul in a special way.
A person’s connection to their team and the work that they do is very influential in whether that person stays or goes somewhere else. In fact, it’s one of the leading reasons why a person leaves their job (SHOW XXX)
As a leader, you find the ability to connect with others and to emotionally connect people to what they value will serve you very well. Here are some other shows and resources to help you continue that journey.
We’ve talked about the power of storytelling as you are leading and influencing others. Doing so with data is huge. It validates what you are saying. Couple that with an emotional pull and you have people drawn in and connecting to what you have to say.
A great song is an anthem for others
My wife and I go to a lot of live shows. (Over 125 bands since 2022) No matter who we see there is always a crowd screaming the lyrics back at the singer. Hands in the air, fists pumping, jumping up and down….. the song is their anthem. It’s inspiring to them and drives them on multiple levels. They are all in!
Connecting with a person’s Values to their work is critical. how are you supporting that connection for their success and the success of your business? You’ve got to be a leader worth following – you got to be their proverbial anthem as they march to greatness in their work. Here are some self-reflection questions to help you determine how much of an anthem you are for others.
Would people follow you to another job or company?
What is your turnover compared to your peers?
Do you bring excitement and positive energy into a room or take it away?
Do people on your team feel empowered to do what needs to be done?
Do people emulate your style and practices?
Remember as your leadership becomes that song that everyone loves to listen to, to make sure that others have a chance to shine and be recognized as well. All the instruments knowing when to step up and when to step back and support also help a great song become even better.
I love scuba diving. Between the calmness of the water, the unique experiences, and how you tune in different parts of your body that you normally don’t pay attention to, it’s a wonderful activity to participate in.
Last summer, I attended a Scouting leadership conference at the University of Tennessee. During one of the sessions, we taught scuba basics to scouts in the Olympic pool there on campus. It was a great reminder of the leadership principles that we can model after scuba divers.
Prepare before you jump in
The first thing that you do before exploring underwater is a proper gear check. Does your mask work correctly? Does your tank have air and are the gauges and hoses working properly? Does your vest inflate and deflate as it should? Do your fins feel right? it could be a bad day for you if you just jump in without doing the safety checks first.
We face the same caution in our professional and personal lives, especially in areas where we are very comfortable. The ability to improvise is a great trait that serves you well in both your work and home life. The issue comes when you overuse that skill. You’re likely to come across as less professional, and your guests aren’t served as well or even consistently. More importantly, in some situations, you can be putting yourself and others in danger.
Don’t shortcut the prep time and attention to detail that needs to happen to be successful in your role.
Go slow to enjoy things
Time just seems to move slower underwater. There is so much to see and take in underwater! If you jump and simply swim around as much as possible, then at the end of the day there is really no difference between scuba diving at a coral reef or an Olympic swimming pool.
Life moves fast. In a few short months, we’ll dive into our time management series that gets at a core challenge: How do we manage time for ourselves and others when everyone is so busy? Run! Run! Run! is how many people operate their day (I’m guilty of this at times as well). One of the most important lessons that my mentor taught me early in my career was to slow down and spend time with my people. The work will always be there, if you finish a task another one will be right behind it. Your people however will not always be there. It’s one of the few guarantees of work. Slow down to enjoy and invest in your team. Admire the hard work and progress that the team has made. Taking time to slow down, also gives you a better appreciation of your job and the role that you play.
Keep close to your team
When diving, you should always have a partner, and your group should always have a team leader that keeps a headcount of where everyone is. Nearly all accidents happen in part because a person was on their own.
There is certainly a balance that needs to happen between micromanaging (Show 314, 315) and undermanaging (Show 325) In the middle of that spectrum is a leader that gives their people the space that they need, but also the support that they want in order to be successful.
Have a regular cadence of check-ins that makes sense for you and the other person.
Listen and learn about things going on outside of work.
Observe how they interact and accomplish their work.
Coach in the moment instead of letting things escalate.
Keeping close to your team is important for the health of the team and the individual.
Panic = more problems
Sometimes things can get weird while diving. Perhaps the air regulator malfunctions, you get turned around or disoriented, or you have an unexpected encounter with wildlife. The worst thing that you can do as a diver in those moments is to panic because it only agitates the situation further. Divers are trained to remain calm, signal for help, and surface in a timely fashion if it is safe to do so.
It is guaranteed that things are not going to go your way every day. In those moments of chaos, others will look to you to set the tempo and demeanor. Panic and surely they will as well. Remember to remain calm, and let the initial emotion wash through you as your brain needs a moment to catch up and then react. Your initial reaction is often not the best one.
Be like the scuba diver. Prepare for your week, take some time to slow down and enjoy the work, spend time with the team, and don’t panic if things go off the rails.
