Different Coaching
By most standards, I had a very good athletic career. In high school, I was one of our state’s top runners in the one mile, and I later set my college's record for 1500 meters. But I wonder if I could have done even better with different coaching. I had a good coach, but I also had a problem. I was the best on our college team (at the time) at 1500 meters, but I didn't have enough speed to be the best in our conference. The next longer race, the 5000 meters, was never my favorite to run, plus I had two teammates who were All-Americans at that distance. Perhaps a different coach with more specialized workouts could have improved my speed, or would have pushed me toward the 5000. I'll never know.
What I do know is that leaders need to constantly grow and improve, and doing so is often facilitated or accelerated with someone else's help. That someone might be a wise mentor, a trusted peer, or a professional coach. The label is less important than the benefit that you're receiving.
Can you articulate the top area(s) where you need to grow as a leader? Perhaps you need to improve at managing people or articulating a clear vision or dealing with criticism. How could that growth help you move to the next level? How could it help the organization that you lead?
If you’re not growing, don’t expect growth from those that you’re leading. And if you’re not sure how to grow, it may be time to seek the help of a coach. Even if you have a coach, it’s fair to assess whether he or she is the right person to help with your current needs.
Looking back, I can see how my running career might have benefitted from different coaching. Of course, switching wasn’t easy once I committed to a college, but you don’t face the same constraints. So what kind of coaching do you need, and where will you find it?
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Mike Bonem is a Convene Chair who began his business career as a consultant with McKinsey & Co. and subsequently served in senior leadership roles for two mid-sized environmental service companies. He also served for over a decade as the executive pastor of his church, and has continued to serve Kingdom-minded organizations as a strategy and organization consultant and coach.
What's In Your Pocket Right Now?
What’s in your pocket right now? Do you know what they found in Abraham Lincoln’s pockets on the night of April 14, 1865, the night he was assassinated? Here’s some of the list. A country boy’s pen knife, a marble, two pair of spectacles, one tied together with string, a sleeve button that had come off, a Confederate five-dollar bill, and 8 newspaper clippings, one of the only ones of its day that were complimentary of him, saying that history would someday call him a great President. I wonder if the pocket knife was to fix his glasses or was it that Mr. Lincoln enjoyed doing things with his hands since leadership is at times rather ethereal. I like the playful nature of his having a marble, or maybe he rolled it around in his hand as he thought about weighty decisions of the war. Those of us in leadership take ourselves too seriously some days. I wonder if Abe was too busy to fix his broken glasses or maybe he wasn’t too worried about them at all?!
My favorite thing to think about however is the articles he carried with him in his jacket pocket that fateful night at the Ford Theater. They talked about how history would see him as a great leader. Do you wonder about your leadership at times? I do about mine! I’m fascinated that one of the world’s great leaders, Abraham Lincoln, appeared somewhat unsure about how he might be doing. I wonder what his thoughts were as he walked the halls of power. I wonder how certain he was of all his decisions. I wonder if he doubted his skill set as a leader.
The Library of Congress rare book and special collections division chief Mark Dimunation notes that the eight newspaper clippings Lincoln carried were “largely positive portrayals of his leadership”, yet he stressed that they were “less proof of a president's ego than of a man who needed reassurance. It was a very tough re-election for Lincoln. The war had worn him down... The articles would have been very affirming to him."
By the way, what do you do to appropriately believe in your leadership? Here’s one of the ways President Lincoln handled his thoughts. He made this statement to General Dan Sickles, a participant in the battle of Gettysburg: "Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of the campaign up there (at Gettysburg) when everybody seemed panic stricken and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day and locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg.... And after that, I don't know how it was, and I cannot explain it, but soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul. The feeling came that God had taken the whole business into His own hands and that things would go right at Gettysburg …." [July 5, 1863].
My former boss, the President of Biola University has an antique “prayer kneeler” in his office; it’s a padded bench of sorts where he invites God in on his leadership. Since the power of God comes through prayer, maybe we all should consider having one in our offices too.
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Greg Leith is the CEO of Convene. He was born in Canada and lived in all four corners of North America. His career spans over 35 years of senior leadership roles in corporate, non-profit and academic sectors. Recently, he served as Director of Strategic Alliances for 13 years at Biola University in California.
The Head of a Leader
Saving Money and Culture
A regular practice at Convene Forum Day is for members to bring business issues—we call them Opportunity/Challenges—to their CEO peers to gain wisdom and insight from multiple perspectives and experience. Convene uses a standard format and process for the subject member to present the issue and for fellow members to gain understanding and provide guidance. A member recently presented his challenge in consolidating two manufacturing plants into one location. Although only a mile apart, they could achieve production efficiencies and cost savings by combining under one roof. This would involve selling two buildings and finding another in the same area that could accommodate the operations—a monumental task in the midst of sustaining a vigorous enterprise—so daunting that it created paralysis of action. Through the Opportunity/Challenge process, the group helped him quantify a potential $30,000 per month savings should he make this change.
Perhaps more significant was the member’s confession that a drastically different culture had prevailed at the satellite location, a result of its isolation from the ownership and management team located in the main facility. He felt discontent at them not sharing the values and practices that he so earnestly strove to maintain at the headquarters. Through inquiry and advice, the Convene team helped him realize that the cultural costs were as important as the monetary costs.
One of the questions of the Opportunity/Challenge process asks for the “intensity level” of the issue on a scale of 1-10. The member came into the meeting rating this a 3 to 4 intensity—fairly low on the scale. After an hour of discussion among his Convene peers, he moved this initiative up to a 9 to 10. That was three months ago; since that time he’s announced the decision to his management team and staff, has engaged a realtor to sell or lease both buildings, and began a search for a single building to accommodate the entire operation. The thought of saving at least $360,000 a year and unifying the culture of his staff motivated his action on this initiative.
Functioning as a virtual Board of Advisors, the Convene Team will continue to advise and hold the member accountable to a plan that is manageable and attainable.
What could a peer advisory group like Convene help you realize and achieve?