Archives de catégorie : Leadership

5 deadliest leadership mistakes

Publié le par
Répondre
https://pixabay.com/en/users/saulhm-31267/

https://pixabay.com/en/users/saulhm-31267/

Day 565. Leadership can be learned. As there are positive leadership traits, there are deadly mistakes for any aspiring leader. Here are 5 that I consider the deadliest:

  1. Over committing, under delivering. A promise given is a promise delivered, or suffer the consequences! Yes, sh*t happens, and if it happens, give the bad news early. Always exceed expectations to build credibility and trust
  2. Speaking more than listening. We have two ears and one mouth, it’s to listen twice as much as we speak. Ask question, listen with fascination, and learn from others.
  3. Getting too much number focused and too little people focused. Yes, rule number one tells that the achievement of your metrics is important, but to exceed them, you need people. By focusing on people, numbers will take care partially of themselves. Never hide behind Excel, show yourself in front of others.
  4. Blaming others. Take your own responsibilities. Yes, a direct report may have f*cked up, but he/she’s your direct report and you are in charge. Take ownership, fix the issue, and ensure this will not happen again. Either we win or we learn, always by standing on our feet, not on others’.
  5. Making excuses. I am not sure it’s worse than blaming others or not, but making excuses is to me, like in the song: « It was not me! » You can say sorry, but only to accept the consequences of your mistakes. Excuses are useless and undermine credibility and trust. Ask yourself why you failed, what you learned, and what you’ve done. Once again, sit in the driver’s seat.

Leadership is hard, leadership is rewarding, and leadership is a choice, your choice. And remember, most mistakes are not fatal, you need to learn from them to avoid them. One last piece: if you working environment has leaders that expose those traits, leave! They are toxic. I know it’s easier said than done, however, it’s like drugs: short-term relief, long-term death!

Si on se moque de vous, c’est que vous êtes sur la bonne voix

Publié le par
Répondre
https://unsplash.com/needle50k

https://unsplash.com/needle50k

Jour 564. Tiens, un titre en français ! Plusieurs d’entre vous m’ont demandé de réécrire en français. Je vais donc faire un billet de temps en temps en français. Cela va dérouiller ma grammaire. Je pensais aujourd’hui, à quelques milliers de mètres d’altitude, aux moments où d’autres se sont moqués de nous. De notre façon de nous habiller, de notre accent ou de nos idées.

Le fait est que ce sont les nôtres, ce sont le reflet de qui nous sommes ou tout du moins des questions que l’on se pose. Et en ce sens, c’est nous ! Même si cela peut sembler contre intuitif de prime abord, quand autrui se moque, il convient de ne pas réagir négativement, mais d’y voir un signe de la différence de chaque être humain. Comme le disais Oscar Wilde : « Soyez vous-mêmes, tous les autres sont déjà pris. »

Les différences, les idées hétérodoxes et la résistance à l’homogénéité sont un signe d’évolution. Cultivons nos différences !

First times are always great learnings

Publié le par
Répondre

Day 563. It’s about confronting fear, it’s about going to the unknown, and it’s about growing. Today, we are starting a social media campaign around our first times, following our partnership for the last 18 months with the African cycling team MTN Qhubeka’s first participation to the Tour de France. It has not been simple, neither for them nor for us, because for them, is their first on the Tour de France, the most mythical cycling team. For us, because it was our first sport sponsorship experience and we had to go through a journey to understand how to do this.

Qhubeka_Do-More_Microsoft-Posts

Today, I am proud of my first time and of the team’s. It’s been a ride, but so much rewarding! So, even if you are not into cycling, go and have a look at the Tour de France, look for the MTN Qhubeka jerseys, and be part of the excitement! Another 10 days before the arrival on the Champs Elysées in Paris, through the Pyrénées and the Alps, so some wonderful moments to share and hope that the team will continue to shine!

Qhubeka_Do-More_Microsoft-Posts2

How to raise, and achieve, your own expectations by following those 4 rules of thumb

Publié le par
Répondre
https://unsplash.com/jonathanbean

https://unsplash.com/jonathanbean

Day 556. Running a successful life is a matter of expectations. Like Forrest Gump used to say: « Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. » If this sounds cliché, you can actually bend this truism by setting what you wanna get, and work towards it. This is what setting expectations is all about. However, like Tony Robbins likes to say « we tend to overestimate what we can achieve in a year and underestimate what we can achieve in a decade ».

The whole question remains: how to correctly set expectations that we can hold ourselves accountable to? Over the years, I came with 4 rules that work in most cases and that help me setting them, raising them, and achieving them.

  1. If you feel the expectations are too low or just right, raise them by a fraction that will make you uncomfortable. If you feel the expectations are too high, they’re probably so for your current comfort zone, with the current resources you have. This is actually a great news and a great reason for growth. Have a positive look at them! In all cases, ensure you are uncomfortable with the expectations if you want to grow and challenge you!
  2. Enlist others to share these expectations and gather their ideas on how to achieve them. Push the borders of the thought process, move outside of the comfort zone in unchartered territories, and accept all ideas including the crazy ones.
  3. Prioritize, cut, and choose. You will never ever be able to execute all the ideas. This is the only step where reason and focus kick in. If you are spread too thin, you’ll do too many things, and will remain too shallow. Remember the old Pareto law: 20% of your resources will help you to achieve 80% of the goals. Focus on where you’re going to spend 80% of your efforts.
  4. Share the plan, the resources, and start the execution, with one very important set of activities: milestones! You need to stop regularly and measure where you are on your path. This will allow you to check you’re running at the right pace, need to enlist more resources, or raise the expectations again.

I will leave you with this famous quote from Michelangelo: « The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. »

5 meditation myths debunked

Publié le par
Répondre
https://unsplash.com/robinbenad

https://unsplash.com/robinbenad

Day 554. Meditation is making a comeback these days. Nothing surprising in a world described and lived as stressful. Of course, for some, meditation seems to be something for people who have time, for people who are not strong-willed, and for people who are quiet and laidback. Nothing is farther from the truth. Not only everybody can benefit from a 10-minute meditation, but medical studies have proven the positive effects of meditation.

Now, it’s true that meditation can be seen as challenging by many: My mind wanders and won’t keep quiet, I do not feel comfortable my leg crossed sitting on the floor, I feel stupid meditating, are common feedback from people who tried and stopped. However, as Light Watkins explains in this video, effects are visible, may be not by you but by your peers. In his TEDx talk, he debunks simply five common myths about meditation:

Myth 1: I’m a bad meditator if I cannot quiet my mind.

Myth 2: There’s no correct way to meditate.

Myth 3: I don’t have time to meditate.

Myth 4: Meditation will solve all my problems.

Myth 5: Success in meditation is based on stillness on my mind.

Go and watch this TEDx talk, inserted above for convenience, and start meditating daily for 10 minutes. Ask for help to a meditation practitioner if you do not succeed in your first meditations. As Light says, meditation will give your time back on top of other many benefits, one of which is increased productivity, one of my obsession. No negative effects, only positive, still hesitating?

If you are not scared, you are not growing…

Publié le par
Répondre
https://unsplash.com/oliverpacas

https://unsplash.com/oliverpacas

Day 552. Taking risk is an inherent part of our lives. Unfortunately, society has become complacent and education has moved generations of kids in a « no risk » zone, due to increased lawsuits. People are therefore considering risks as something to avoid at all price. However, not taking risks is the greater risk of all. Not taking risk is putting yourself at the mercy of those who will take risks. Not taking risks is wearing the shoes of potential victims. Not taking risks is leaving the best opportunities to others.

Taking risk does not mean betting your house or jumping from a cliff without any knowledge and experience of base jumping. Taking risks is all about moving out of the comfort zone, expanding its borders. Taking risks is jumping into the unknown, leading your life. Of course with risk comes fear that we may fail, fear that we may not be up to the game, fear that we may get hurt. With risk comes potential success, potential win, and potential growth. There’s a price to pay and rewards to win.

With risk comes fear, meaning taking risk is a scary endeavor. The only sensible way to get rid of fear is to confront it, not to ignore it by turning your back. The first skydive will scare you, may be, the second will be smoother. Fear will keep you on your toes, will require that you are always walking on a high wire. Without a little pinch in your belly, you will become complacent and will stop growing, taking the risk of becoming obsolete. Every day, check if you are scared, at least a little, if not, you are just not growing. It’s a choice, but not taking risk is the greatest risk of all!