On The Pursuit of Loyalty

The Trump Presidency has passed its first anniversary date and for a variety of circumstances I've written relatively little that relates to Donald Trump's style of leadership.  Certainly it's not because there has been a lack of material to draw from.  More truthfully, its probably been reflective of my general level of busyness and perhaps even an inability to settle on one topic or issue raised by Donald Trump's actions.  No doubt, as many of you who read my posts might rightly conclude there is a particular disconnect between Donald Trump's style and what I believe constitutes good leadership.

One subject that has had my attention for some time, albeit belatedly in the context of the past year, is the concept of loyalty. Perhaps most famously in this presidency we have had the public specter of Donald Trump allegedly demanding/expecting loyalty of then FBI director James Comey.  The issue continues to wend its way through due process, caught up in the Russia probe, and a host of other tweets and crises since first being reported.

Donald Trump, however, is not unique in the realm of "leaders" demanding loyalty from their subordinates.  I have been subjected to two powerful examples that mirror similar demands of "loyalty" from past leaders.  In one circumstance, my "leader" went so far as to demand a written/signed commitment of loyalty.  Some followers acquiesced.  Others did not.  Those that didn't inevitably found themselves isolated or "reintroduced to the marketplace".  I made a decision at that time to move on to greener pastures. I did, however, utilize this experience to positive benefit, being able to demonstrate, in contrary fashion, to my new team how I was not going to lead.  The prospect of looking for a written oath of loyalty astounded them.  That being said I'm sure many of them would have signed on to such a declaration if I had presented it.  They didn't know who I was and what values I worked by.  The power differential between them and I, and the desire for job security, likely would have made them swallow hard and sign.

A demand for loyalty doesn't have to come about in so blatant a fashion.  A second circumstance I experienced was as a consequence of being part of a 360 evaluation for one of my other "leaders".  There were at least seven of us subordinates at the senior executive table and we were asked to respond to a Board-managed, anonymous, evaluation process for our boss.  A pretty standard process.  As events would prove out, my senior executive colleagues and I operated from a similar belief system - namely that no one is perfect, no one warrants perfect scores, and there is always room for improvement.  Our CEO's actions upon receiving the results proved that they were operating from a different set of parameters and expectations.  Immediately upon receiving the evaluation results we were collectively subjected to one of the most resounding tongue lashings we had ever been on the receiving end of in recent memory.  The message was clear - similar responses and perspectives into the future, shared with the Board, would be met with swift, significant and unpleasant consequences on our part.  Our loyalty to the CEO was never to be in question again.  The evaluation process for the CEO was substantially altered thereafter - to chilling and inauthentic effect in future years.

In both circumstances - and for Donald Trump - the demand and push for loyalty ultimately engendered nothing of the sort.  While I can appreciate the expectation and desire for loyalty, demanding it and utilizing various forms of coercion (positive or negative) does not beget true loyalty, commitment or engagement.  At best they establish deference and compliance.  Or a "partnership" with one's leader that is more akin to a deal with the devil. How far can this leader advance my personal agenda?  At worst this power play, this coercive approach starts to foster group think - don't challenge the leaders perspective or facts.  You do so at your personal peril.  Best efforts are diminished and huge amounts of potential that could have come from fostering and leveraging the strength and diversity of a team are lost.

What's also clear, I hope, from these examples is that each of these leaders was not looking for loyalty or commitment to a bigger and broader cause.  They were looking for personal loyalty.  Again nothing wrong in hoping and working towards such a goal.  Great rewards can come from that type of relationship.  However, I'm suggesting that this kind of commitment only comes from a much deeper and more trusting relationship, based on common understanding and similarity of values, which also, more than likely arises from shared experience, where values and congruency with actions can be evaluated in both good and challenging times.

True loyalty is ultimately EARNED by the leader, not given or received via coercion.  The former approach results in lasting commitment and powerful opportunity.  The latter approach conjures up a mirage that is only visible to the leader demanding it.

Act with integrity, demonstrate a commitment to values that transcend personal gain, hold true to your commitments, speak and act in service of the truth, treat others fairly, and above all treat others with as much or more respect as you would expect or hope to be given to you.  I'm suggesting that this is a more constructive, rewarding and lasting path to creating the kind of loyalty you might crave as a leader.  Be an authentic leader and loyalty may be yours.  Play the role of tyrant and keep watch over your shoulder for displays of disloyalty.

The choice is yours.  It's all about leadership.
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
Executive Coach/Consultant
BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions
780-250-2543

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.

On Being Flexible - On Being Human

In my last blog post, I set the stage for undertaking a personal challenge and equating it to how one could approach any number of leadership challenges.  The conclusion and update to that post reads something along the lines of we came, we ran, we finished.  The direction that this journey took, however, reads nothing like what the plan envisioned.  Aside from the typical things that might have expected to confound a race of this nature (e.g., cold weather, thousands of people, falls, cuts and bruises) the journey to and through the Dopey Challenge also reinforced the critical importance of knowing one's values/priorities and being flexible in the face of radically changing circumstances.

Our adjusted adventure began early on our flight from Toronto to Orlando.  Within the first half hour a medical emergency was announced through the frantic calls of the wife of a stricken passenger.  My wife, aside from being an executive coach/consultant, jumped into care mode as the registered nurse she remains.  Working in partnership with a couple of other nurses and fellow passengers she proceeded to work under less than ideal circumstances to support and maintain the distressed male passenger.  This went on for at least 2 hours.  I had a similar opportunity to take care of and entertain the 5-year old daughter of the couple.  Other passengers were also at pains to try to help support wife and daughter through this stressful event.  We quickly learned that the family of three was on their way to enjoy a week in Disney World.  Quite the start to a relaxing and entertaining vacation!

Upon arriving in Orlando, my wife engaged with emergency medical personnel on the ground to provide information to facilitate handover and offer further assistance to the wife and daughter in getting to the hospital or in providing other support as required.  What was interesting to me at this time was how the conclusion of the flight had changed the dynamic of support we had seen on the plane.  Of the myriad of people who had been around the stricken passenger precious few seemed prepared to extend their efforts and compassion beyond the arrivals lounge.  To my cynical and jaded eyes it appeared that not many were prepared to sacrifice their vacations for a stranger they had just met no matter how compelling the story.

We made an effort to remain in touch with the family in the next 24 hours.  We had made plans to visit various theme parks at times in and around our races and offered to act as guide and chaperone to the 5-year old girl.  Having young children of our own we felt comfortable in believing that we would have been in our element.  The offer was acknowledged but not taken up immediately.  No surprise - we were after all relative strangers to the family and updates indicated that the father might be discharged form hospital within a couple of days.

Within less than 48 hours of our arrival things would take a turn for the worse.  We had completed our 5k run early on Thursday and had been visiting Universal Studios when we got a text around midday asking if we could in fact take care of the 5-year old daughter.  The father had been admitted to ICU and was struggling.  We didn't hesitate and for the rest of the day proceeded to entertain, as best we could, our new found charge.  We were overwhelmed by the courtesy, manners, lightness of spirit and overall capacity emanating from this beautiful little girl.  In a very short period of time she won over our hearts.  At this time we also started to have serious discussions about whether we would shelve the rest of our races to support the family as they dealt with their unexpected challenge.  Our conclusion - despite months of training and anticipation - was yes.  Our values suggested a rewrite of our priorities.  However, as the day progressed, we learned that other family support was arriving and we could expect to relinquish our "parental" duties sometime in the evening.

Upon arrival at our place we learned from family members that the father had in fact died.  We now had to say goodbye to our new found little friend, trying to hold our emotions in check, knowing that in a few short minutes she would be seeing her mother and learn the devastating news. The experience was more than surreal.  Later that night, and in the days to come, both my wife and myself found ourselves breaking down in tears, truly unable to come to terms with what had transpired.

For the next few days we probably operated in autopilot mode.  We ran our races, followed our routine as best we could, but found ourselves truly unfocused and off our centre.  As we read Facebook posts from friends and family of the deceased we found ourselves lamenting this loss even more.  He seemed to have cut a wide and positive swath in the lives of others despite his relatively young age of 42. His interests spanned many genres covering off my own love of astronomy.  He was a musician.  Some called him a renaissance man.

Why this long convoluted story and what does any of this have to do with leadership?  First, I believe this is a story that has to be hold if only to honor the memory of a fellow human being that has passed.  Second to acknowledge the profound impact that comes to any of us from opening up our hearts and homes in the service of others.  My lost fellow traveler clearly had impact on those around him.  In many respects he acted as a role model, cheerleader and, yes, as a leader.  You can see it in the variety of messages that have come since his passing.

I've always been an advocate for and lived a lot of my life focused on goals and developing plans.  However, experience has also taught me the power of being flexible within the context of my values.  Our values were put to the test and clarified through this experience.  The months of effort, preparation and cost would have been cast aside in an instance - and in some ways were - in order to be of service to others.  However, it was also these values, and the ability to respond in the circumstances, that opened us up to the gift that we received from being with a 5-year old girl and her mother we had only met and hardly got to know.  They helped reinforce and further develop the power and value of compassion and vulnerability.

Words truly seem inadequate to convey this story and the feelings we have gone through, much less those of family and friends much more intimately and directly impacted.  In leadership lessons, I come back to making sure you know your personal values, assess your actions in a conscious way against those values, and remain flexible to circumstances as you pursue your goals within the context of your values.

Be prepared to be flexible, compassionate and even vulnerable.  I have seen and felt again the power of being in service to others, appreciate the impact on them, but even more so appreciating the impact on me and who I can yet become.

I continue to lament for the friend I never got to make and keep a wife and daughter in my thoughts and prayers.

Sometimes its not just about leadership.  Sometimes its just about being human.
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
Executive Coach/Consultant
BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions
780-250-2543

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.

Expectations, Goals, Preparation and Reset

A year ago, my wife and I attempted to complete the Dopey Challenge at Disney World in Orlando Florida.  For those unfamiliar with the Dopey Challenge it amounts to a 5k, 10k, half-marathon and marathon held on successive days through various Disney theme parks.  Last year our potential best efforts were thwarted with the strong intervention of Mother Nature that resulted in the cancellation of the half-marathon on the Saturday.  As I sit here at Pearson International Airport in Toronto we look to be similarly challenged by weather in Florida with several days projected to start with near freezing temperatures.  Florida and Mother Nature seem bound and determined to challenge us again!

The circumstances we are likely to face present both a physical and mental challenge to our goals for the races.  Even leading up to the race event I would say that I feel less prepared for racing the distances than I did last year through a combination of illness in November, general life busyness, and the closer proximity of Christmas (and Ukrainian home cooking) to the races than was the case last year. 

I would suggest that the experience of goal setting, preparation, expectations and beliefs is quite similar to anything else I could compare it to in my business and leadership world.  I suspect that very many of you will relate to the similar experiences.  In my personal experience - both as entrepreneur and as an executive coach - there are usually no shortage of expectations.  What I have come to appreciate from the breadth of my experiences is that success in meeting or exceeding those expectations comes from more than just declaring a dream or vision.  A number of supporting elements must be in place to deliver on one's own expectations.

First, expectations are important.  Even more important, however, is the quality and specificity of those expectations.  One of the most powerful tactics that I believe I have employed with myself and for my clients is to drive specificity, detail, targets and timelines in respect of this future state of affairs.  In addition, I have tried to establish a multi-year perspective on where I would like to be along with an annual set of goals that become even more specific and detailed.  This "visioning" exercise and template is updated at least annually and assessed for progress on at least a monthly basis.  I use the same tool - as warranted - with my clients.  Without exception, they have all indicated that this has been one of the most powerful tools in our work together. The key here is that none of us lack for dreams and expectations.  What we too often lack is a level of detail that helps to hold us accountable to a specific set of actions and milestones. 

Second - dreams, visions and accountability are all for nought if we are not prepared to take substantive preparation and action towards those stated goals.  Again, it is absolutely not enough to declare a positive personal, leadership or organizational vision for the future without being prepared to put in the preparation, work and effort to succeed or to even have a chance at success.  So within the context of the Dopey Challenge, the goals for finishing time for each race has been set and has then driven a training regimen that positions me for the opportunity of achieving my goals.  As an aside, I also get a lot of value in comparing notes with other athletes, coaches and leaders on their goals - benchmarking if you will.  Each of us must often seek some means to challenge our own limiting beliefs and assumptions about what is possible.  So, I believe - both in business and athletics - that despite a perceived late start in both streams that I have the ability to continue to set personal bests. 

Third, as last year's weather for the Dopey proved out and this year's weather threatens to provide a repeat performance, the best laid plans never proceed as developed.  So aside from all of the preparation and effort that must go into any endeavor we must develop the mental fortitude and strength of commitment to our targeted goals.  Accountability to self and to others comes from an ability to respond to adversity - both anticipated and completely unanticipated - to continue along a path that allows us to continue to succeed rather than give up at the first sign of difficulty.  This is not simply a "rose-coloured glasses" mentality at work. It's not blind optimism.  However, it is surely beyond a woe is me/victim mentality as well.  I recognize that there are some events that can be so dramatic as to be beyond our control in pursuit of our goals (e.g., complete cancellation of a race).  This is where power, strength and detail of goals, expectations and visions becomes critically important.  If the vision is powerful enough I am convinced we will find a way forward even if that means changing tactics and timing to get there.  We remain committed to success despite setbacks.

Finally, there are definitely going to be times when we fall short in terms of our commitment and effort, where we don't follow through in terms of stated strategies or tactics.  As I have often said, this becomes the time to use our plan as a tool to reevaluate - not punish.  In my estimation the former approach leads to an opportunity to reset and recommit (e.g., change race strategy, change business strategy) to a preferred set of goals.  The latter approach of chastisement too often leads to despair, victimization and demotivation (e.g., I'm not hitting my race times in practice so I eat a bag of chips to console myself).

And remember - every year, the vision can get updated, new goals set, new improvement targets set.  After this week's Dopey Challenge I move on to preparing for the Berlin Marathon in September 2018.  After the end of this fiscal year in my business, I reset the goals and strategies to pursue the next level of performance.  The power of expectations, goals, committed preparation and constant evaluation lead to greater levels of possibility. 

What can you say about your expectations and commitment?  What is possible for you.  As Henry Ford is purported to have said, whether you believe you can or believe you can't you are right. 

On that note, I've recently updated my personal plan to support my next level of professional development and getting back on the track to improve my performance for the 2018 Berlin Marathon.

It's all about leadership and in this case its leadership for and about yourself.  The pot of gold awaits those prepared to truly set the goals, make the effort and recommit through challenges.










______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
Executive Coach/Consultant
BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions
780-250-2543

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.