Flashy May Get Attention but Simple Sticks

For the first several years Cindy and I provided our Emerging Leader Development course for individuals and organizations, I was adamant that I DID NOT want to market any type of “coaching” tied to that course or anything else we offered. I had seen so many charlatans embed themselves into different organizations’ cost structures through providing some sweet nothings a decision maker’s ear (and the occasional smooch on that same decision maker’s backside) without delivering any measurable return on investment that I wanted as much distance as we get get between than and the value I knew we were providing. We were intentional about challenging each participant to identify the specific action steps they would apply from each lesson, in the Emerging Leader Development course as well as any other lesson we shared, and to provide those action steps to their immediate manager so they could work together on implementing and sustaining them to capture increased profitability. The problem we soon saw was that some of those managers never so much as acknowledged the action steps that were sent to them. For time’s sake, I’ll stay off that soapbox but you can imagine the message this sent those participants who had just detailed how they planned to lead their teams better but received no response…

It’s no big secret that Cindy is much smarter than me. I realize that’s not a very high bar, but she’s nothing short of amazing. Through all my pontification about why I didn’t want to connect the term coaching to our business model, she politely listened. After seeing several outstanding folks work through courses with us but struggle to stick with the action steps they hoped to put in place afterward, she gently suggested that we begin including one-on-one packages to work directly with these participants after they completed a course, helping them implement, tweak, and sustain what they had learned - and do it in a way we could help them measure improvements in productivity and profitability - in cases where their managers or owners just didn’t have the time to do that themselves. We weren’t coming up with the action steps, we were simply supporting them as they built these new behaviors into their daily routines. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, we were indeed coaching, but in a way that made a positive impact on each organization’s bottom line.

So here’s the reality: taking action on anything new for the first time is hard enough. Building that new approach into our routine in a way that we can sustain over time can be nearly impossible when we’re already spinning all the plates that come with leading a team of any size. All too often, the latest and greatest flavors of the month get huge attention. If I’m being honest, I roll my eyes nearly every time someone tells me about the wonders of EOS - but not because I think there’s anything wrong with that approach. When I read Gino Wickman’s book, Traction, it was basically a recap of what I had learned in my 20s and 30s through the principles behind Lean Manufacturing. But even then, Lean wasn’t anything new; it was just the catch phrase at the time, W. Edward Deming attempted to roll the same ideas out to US auto-makers in the 1940s.

Make no mistake, I’m not bashing any particular approach to process improvement. I’m just making the case that new and flashy may draw immediate attention but doesn’t always equate to earth-shattering results. Simple sticks. The question Cindy and I ask anyone we “coach” as they share the action steps they plan to implement following lessons they’ve worked through with us is, “What would I see you doing differently if I report to you?” When we’re able to help them detail the specific behavior involved in applying their idea, we then work with them to ensure it’s as simple as it can possibly be so they can easily build it into their routine. Doing something a few times may be nice, but sustaining it will be what delivers a long term return.

Starting off simple in modeling our core organizational values won’t likely draw a lot of immediate attention. We inevitably have to fight the urge to add some flare (picture Office Space) to make what we’re doing stand out. That flash and flare may get attention when things are going smoothly, but it will also be tough to stick with when stuff hits the fan - and that’s when exemplifying our values will matter the most. Next time, we’ll look at how simple routines for living out our values consistently can provide us with additional bandwidth when that stuff hits the fan…