Reading popular business books is a great way to learn, stimulate ideas and motivate us to action, However, many leaders sometimes fail to analyze the advice for themselves and determine what will or won't work for their own situation and what they can expand on. Accepting what we read or hear as the final answer can result in putting up mental barriers to success and growth.
I’ve encountered clients who’ve received advice or learned about a one-and-done solution from someone who didn't know their whole story. This won't solve the main problem your business is experiencing. In fact, it might just complicate your issues by adding layers of management and employee to-dos to an already stressed team (think: unnecessary software, one-off training, or this month’s flavor-of-the-month, out-of-the-box employee recognition program).
Instead of hastily buying into every quote from a New York Times bestseller, a LinkedIn meme, or a favorite blogger, use your critical thinking skills to determine how to apply it to your situation. Realize that there is no “one-size-fits-all” in business.
Here are some great examples to take one step further.
Hiring For Fit
In Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't, Jim Collins wrote about getting the right people “on the bus” and “in the right seat,” meaning hiring the right people for your company for the right job. But let's go even deeper.
It’s not enough that a potential employee has a polished resume, strong skills and deep experience. When considering a new hire, evaluate whether the person will fit your company culture and team. Before you can do that, you must have a formal mission, vision, values and culture statements that are infused throughout your workplace. They cannot be documents filed in a drawer but rather lived daily by every team member.
Motivating Your Employees
In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink concluded that “Control leads to compliance, autonomy leads to engagement.”
This is true for some people, especially creatives. But if a person is hardwired to be motivated by accuracy and compliance, they like and need control. Too much autonomy may make some people feel lost and unsupported. It is important for leaders to understand their team members’ behavioral drives and needs and adjust accordingly.
With the use of a behavioral assessment, such as the Predictive Index (Disclosure: My company administers this assessment) or other similar tools with a key focus on scientific validity and reliability, leaders can predetermine the characteristic needs of the job and then hire the person that aligns. Provide the right motivation to the individual, creating engagement.
Communication Styles
In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote that: “When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”
We are all, of course, emotional creatures. However, some of us are driven primarily by and communicate from a people-oriented (emotional) style and others from more of a task-oriented (logical) style -- heads up versus heads down.
Again, using a tool to assess behavioral hardwiring might be helpful here rather than assuming that we all engage the same way.
Influencing Behavior
In Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek explains “There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.”
But how do you inspire human behavior? Inspiration comes from understanding what motivates each person. Motivational needs stem from personal hardwiring and behavioral actions, and you can't know what they are unless you assess them. It isn’t about what you do to inspire others, such as giving heartfelt talks or providing annual employee picnics, but rather meeting others’ needs. If you don’t meet their individual needs, you will fail to motivate them, and this will drain your own motivation, ultimately resulting in turnover.
Leading Change
In Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg said that “We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.”
We seek change when we know something is wrong, but often we don’t know what is wrong and how to change it. Change is easier when you first get to the root cause, establish a benchmark through proper analysis and diagnostics, and build in accountability. Without this type of inquiry, it is impossible to know what is missing or needs to change.
Finding Your Way
In StandOut, Marcus Buckingham said “The best way to find out whether you’re on the right path? Stop looking at the path.”
This is true from the perspective that you can overanalyze your decisions to the point of becoming stuck in place, unable to commit to a direction or stay the course. On the other hand, analyzing your path along the way allows you to measure outcomes and helps you decide if you should continue on your path or make adjustments. It’s important to allow the right amount of flexibility for future pivots.
There is much you can learn about business from a variety of sources. Often, these insights open thought processes that lead you to implement changes you would not have otherwise considered. It is important, however, to consider every piece of new information from a holistic approach and integrate it into your business thoughtfully, ever aware that nobody but you (and your coach) knows your exact situation.
