Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

Being a Slow Learner…

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roadblock

Here’s that lesson again, even though it’s one I’ve encountered before (described here and here).

On Saturday, we headed to New Orleans from Baton Rouge only to hit a roadblock preventing us from getting to I-10 at the Acadian on-ramp. Road closures were all around due to frozen precip from Winter Storm Kronos. Took awhile, but we made it onto the interstate at College Drive. My initial reaction was grrrr, this has really slowed us down.

But when we reached the Hwy 641 exit, where warnings had said that the interstate was blocked and that traffic was being diverted to keep people off the bridge, guys were removing the cones and barricades. If we had been a few minutes earlier we would have been forced to detour and likely stuck in traffic. However, the interstate had just opened up and it was smooth sailing into the Big Easy.

Seeing that initial roadblock turn into a gift was just what I needed.

Plus, we had a great time with our neighbors and their family from Australia. New Orleans does not disappoint.

Your thoughts?

Being Gotten

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JamesGandolfiniIt’s hard to believe James Gandolfini is gone – especially after seeing Enough Said over the weekend in which he starred along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. This movie is about how important it is that someone ‘gets’ you and how rare that is for many. Seems as we age, it’s harder and harder to feel really understood.

Brene Brown might say that’s because we lack the courage to be vulnerable and to be seen. If you aren’t familiar with her amazing work, check out her TED talks or her books.

I think employees want someone to get them as well. And in most cases, it’s the supervisor or manager who needs to do the getting. What does it take for a manager to get an employee?

Listening is a great first step. Really taking the time to see the employee is important too. Understanding why the person is in the job and what they are trying to accomplish is another part. Learning what motivates a worker, what is important to them, and what their career goals are also helps a manager get someone.

It may not be possible to completely get an employee, given the constraints of the work environment. But people know the difference between a company that cares who they are and one that doesn’t.

All of us get that.

Here’s hoping James Gandolfini will be recognized by the Academy for this performance.

Leadership Kaleidoscope

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kaleidoscopeThe other day we tried a nearby restaurant that recently opened. The manager greeted us when we entered and then he walked to the back and chewed out the waitress in plain sight. We stood there embarrassed, trying to figure out if we needed to be seated or order at the register. The waitress ran right past me with big tears in her eyes. Later, after we sat down, I heard the manager in the kitchen yelling “I’m not being mean; I’m a good teacher and coach! Nobody wants direction anymore”. I wrote it on a napkin so I wouldn’t forget his exact words.

The Ohio State Leadership Studies of the 1950s identified two main factors or leadership behaviors – initiating structure and consideration. This restaurant incident is an example of initiating structure – a manager defining actions and how tasks should be accomplished. Consideration refers to interpersonal and relationship behaviors such as being friendly, approachable, treating others as equals, and showing concern for people’s welfare. It was not demonstrated.

In terms of emotional intelligence, one of the most popular leadership concepts today, this manager seems low in social skills (i.e., managing relationships to achieve desired outcomes) as well as empathy (i.e., understanding other’s feelings). These are two of the five original dimensions of EQ identified by Daniel Goleman.

A long history of leadership research exists. I see the various theories, models and frameworks building on each other, providing different perspectives, and serving as mirror pieces in the kaleidoscope for analyzing it. The value is that defining the behavior is a good first step to improving the behavior. It is handy to know a variety of ways to conceptualize leadership because situations differ and one size does not fit all.

Would love to hear your thoughts on leadership and its development.

Mindset

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human brainEvery now and then someone says to me “you are just so smart you can do anything” which really irks me. I know it is meant as a compliment but the logic of the statement seems to discount all the hard work I’ve done as well as the reality of failure which has happened before and will certainly happen again.

For a long time, I could not articulate why this bugged me so but the work of Carol Dweck and the idea of mindset provides the framework I’ve needed to explain it. Dweck is a researcher at Stanford and based on twenty plus years of research has identified two distinct mindsets – fixed and growth. For a good overview of the concept, listen to an interview with Carol Dweck here.

From her website:

  • People with a fixed mindset believe basic qualities, like intelligence and talent, are fixed traits. They spend time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. In addition they think talent alone creates success—without effort.
  • People with a growth mindset believe that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work and that brains and talent are just the starting point. They also love learning and possess the resilience necessary to accomplish great things.

Someone who says “you are so smart, you can do anything” likely has a fixed mindset and attributes success to a fixed trait. They believe people have it or they don’t. People with a growth mindset believe talent can be developed, know they can improve, learn from mistakes, and almost get a buzz from the challenge.

I’ve been thinking a lot about mindset because last week I participated in New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. The crowd was a great mix – old, young, black, white, Asian, Hispanic and pretty much every other facet of diversity out there. I talked to artists and fashion designers and musicians as well as attorneys and MBAs and yes, even academics! A VERY diverse group indeed. Monday’s keynote speaker, Walter Isaacson, traced the history of entrepreneurship in NOLA and eloquently pointed out its relationship to diversity and creativity.

NOEW brought many diverse types together but we were all connected by a common mindset – a growth mindset. People were there to learn, develop, and connect. Some had failed before, many knew failure was a distinct possibility, but everyone was on fire about their idea. It was great to be part of such a gathering.

One final thought – mindset can change. Someone with a fixed mindset when young can absolutely develop a growth mindset later in life.

Would love to hear what you think about mindset.