Be Accountable

A Time of Renewal?

201210 Apr
Comments
Posted inBe Accountable

Key point: I have done about 20 radio interviews related to my new book and I’m pleased that there has been wide spread interest in the subject of “character” and the unique elements of The Character Triangle. The radio shows have been with stations in urban and rural markets, in literally every region of America and across all spectrums of listening audiences (age, ethnicity, race, religious affiliation, political leanings, etc). Every group feels that The Character Triangle applies to them. It is perceived as practical and inclusive. That is very gratifying. Thank you for being part of The Character Triangle tribe and being committed to your own character development. And thank you for inspiring others by applying The Character Triangle (CT) in your life.

Radio show hosts tell me that audience response has been overwhelmingly positive and the message is received with enthusiasm. The conversation that seems to spark the most reaction is the idea that we as humans are “verbs” and our purpose in life is to constantly develop our character and ourselves. It takes increased understanding, improved presence and observation, skill practice, and eventually habit development. The use of the CT as a playbook is a useful metaphor.

The following radio show is one of my recent ones with a very experienced and long-time successful radio personality, Trevor Crow. She has a Harvard MBA, and is very accomplished in all matters related to relationships. She has been on CNN and a variety of other top-notch media channels. I hope you can find the time to listen to it.

Character move:

Remember that we are verbs and that conscious personal development is a purpose in its own right.
You are not alone; we all need to work on character development. None of us can say we have “arrived” and need no further improvement.
Remember that our character is bounded by the darkest secrets we hold. We need to build from there and that takes constant renewal. Easter, Passover and Spring all remind us that it is a good time for self-forgiveness, redemption and accepting our right to blossom again.

Renewal in the Triangle,

Lorne

Are You Above the Death Line?

20123 Apr
Comments
Posted inBe Accountable

Key point: I have written a number of blogs regarding the disabling impact of fear, perhaps best captured by the acronym; False Expectations Appearing Real. However, I have not given enough attention to the positive counterbalance of applying constructive paranoia. Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen describe three key dimensions of productive paranoia in their recently published, best selling book Great by Choice. The research in this book applies to companies, but I believe the same lessons learned apply to us individually. Each of us benefit from having a framework to be constructively paranoid. What is your strategy for positive paranoia?

Leading Above the Death Line

Collins and team’s research pointed out that the most sustainable, successful companies know that they cannot reliably and consistently predict future events. They prepare obsessively - ahead of time, all the time – for what they cannot possibly predict. They assume that a series of bad events can wallop them in quick succession, unexpectedly and at any time. I think the same research implications apply to us in our personal careers. It’s the decisions and disciplines and shock absorbers we have in place, that matters most in determining whether we move ahead or falter when a storm hits…And one (or more) surely will. The authors contend that we need to be prudent in how we approach and manage risk, paying special attention to three categories of risk:

Death Line risk (which can kill or severely damage the enterprise).
Asymmetric risk (in which the downside dwarfs the upside).
Uncontrollable risk (which cannot be controlled or managed).

They also suggest the following 3-pronged approach to prepare for a wallop:

Build cash reserves and buffers to prepare for unexpected events and bad luck before they happen.
Bound risk – Death Line risk, asymmetric risk, and uncontrollable risk – and manage time-based risk.
Zoom out, then zoom in, remaining hyper-vigilant to sense changing conditions and respond effectively.

I really like the “zoom out, zoom in” analogy. Great companies and individuals, by choice, focus on their objectives and sense changes in their environment. They push for perfect execution and adjust to changing conditions. When they sense danger, they immediately zoom out to consider how quickly a threat is approaching and whether it calls for a change in plans. Then they zoom in, refocusing their energies into executing objectives.

Character move:

Asses your readiness for an unexpected “storm” in your work life
What are your reserves? (Not just cash reserves but skill reserves). What are the risks? How will you bound them?
Think about how you would “zoom out” and then “zoom in” when hit by that personal tornado.
Have your antennae up ALL the TIME! Build skill equity into yourself every day to make yourself more valuable. Work your network NOW. Waiting until you need help is too late. Have some cash AND skill reserves. (DO NOT FORGET to get long term disability insurance).

Positive paranoia in The Triangle,

Lorne

Can You Step It Up? Seriously?

201230 Mar
Comments
Posted inBe Accountable

Key Point: Followers of The Character Triangle know that one of the three core values is Self Accountability. It is a belief, state of mind and set of behaviors that really differentiates people at work (and life).

Two top notch leadership gurus reinforce the Self Accountability concept: Marshall Goldsmith and Dr. John Izzo. Goldsmith was recently recognized as the No. 1 leadership thinker and the No. 7 business thinker in the world at the bi-annual Thinkers50 Ceremony sponsored by the Harvard Business Review. Dr. Izzo recently released his sixth book, Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything. John’s book shows how stepping up and being self accountable is good for your career, the workplace, and one’s overall well being. The following is an excerpt from Marshall’s blog, interviewing Izzo, in the Huffington Post:

MG: What is Stepping Up and why is it the right book for our time?

JI: Stepping Up is seeing a need and deciding you are the person who can, should and will do something about it. We live in a time when we face so many problems such as poverty and climate change can only be solved when each of us steps up in our sphere of influence to create change. What’s more victim thinking has become pervasive in our society with everybody pointing a finger at someone else as the source of the problem. What we need are people at work and in communities who step up and decide they are going to create change.

MG: ”It’s not my job,” “it was someone else’s fault,” “she needs to change,” and “someone should do something about this or that,” are phrases that you hear often. What is the impact on a person’s career and life when those words become the norm?

JI: Research shows that people who focus on what they can change rather than the external forces that influence them are more successful, less stressed and happier than those who feel like victims. What’s more we can’t fix anything but ourselves, so the moment we focus on what someone else needs to do we lose our power. In the book I suggest that every time you find yourself saying “someone else should do something about… ” you should instead ask, “What can I do about this?” It’s as true in a relationship as it is in a company or a community.

MG: You say stepping up is good for your career but a lot of people believe that people who stick their necks out at work get their heads cut off. Yet you share some fascinating research that suggests the opposite is actually true.

JI: The myth at work is that speaking up and challenging things will get you in trouble. But in the book I show research that shows that the opposite is true. People who speak up and challenge the status quo by bringing constructive ideas for change are rated more highly by their managers and are more likely to get promoted. But there is a caveat. People who finger point and blame are rated poorly so the key is to be what I call a “constructive irritant.” Speak up with ideas rather than blame and always begin by saying “here is what I will do.” Those are the kind of people who get ahead.

 Character move:

Challenge yourself to “step up” at work. Are you really stepping up? Bring constructive ideas and act on them for change and improvement.
Do not blame or point fingers (as seductive as it is). Just work off your personal foundation. Step up on what you can control and influence.
Remember that good bosses want and appreciate constructive help. It is good for your career and personal development.
Reread chapter one from The Character Triangle (now carried by Hudson Booksellers at major airports). Watch videos of some of the people Izzo and team feature in the book Stepping Up. Read anything by Marshall Goldsmith.

Stepping it up in The Triangle,

Lorne

Making Peace With Our Regrets?

201227 Mar
Comments
Posted inBe Accountable

Key point: “If we have goals and dreams and we want to do our best, and if we love people and we don’t want to hurt them or lose them, we should feel pain when things go wrong. The point isn’t to live without any regrets. The point is to not hate ourselves for having them. We need to learn to love the flawed, imperfect things that we create, and to forgive ourselves for creating them. Regret doesn’t remind us that we did badly, it reminds us that we know we can do better.”

Sometimes the best thing one can write is already written. The above quote is by journalist and self proclaimed “wrongologist,” Kathryn Schulz from her wonderful presentation on the topic of “regret” as captured in the TED Talks series. It is 17 minutes long but really worth the watch.

Research shows, as pointed out by Ms. Schulz in her presentation, that the biggest areas of regret are around education, career, and relationships.

Recently I have had to focus on my career journey and of course I have regrets. I still feel pain when I reflect on them. But I genuinely have come to understand how imperfect I am and how important working on my flaws has contributed to my personal growth. My regrets have made me a better person. There are documented stages to the psychology of regret and essentially, as Schulz points out, they include denial, bewilderment, and self punishment. They often play like a broken record, over and over and over again.

My challenge has sometimes been the latter part of the regret process: Replaying a continuous loop, essentially calling myself out with unkind self blame… Something like, “how could you be so stupid?” Over the years I’ve become much better at accepting and making peace with my regrets and STOPPING the replay. It is unreasonable and perhaps not even right to just forget or pretend the past is the past. But it is even more important to accept, learn and not hate ourselves for our regrets. We need to make peace with regret!

Character move:

Apply the make peace strategy as neatly captured by thegraphicrecorder.com
Remember that many, many people have made the same or similar mistakes, have the ability to laugh at ourselves and our humanness (not because what we did was likely funny), and allow time to add perspective and learning. Regret is a benchmark for getting better.

Peace with regret in The Triangle,

Lorne

Character Triangle

Our character is exclusively ours. We define it by how we think and what we do. I believe that acting with Character is driven by what I call the Character Triangle.

What, exactly, is the Character Triangle (CT)?

The CT describes and emphasizes three distinct but interdependent values:

Be Accountable: first person action to make things better, avoiding blame.
Be Respectful: being present, listening, looking again, focusing on the process.
Be Abundant: generous in spirit, moving forward, minimizing the lack of.