What Code do you Uphold?

I can often relate sports reality to leadership challenges.  So while it may seem strange to start this blog with reference to the the NHL playoffs bear with me for a moment or two.  I'm going to reflect back in particular to my beloved Habs beating those beastly Bruins this year, but also drawn upon some other sports stories that came to mind relating to unwritten codes that we enforce or hold on to as part of our sporting culture - and how that might relate to our work cultures.

For those of you who don't follow hockey I'll briefly recap.  This year, Montreal defeated Boston - the best team in hockey over this regular season - in the seventh and final game of their series and did so on Boston's home ice.  This was but another chapter in probably the most storied rivalry in hockey.  As is tradition, every series ends with the obligatory handshake between the teams and is supposed to epitomize the highest level of sportsmanship.  Well in this series it didn't quite go according to script.  One of Boston's star players, Milan Lucic, is reported to have told at least one Montreal player that "I'm going to f---king kill you next year."  Story enough to be sure, but what got at least as much play was that Montreal players came under fire for disclosing this gem of a conversation with the media.  Evidently this was against the unwritten code in hockey which is what is said in the handshake line or "between men" on the ice stays on the ice.  The "code" had been broken.

At about the same time we also saw Michael Alan Sam Jr. drafted by the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League.  Nothing too unique about this event - except that he was the first publicly gay player to be drafted in league history and if he takes the field with the Rams this year will also become the first publicly gay athlete in NFL history.  This, of course, was bigger news than Sam's being named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year in his senior year and consensus All-American.  His coming out and willingness to be bold in doing so - including kissing his companion on national TV - clearly were the bigger story than his athletic accomplishments.  He had clearly broken the code of what type of behavior and lifestyle is expected from NFL-calibre players.   This is despite the fact that there are nearly 1,700 players in the NFL each year and over the course of its history the odds are more than one of them has been gay.  The code was be straight or at the very least be silent and discrete.  Michael Sam broke that code.

I also finally saw the movie "42", a 2013 biographical film about the life of baseball player Jackie Robinson.  In 1946, Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play and star in major league baseball - twenty years in advance of the peak of the civil rights movement in the United States, He endured vicious harassment and abuse, up to an including numerous death threats.  He not only got to experience this abuse in the form of anonymous letters and catcalls from the stands - he also was on the receiving end of countless taunts, physical harm (e.g, fastball to the head), and efforts to ostracize him even from his own white teammates.  He had broken the color line in baseball, he had broken the unwritten code that didn't allow blacks into baseball - or mainstream society.

What does this have to do with leadership?  Clearly, at high level for our society, is has everything to do with leadership.  At an organizational level, however, there are clear examples of unwritten codes that we continue to uphold both by our actions and inaction, by our voluntary commitment, and through our own fear and desire for self-preservation.  I was astounded this year (maybe through my own naivety) to learn about the challenges two of my female colleagues were experiencing in their organizations.  They were still falling victim to an "old boys" mentality and blatant sexism.  Their skills and abilities were being dismissed and going underutilized.  An unwritten code about what makes for good leadership and who can take on senior level roles that continues to play out in many business sectors.

More akin to the first sports analogy I started with, is the notion of upholding a code of silence in our organizations.  This manifests in several different ways.  If we consider some of the recent events in government relating to expense scandals and the like, it is clear that a code of silence had been operative for some time.  Individuals in peer positions decided not to confront their colleagues feeling that it would upset other agendas.  Those in subordinate positions likely stood silent for fear of their jobs and careers.  As leaders and professionals we also often fail to deal with lack of performance or poor performance by our colleagues.  Sometimes we do so out of a fear of conflict and confrontation.  Just as often we adhere to a code of silence that suggests a mentality of rallying around a management colleague.  We "hang together" even if the consequences of doing so in the form of staff turnover, grievances, client complaints, financial mismanagement, and more are there for all to see.  In many cases we tolerate and support this code of silence through our lack of action while others pay the price.

This action or inaction also comes despite our many professional codes of conduct that would seemingly direct us to more positive effort for the benefit of our clients/customers, our organizations and our professions.

So what code or codes do you uphold?  How clear are you about the actions you take - or not - that foster and support organizational and leadership excellence?  Are you helping maintain an unhealthy status quo or are you prepared to step up and leave a legacy of your leadership?
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

 

Personal Reinvention

Earlier this week I received notice that I had successfully obtained Professional Certified Coach (PCC) status with the International Coach Federation (ICF).  Needless to say I was quite enthused at my accomplishment and dutifully updated my LinkedIn status and credentials, took to my twitter account to trumpet the news, and celebrated with my Facebook friends.  I also took time to thank ALL of those I had coached over the past two years and others in positions of authority who had vouched for me as part of the ICF credentialing process. 

One of the first responses back to me on Facebook also sparked this blog entry.  My past coach remarked "Congrats Greg!  That's a huge milestone to celebrate.  Consider yourself officially transitioned."  Officially transitioned.  It was an interesting assessment of where I now stand in my career.  Over the past two years I have had several offers to return to an executive role in healthcare.  I'd also been approached with leadership opportunities in other sectors.  The offers were intriguing and would have represented an easier path than the one I've been on.  While I didn't dismiss these offers out-of-hand, there were some very tangible reasons for leaving my former role and sector in the first place and very specific and rewarding reasons for continuing my commitment to my (re) discovered passion for leadership coaching.

I've learned a lot along this path of reinvention and found continued expression for my desire to lead and be of service to others - and perhaps there a few gems for others as they consider a change in role, sector, or career.  Even if you expect to stay in the same leadership role for the long-term its wise to consider how you might need to reinvent yourself to take account of the changing business environment that surrounds you.  Evolve or perish!  So here are some of my takeaways from two years of reinvention.

First, any truly successful or meaningful reinvention has to start with the realization that whatever you have done before, the positions you held, and the titles you "owned" don't carry much weight in your new venture.  In my case being the Senior Vice President of a large organization with responsibility for hundreds of millions of dollars in budget and several thousand staff didn't carry as much weight as I had hoped or vainly expected when trying to contract with coaching or consulting clients.  As you transition, your clients or staff in your new venture are going to be less interested in what YOU HAVE DONE versus what they believe YOU CAN DO for them into the future.  It can be a harsh reality check.  You can very much feel that you are starting from scratch.  Taking nothing for granted as you start your new journey.    

Second, and perhaps an evident no-brainer, is the particular value of reinventing yourself on the basis of what excites you and gets your motor running.  Commit to following your passion and the rest will fall into place.  It was at least six months into my personal reinvention before I made the tentative yet powerful decision to commit to becoming a certified executive coach.  There were a few bumps along this path as I juggled a need to invest in self versus the desire to pursue lucrative consulting engagements.  Short-term pain for long-term gain and easier said than done.  However, once you truly commit I expect you to be rewarded with a strong feeling of "being in the right place" and intent on overcoming obstacles in pursuit of your driving passion.

As the Nike slogan says "Just do it!"  Just because I had discovered or rediscovered what got my motor running didn't mean that I had the process of coaching nailed on day one nor that I had the confidence to boldly own a new future.  It took a lot of small, sometimes tentative steps along the way, a great deal of peer support, family encouragement, support of mentors, and willing clients to help me move from passion, to action, to the beginning realization of the true potential before me.  You too will need to constantly remind yourself of your vision, goals, objectives and milestones along the way.  Take time to celebrate your very real successes and hold true to the path you have set for yourself despite the inevitable setbacks or stumbles.  Reinventing oneself is a constant state of trying and practice.

Successfully reinventing oneself is also about time and metrics.  As noted, it's taken me two years to achieve PCC status.  While I'd like to say that I've been patient with that process those who have walked this path with me - including my wife - will quickly remind me how much that has not been the case.  The reality is if you expect to radically - and successfully - change paths you have to be patient with the process.  In my case I had spent the previous 25 years in healthcare leadership roles.  Expecting to seamlessly transition into another career at the same level of performance was certainly not a realistic expectation.  That didn't stop me from punishing myself for not excelling in the same way that I believed I had in my former roles.  What was comforting - to some degree - were the metrics and milestones I had established at the beginning of my transition.  Take time to step back and assess your progress against your plan.  You will more realistically evaluate your progress and success and not get discouraged in the day-to-day effort.  You will see that your effort is paying off and your vision slowly translating into reality.

Finally, whether it is reinvention of oneself in career terms, redefinition or reconfiguration of one's leadership role and capacity, or investment in one's skills and abilities, it should be recognized that the process must be constant.  If there is anything that the past two years has taught me - whether as a coach or a consultant - it is that you are only as good as your last successful engagement.  I am constantly evaluating and reevaluating what worked or didn't work.  How could I have had greater impact for my clients?  What can I learn and apply to the next encounter or next engagement?  This effort takes a great deal of discipline, self-motivation and a passion for learning in its own right.  But I believe that the energy expended in the effort of continual and constant reinvention will rebound to you manifold.  While I pride myself on being a force multiplier for my clients they have also been a force multiplier for me.

Good luck on your continued reinvention.  My personal reinvention continues to be a work in progress - as all good leadership should be.
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Get off your treadmill

For those who know me well, the title of this blog entry might seem at odds with the lifestyle I've tried to fashion for myself over the past five years or so - two Ironman Canada finishes, variety of other smaller distance triathlons, and up to 2 workouts a day.  But sometimes, there is a real need to re-evaluate progress, goals, and the processes you are using to achieve results.  Sometimes, you have to get off the treadmill, dismount from your bike, and step back from the pool to objectively assess status in order to reach your desired level of performance.

The same is true in your leadership journey.  In my one-to-one coaching sessions and team development engagements, I often find myself working with my clients to help them carve out time for them to step back and critically evaluate and reengage with the fundamental core of their roles, vocations and business.  Almost without exception they lament their lack of time as they face the impossible task of juggling all the "priorities" being thrown at them, all the urgent issues requiring their attention, and all the stillborn and "critical" initiatives they believe they must tackle.

In most cases, individual leaders try to address this by simply extending their work week.  In essence, however, this extended effort typically does not leave us any more satisfied with our workload then when we started.  Rather, we find ourselves on "the treadmill" and rather than effectively using our creative talents and ingenuity as leaders - utilizing the brainpower and capabilities for which we were selected - we are far more often engaged in a pure test of our stamina.  At this point, as leaders, we have to question whether we are truly leading.  Are we running an organization or is our organization running us?

The same dynamic plays out for leadership teams as well.  The frustration that exists for individual leaders may look different for a team - competing priorities, lack of collaboration, competition for resources, and conflict - but in reality it comes from some of the same sources.  Teams have not taken the time to step back to critically reevaluate the nature of the work they are doing, how that fits in with a bigger picture of organizational success, and what truly is a critical priority for success in the coming month, quarter and year.

So what's the solution to this time press?  Ironically enough it's having the courage to step back from the coal face of work long enough to gain some perspective.  As I described at the beginning of this entry, I often engage with my clients to establish a structured approach to setting aside protected time on a regular basis to simply evaluate and take stock of their work.  This time has to be established as sacred and critical to the leader (or a team as the case may be).  It has to be focused and uninterrupted time.  Consider this time as important as any non-negotiable event in your calendar - meeting with your Board of Directors, meeting with your boss, a major presentation to your professional peers.  You can't defer or neglect these kinds of events.  You wouldn't be asking your Board Chair/Boss to be excused from your once per month meeting while you take a series of phone calls.  You need to make the same kind of commitment to yourself as a leader or a team to effectively evaluate your current status and future effort.

Your future success as a leader is NOT going to be predicated on your stamina or ability to endure.  You have been selected to lead your organization for the quality of your decision-making, for your ability to discern key factors and information in a chaotic environment, and for your ability to focus organizational effort on common goals.  You can't do this if you don't exercise personal leadership and discipline.  Be deliberate and strong with yourself to stay in charge of your business - don't let your business run you.  Be decisive and courageous enough to take time for yourself and to truly discern where your leadership is going to make the biggest difference.  Taking that time is going to be one of biggest tests of your leadership.

Do you have the courage to step off the treadmill if even only for a little while?   
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.