Monthly Archives: December 2019

Leadership Lessons I Learned in 2019 and Reminders for 2020

Life, Organizational Culture, Topics in Leadership, Work
Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

2019, like every year, was full of opportunities for learning and growth. Here are five things I’ll share that I plan to keep in mind as I go into 2020.

  1. There may be a person in your life who you perceive as your nemesis. It is possible that this person is placed in your life to force you to grow. There are times (and only God knows when)  we are not able to grow and develop into the leader we are intended to be unless we have someone in front of us who we must overcome. These are times when skills are required that have laid dormant in us.  Skills that have been latent, waiting for the proper environment to sprout. It may be skills like the ability to exercise humility, courage to speak your mind, or the capacity to take decisive action. Whatever it is, you needed that “nemesis” to bring this out in you. It may seem counter-intuitive but be thankful for them even if the growth experience was painful.
  2. There may be a person whom you perceive as very fragile and incapable of getting their feet underneath them and flourishing. It is possible that with the right supports in place, with a tribe of emotionally healthy friends, the feeding of the mind, body and soul with life-giving practices and the shedding of toxic relationships, a person can come into their own. Their skills, abilities and gifts can surface and thrive. Never underestimate or under-appreciate what a history of childhood trauma can do to a person. Never underestimate or under-appreciate what can be recovered when a healthy and supportive network of caring people begin to nurture someone. 
  3. The current environment you see yourself and your organization surrounded by may seem very unfriendly. The likelihood is, however, that the people, positions, and politics making it unfriendly will change. Hang in there. You never know when the leader of another agency you work alongside will take another job, when a friend will become a major player in your local government, a colleague will get a top post in the state government, or the new group of lawmakers decide to make rules and laws that are much more supportive of your industry.
  4. If you are in a leadership role, never forget that it is a privilege to be there. It carries with it immense responsibilities. Treat your job with gratitude and treat the relationship with the people you work with as sacred. If no one is following you, you are not leading. You are the chief servant. Put all of the other ideas you have about yourself aside. 
  5. It is easy to get caught up in your day-to-day realities. It is easy to see the small space in the universe that you occupy as all there is. When this happens we fail to see the possibilities and potentialities around us.  The world is full of amazing and interesting people doing amazing and interesting things. It is full of beautiful and breathtaking places. It is so important to step away from your work. To take time off. To see people and places you’ve never seen before. It does not necessarily require you to  travel far. Go to art galleries. Go to a museum. Go to the zoo. See the Great Lakes. Go to a national park. See the ocean. Travel to another state or country if you can. These things help you realize that there is much more to life than your job or the circumstances you find yourself in. 

I hope you find this list helpful. I’ve experienced all of it this year. Blessings to you and have a wonderful and meaningful 2020.

Selfish-Ambition Leads to Organizational Disorder

Organizational Culture

“For where you have…selfish-ambition there you find [organizational] disorder…” * 

Ambition is a very important quality for a leader or manager to have. You probably would not be in the role you are in as a leader if you did not have ambition, passion, or drive about something. Ambition can lead a person toward excellence and success. The real question about ambition is who or what is the ambition for? Additionally, what kind of wake does the actions generated by one’s ambition leave behind? A leader ambitious for the mission of their organization, who channels all of their problem solving, partnership building, and decision making for the furtherance of the organization’s purpose has a chance to build a healthy, longstanding, and fruitful organization. Conversely, a leader focused on building something only for themselves, over the long haul, is much less likely to develop an organization that functions at its best. 

It is natural to have selfish interests. As humans one of our basic instincts is to look out for ourselves. To do the opposite, looking out for the interests of others, takes work. It takes an awareness of our motives and a willingness to move toward putting our self-centered thinking aside and acting in a manner that is other-centered. As I was reading this morning, a phrase from an ancient letter written to leaders jumped out at me. It stated,  “For where you have…selfish-ambition there you find [organizational] disorder…” * 

Leaders, ask yourself these questions: 
Is your ambition aimed at,
Your agency’s  mission;
Your agency’s well being;
Your agency’s culture’s health and strength;
Your employee’s learning and growth;
Your agency’s fiscal strength and well being;
Your customer’s, client’s, or patient’s best care, treatment, and results?

If as leaders, we want to help the organization or agency we are part of to thrive we must be aware of what is motivating our decisions. Often this is not easy to figure out. It takes contemplation and feedback from others. We need to develop a practice of self-reflection, allowing others to speak into our life, and vulnerability. If we do this day-by-day we can begin to recognize when our selfish-ambition gets in the way of leadership that lifts up our coworkers, partners, clients, customers, or patients. 

* The Apostle James’ letter  “…to the Twelve Tribes Scattered Among the Nations” Chapter 3 verse 16.

What Our Nonprofit Agency Does to Hire People Who are a Good Fit

Organizational Culture, Topics in Leadership, Work
Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

We just finished interviewing two highly qualified, wise, and hard working people. They had amazing work histories that complemented the job they had applied for and had great references. After meeting with the candidates our interview team said the same thing: “Great people. They have great qualities. They are just not the right fit.” 

What is “fit”? It’s includes a person’s training. It includes their credentials. It includes their experience. But it is also more than the things that go on a resume. Fit includes aspects of personality. It includes relationship skills. It includes a person’s preferred style of conflict resolution, problem solving, and communication. It includes the capacity to work independently and as a member of a team. It encompasses a person’s short term and long term career goals. It involves expectations of work hours or schedule. The list of what makes up “fit” could go on and on. 

How is an organization supposed to uncover these aspects of an interviewee? The reality is that you can’t really know what type of an employee someone will be until they work with you. You can, however, take steps in the hiring process to increase the odds of finding out whether or not the interviewee would be a good match. The leadership team at the agency I work for has come up with a process that helps us narrow down new hires to people who have a better chance of being a good fit in our organization. The process includes, 

  1. Identify the characteristics of an employee who would be a “good fit.” Assess the team members you have who are successful and try to define the personality traits, soft skills, relationship style, cognitive abilities, and other attributes that help them do well. 
  2. Involve team members in the interview. This does three  things. First it empowers the team members and sends the message that their opinion is very important to the organization. Second, it taps into their expertise. The current team is often the best people to determine if someone will fit. Finally it gives the team ownership in the hire and can motivate them to foster the success of the new employee.
  3. Use real life scenarios as part of the interview. Scenarios help to get a sense of the interviewee’s problem solving, triaging, and organizing skills. It also gives you a sense of whether or not their experience translates into practical wisdom for the job. 
  4. Run the name past any team members who used to work with the potential hire. Your team members are invested in having good co-workers and will usually be very honest about their past experience with someone who is a potential hire. 
  5. Never hire the person with “the least bad interview.” By this I mean, you are in a situation where  you don’t feel really good about any of the interviewees but because you feel pressure to fill a spot so you choose the person who was the least bad at the interview. 
  6. Never allow the administration to make a decision to hire someone while not having the full by-in of the primary supervisor. The direct supervisor is the team member who is going to have to live most closely with the new hire. For the supervisor’s morale and to give the new hire the best chance of success make sure the direct supervisor is okay with the hire.
  7. Ask the interviewee for references that were former supervisors or team members. Try to get a minimum of three. The more work history the reference has with the potential hire the better chance you have of getting robust answers to reference questions. 
  8. Do an informal online audit of the potential hire. Google their name. Check on social media to see if they have any posts that reveal their work habits.
  9. If you still are not sure about someone have a second interview and include more team members. 

I hope this short list gives you some ideas to help improve your method of finding team members who are a good fit. It takes longer to get through the hiring process this way but in the long run builds a strong team and in-turn a stronger organization.