Wednesday, January 27, 2021

A Recovery Period Means A Recovery Period

During recent executive coaching sessions, I have noticed that more and more leaders are feeling hopeful about the future. They sense that we will sooner rather later enter into a productive recovery period where more normal business operations can take place. They are eager to get back to normal and to return to a time period where every day is not a mix of emergencies and adaptation. 


As their executive coach, I have to remind them that a recovery period means an actual recovery period. It is not a binary state of feeling like things are crazy one day and then the next day we are fully recovered. Instead, it is a gradual transition from being in a difficult global pandemic into no longer being in a difficult global pandemic. More likely, we will be feeling the impact of COVID-19 for many years even after the majority of the world’s population has been vaccinated.


Therefore, I have advised quite a few leaders to think carefully about the future and to remember that a normal recovery can take between three to five years in length. Thus, while they might like to create a new five year strategic plan in 2021, it probably would be best to create another one year to eighteen month bridge plan because we just don’t know what we don’t know at this time period. We can clarify our strategic intent or direction, but honestly we can not expect everything to be peaches and cream immediately after we hit the point when 75% - 80% of the US population is vaccinated. 


Being nimble, flexible and agile during the next two years is a competitive advantage. This means we move forward cautiously. With disciplined vigilance and by staying attuned to threats and changes within our industry, our society and the lives of those who we serve, we can channel our worries and fears into preparing for multiple contingencies and maintain large margins to assure a safe pathway through a possible, prolonged recovery.


As my late father always said, “Be prepared; the future is unpredictable.” And given what we have lived through in the last year, we know this is true. From now and into the spring, be disciplined and be hopeful. Create realistic plans and execute them in a thoughtful manner. We can not predict the future but we can prepare for it nonetheless.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Why Invest In Leadership Training During A Global Pandemic? - Part #4

Years ago, David Dell, research director of The Conference Board's Capabilities Management and Human Resources Strategies area, wrote:


”The challenge to employers is to not only make potential employees aware of the company as a good place to work and bring the best applicants successfully through the recruitment and hiring process, but also to retain them and ensure their understanding of the company's goals and commitment to them." 


For me, this is a critical place where leadership can play a significant part. The recruitment and the retention of employees revolves first and foremost around who people work with and who they report to over time. As the Gaullup organization has pointed out numerous times, people join companies and quit their team, their boss, or both.


Our challenge when we look at the road ahead during a post pandemic time period is to retain our best people, help our struggling people get better, and recruit the best new people. To do that we need people in leadership positions who can create highly effective teams and excellent collaboration between teams. We also need these same leaders to help employees feel fulfilled in the work they are doing, make regular progress on their goals, and know that their job matters. In short, employees want a leader who respectfully manages them as people, not merely workers.


If you wanting this to happen more often within your organization, then now is the time to sign people up to participate in the 2021 From Vision to Action Leadership Training. For more information about the dates, location, price and how to register for this unique learning experience, please click on the following link:


https://chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2021


Better leaders create better teamwork and collaboration. They also create better work places. And that is going to make a major difference during the next 3-5 years.


I look forward to hearing from you.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, January 25, 2021

How do we help our people connect with the path forward when the path forward is not clear? - part #1

The big question as we end the first month of 2021 is the following: How do we help our people connect with the path forward when the path forward is not clear? The key word in the question is “connect”. The dictionary defines this word as the ability “to establish a relationship” and “to create an understanding.” I think the combination of the two is critical to answering this question.


As leaders, we want our people to feel connected to our strategy, strategic intent and the strategic direction of the company. We also want them to feel connected to our 2021operational goals, operational priorities and the idea of operational excellence. Finally, we want them to feel connected to their supervisor, their team, their department and the company as a whole. This is a lot of relationships and a lot of understanding when we look at it holistically. What we have to understand as leaders is that clarity, connection and communication create commitment. It is all interconnected. And to make all those connections, we must engage in bridge building activities.


The concept of bridge building first showed up in the book by Herminia Ibarra called Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader (Harvard Business Review Press, 2015). Ibarra defines two roles for leaders, namely being a hub or a bridge/bridge builder. She defines a hub leader as one who sets goals for the team, assign roles to their people and assign tasks. They also monitor progress toward goals, manage team member performance and conduct performance evaluations. Finally, they hold meetings to coordinate work and to create a good climate inside the team.


A bridge leader aligns team goals with organizational priorities, funnels critical information and resources into the team to ensure progress toward goals, and gets the support of key allies outside the team. They also enhance the external visibility and reputation of the team, and give recognition for good performances and place team members in great next assignments


For us to act like leaders, we will have to devote much more of our time to building bridges between diverse people and groups. The first step to doing this is to not exhibit or tolerate silo based team behaviors or hunkering down, i.e. only thinking of me behaviors. As we do this, we as leaders need to not get caught in a narcissistic pattern of relationship formation, namely to prefer interacting only with people who are similar to ourselves and who think like us. 


One way to successfully achieve the above is to go to the places where the mission is alive and well, and go to the places where it is not. In both locations, we must listen carefully to both groups of people and learn what motivates and de-motivates people. I suspect we will discover in this bridge building action that the former feels like they are making progress, and the latter feels like no one cares about what they are doing. Thus, their definition of success is maintaining a past definition and model of success.


Second, we need to envision new possibilities. Currently, we are in an on-going adaptive period which could last another 12 - 18 months. During such periods, these adaptive challenges requires new perspectives, expertise and solutions. Most of the time defining the problem may require learning and it will call into question fundamental assumptions and beliefs. To build a bridge during an adaptive period, we have to recognize that it will only happen when new ways of thinking are created which include a change in people’s priorities, beliefs, habits and loyalties.


As we do this level of work, let us remember one small, but very important point shared by Ron Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky in their excellent book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World (Harvard Business Press, 2009). As they write,“... the common factor for generating adaptive failure is resistance to loss…. A key to leadership, then, is the diagnostic capacity to find out the kinds of losses at stake in a changing situation from life and loved ones to jobs, wealth, status, relevance, community, loyalty, identity and competence.” We need to remember that every new beginning in an adaptive period starts with an ending.


One way to build bridges is to get together with people via a digital platform or a socially distanced conference room set up and discuss the following question: “If we had the kind of culture we aspired to, in pursuit of the strategy we have chosen, what kind of new behaviors would be common? And what ingrained behaviors would be gone?” This excellent question comes from the following article: Katzenbach, Jon R. and, Ilona Steffen and Caroline Kronley,“Cultural Change That Sticks,” Harvard Business Review, July-August 2012. The question starts with cultural change and yields possibilities in changing systems, structure, and desired new, better or different outcomes in customer service and/or product creation and delivery.


This week, start building and maintaining bridges within your organization. It will help people connect with the path forward.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Spring 2021 Roundtable

With more cold weather coming to the midwest this week, it is time for all of us to turn our attention to April 7 - 8 for the Spring 2021 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.


Given the vaccine will not have been widely distributed by these dates and we will not have reach the required herd immunity, this year’s Spring Roundtable will be held on the Zoom platform.


Here is the agenda for your review:


Wednesday, April 7, 2021


8:45 am - Enter Zoom and get settled in


9:00 am - 10:15 am - How do we create a more resilient organization during this transition from a global pandemic to a post pandemic world?


10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break


10:30 am - 12:00 pm - How do we generate successful teamwork during this transition?


12:00 pm - 1:00 pm - Lunch and Networking 


1:00 pm - 2:15 pm - How do we deal with resistance to change during this transition?


2:15 pm - 2:30 pm - Break


2:30 pm - 4:00 pm - How do leaders communicate effectively during this transition?


4:00 pm - Adjourn



Thursday, April 8, 2021


8:45 am - Enter Zoom and get settled in


9:00 am - 10:15 am - The Road Is Not The Journey


10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 


10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application


12:00 pm - Adjourn



The price for the full Roundtable is $ 295.00.


The price for the one day Roundtable attendance is $ 200.00.


Here is the link to the registration form:


https://chartyourpath.com/VTA-RT-Details.html


I hope you will reserve April 7 - 8 on your calendar, and e-mail me today about whether or not you and your team are coming. 


Then, when the first crocus and daffodils are just starting to bloom, all we will need to do is tune into Zoom and experience together the Spring 2021 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.


In the meantime, stay strong and stay healthy. We are going to make it through this global pandemic.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Better Delegation Will Create Better Results

Right now, there is light at the end of this global pandemic tunnel. More and more people are getting vaccinated. Leadership teams are starting to think this could be the beginning of the end. They are hopeful for the first time in quite a while. Still, they are being conservative in the amount of risk they want to take on. They want to be certain that the worst days are behind us.


During recent executive coaching sessions, many leaders are asking me what they should be focused on during the next three months. And my answer has been direct and definitive: better delegation.


There is only so much a leader, manager or supervisor can do each day. With limited time and multiple problems before them, the common choice is to either work all day and all night, or to delegate certain issues and problems to others to solve. The difficulty for all involved is that most people in leadership and management positions are not very good at delegation. They did not have a class or a coach to help them with this subject.


When I teach people to delegate, I remind them that the dictionary definition of delegation is “the transferring of authority and responsibility from one person to another in order to carry out a specific activity.” The challenge is the person receiving the “authority and responsibility” may not have the capacity to do what is expected of them. Therefore, I suggest the person delegating “a specific activity” start by asking the following important questions.


First, do you understand the problem? Remember: awareness is not understanding.


Second, do you know what I want done? If the answer is not concise and specific, e.g. 35 words or less, then there will be problems during execution.


Third, do you have the authority to do it successfully? Commitment without understanding is a problem. Responsibility without choice is also a problem.


Fourth, do you know how to do it? Having the right knowledge and skills will make a difference.


Fifth, do you know how to measure progress and/or success? Being able to gauge progress builds confidence and better outcomes.


Sixth, do you know what difference it will make when the specific, delegated activity is done correctly? Knowing how our work will impact others makes us feel needed and reminds us that our work matters.


The road ahead will continue to be difficult. Yet, through improved delegation, we can create better results for all involved. This is the week to start asking the above questions if we truly want to create a better future for all of us.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Why Invest In Leadership Training During A Global Pandemic? - Part #3

Years ago, Kevin Wilde, former Chief Learning Officer for General Mills, wrote, “Ultimately, leadership development has to integrate the depth of inner self-awareness with the breath and complexity of external marketplace and cultural dynamics. Enduring leadership development brings together both of these inner and outer realities.”


As one who has been teaching leadership for nearly 35 years, the inner reality of leadership begins with self-awareness about the choices we need to make on a daily basis. It also begins with the capacity to think strategically and execute well operationally. The union of these two inner and outer realities takes time and in-depth learning. It does not happen in a single day workshop.


I am often asked why the From Vision to Action Leadership Training is four parts, each 2.5 days long, and spread out over four quarters. And I explain that the kind of in-depth learning people are doing in this class needs to be followed by a period of reflection, practice and continued reading. I am not just providing vast quantities of material. Instead, I am creating a learning journey which gives people the awareness and understanding of how to lead, how to think strategically, and how to translate that strategy into effective outcomes while understanding what is normal in the midst of it’s execution.


If you or some of your key people are in need of an in-depth, interactive and productively challenging learning journey which will help you become a better leader, then I encourage you to sign up for the 2021 From Vision to Action Leadership Training. 


For more information about the dates, location, price and how to register for this 2021 training, please click on the following link:


https://chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2021


The current external marketplace may be volatile, but with the right people in leadership positions within your organization, you will have the capacity to make the right choices no matter what happens.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, January 18, 2021

Exploring Prolonged Uncertainty

Recently, the subject of coping with prolonged uncertainty has surfaced during numerous executive coaching sessions. Traditionally, uncertainty is defined by a period of unpredictability or risk and is highly influenced by depth and time. Currently. we are experiencing both as we move through this first month of 2021.


However, given the concept of uncertainty is so big, we need to break it down into three workable distinctions. The first is market uncertainty which reflects what is happening within the market. This is sometimes called demand uncertainty. The question here is the following: are we still offering the right goods and services which meet the changing needs of our customers? On a side bar and related issue, leaders are also questioning whether or not our information sources about what is happening within the market are still the right ones to be paying attention to at this time period.


The second is capacity uncertainty which reflects what is happening within the company. Here the critical question is the following: do our internal operations have the capacity to meet the changing needs of the market and the customers and still be competitive at the same time? At this point, we need to think about organizational capabilities, i.e. the collective ability of the firm. The key questions related to capacity uncertainty are two fold: What does success look like when the market dynamics are continually shifting due to COVID? Do our historic, analog metrics around individual and group performance capture the shift to digital platforms?


The third is leadership uncertainty which reflects whether or not people in leadership positions have the correct mindset and individual competencies to deal with market uncertainty and capacity uncertainty. In simple terms, the question here is the following: do we have people in leadership positions who have the capacity to plan and the capacity to execute that plan given the degree of uncertainty in the market and the organization’s capacity?


Our typical response to uncertainty is to go into self-protection mode. We focus on our worst fears and insecurities. Brene Brown in her excellent book, Braving The Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone (Random House, 2017) defines these fears as the following: “Fear of vulnerability. Fear of getting hurt. Fear of the pain of disconnection. Fear of criticism and failure. Fear of conflict. Fear of not measuring up.” 


The natural outcome of these fears is to silo up within an organization. It is normal for people to want to protect a division, department or team from chaos, disequilibrium or the loss of resources. We also hunker down and focus on protecting ourself. This translates into focusing on getting our work done and keeping off of everyone’s radar screen.


However, from a leadership perspective, the desired response to uncertainty is greater horizontal collaboration within the company. We recognize that creating and maintaining partnerships and collaboration is mission critical to resilience. 


To make that happen, the first step is to build clarity and to build understanding. What we have to recognize as leaders is that more and more people have lost a sense of clarity. From my perspective, they are clear about the following: why the organization exists, which behavioral values are fundamental, what specific business it is in, who its competitors are, and how the company is unique. 


What they are not clear about is the following: what is the plan? And who is responsible for what? This is a loss of strategic clarity that is playing out in operational choices. The outcome of not being clear with these two questions is that more people feel overwhelmed and the organization feels like it is drifting. Therefore, the natural outcome is that more and more people are asking the question: Why are we doing what we are doing?


When I step back and look at this issue and the current reality emerging in 2021, I have one big insight, namely the amount of time and energy needed to create clarity about strategy within a company is an order of magnitude greater than the time and energy it takes to create strategy. 


This week, unpack the concept of uncertainty with your team and then focus on making sure everyone on your team knows what is the strategic plan for the next three years and the related 2021 operational plan. Next, make sure to clarify what part they are responsible for during the next 12 months. Creating clarity is the daily work of leaders and it does not happen in a day. 


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Running Hard And Getting No Where

Right now, we are running hard and fast just to keep up with the endless problems, issues and challenges that are surfacing around us. On one hand, we are stunned by current events and choices. On the other hand, we barely have enough time to notice because we are just trying to manage the daily onslaught of difficulties within our own circles of influence and concern.


In the midst of all this craziness, we forget that we entered this global pandemic last March challenged and worn, if not exhausted. And if we are honest with ourselves and others, we will exit this global pandemic more exhausted and more challenged than when we entered it.


When leaders recognize that we are caught between what was and what will be, they have to recognize that individual and organizational anxiety will continue to rise. People will naturally become more self-protective. They will focus on coping more than being creative. Old, pre-COVID problems will show up again at the personal, team and system levels. And if that was not enough, it is common for people to send mixed signals, and to become more polarized. 


Remembering that pandemic fatigue, grief and loss are real, leaders can make three important choices to help all involved more through these difficult and challenging days. First, the creation of temporary systems to handle problems is a viable option when too many unknown variables are in play. This choice will lower the pressure on creating the perfect solution or system. Second, it is important to focus on creating stronger intra group connections. Teamwork was critical to success before and during this global pandemic. It will also be very important as we enter the first stages of a post global pandemic time period. Therefore, help your key teams to stay healthy and supportive as they move though their challenges. Finally, recognize that listening in a respectful manner is a powerful choice. When people feel like their supervisor hears them and understands their challenges, they will respond differently than if they feel like they are being judged or criticized.


As we look toward the future, let us remember how far we have come. We are, we can, and we will make it through these difficult days. Important choices now will create better times in the future.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Why Invest In Leadership Training During A Global Pandemic? - Part #2

During recent executive coaching sessions, I have been asked to describe three characteristics of the organizations who have been doing well in the midst of this global pandemic. And over and over, I return to the same three factors which are very important whether or not you are moving through a global pandemic.


First, referencing the work of Patrick Lencioni, build and maintain a cohesive leadership team. When you create a small group of people who choose to focus on collective goals over personal ambitions, you create the capacity to be resilient in the face of technical problems and adaptive challenges.


Second, when you utilize common language and build a shared mindset throughout the organization, you improve the capacity for individuals and teams to become nimble, agile, and flexible. These three things are going to be very important things during the next 2-3 years.


Third, these same companies sustain operational excellence through effective supervision, regular coaching and weekly check-ins. These three elements help leaders create and maintain focus, clarity and overall cultural health.


If, upon reflection, you want your key people to do the above three things better, then now is the time to sign them up for the 2021 From Vision to Action Leadership Training, an in-depth and interactive learning experience.


For more information about the dates, location, price and how to register for this 2021 training, please click on the following link:


https://chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2021


As Arnold H. Glasow  wrote many years ago, “The problem with the future is that it usually arrives before we’re ready for it.” Therefore, now is the best to create people who are ready, willing and able to meet today’s problems and tomorrow’s challenges. 


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, January 11, 2021

Watch Out For Hinge Assumptions

It does not happen often, but sometimes during strategic planning, I have to interrupt the group and point out that they just made a hinge assumption. When people give me a perplexed look in response to this statement, I have to explain in greater detail. 


Every day, we walk through doorways. In the process, we push open a door or close a door. We do not think about it. It is an unconscious act.


Yet every door opens or closes based on whether or not the hinge pin is in correct alignment with the door. The door can be a work of art or just something bought at a big box store. What ever the case, the door is useless if the hinge that connects it to the frame is not functional. In short, we assume that all doors have functional hinges.


In the world of strategic planning and in the translation of these plans into day-to-day operations, we often make hinge assumptions that may or may not work. For example, this past summer school districts across the country created plans to implement a hybrid model of teaching. Schools broke students into smaller groups and had them attend classes on different days. The goal was to reduce exposure and prevent community spread of COVID-19. If a student group got exposed, then the teacher and those particular students would quarantine for a set number of days before returning to the hybrid model. 


The hinge assumption within this particular plan was that there would be adequate number of substitute teachers within a school district to work within this model. The reality was quite different. And many school districts had to abandon the hybrid model for all on-line education. The model was a good model, but the hinge assumption made it dysfunctional as more and more teachers and ultimately substitute teachers had to quarantine.


In the world of hospitals and healthcare, they also ran into a similar problem. They went with a plan that if nurses and doctors got exposed to COVID due to a variety of problems with PPE, etc., they also would quarantine for a set period of time before returning to work. Their assumption was that open spots in their schedules could be filled by other doctors within their facility and traveling nurses, i.e. RNs who travel from hospital to hospital and work for short periods of time. The hinge assumption was that there would always be an ample number of traveling nurses to meet their needs. In reality, nurses and then traveling nurses got COVID (mostly through community spread rather than work spread) and they had to quarantine due to this exposure. This created major operational problems within healthcare that are still a problem today.


As we move further and further into 2021, I encourage all of you to sit down with your team and your 2021 strategic plans and ask the uncomfortable but important question: Have we made any hinge assumptions? If so, then now is the time to make some changes before you encounter serious problems.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Now Is The Time To Prepare For A Post Pandemic World

Quietly, many leaders are starting to think about what to do as they and their companies enter into a post pandemic time period. During recent executive coaching sessions on this subject, I have pointed out two key concepts as they explore this possibility.


First, there is a major difference between strategic time and operational time within a company. The former focuses on anything from 18 months in the future to three or more years down the road. The later focuses on this day, this week, this month or maybe at most this quarter. 


What many leaders forget about the post pandemic period is that the capacity to plan has to be matched with the capacity to execute the plan. While there is great eagerness to get back to growing the business and serving more people plus making more money, we have to remember that executing too much change or setting too high exceptions related to individual or team performance post a major disruptive event like a global pandemic will only create more and new problems that result in a loss of confidence at the individual, team and company levels. The key at the operational and strategic levels of the company is to create a series of planned short term wins so all involved feel like they are making progress rather than just moving along a pathway to continued personal and professional exhaustion and burnout.


Second, once everyone who wants to get vaccinated is vaccinated, it does not mean we are back to doing business as usual. This global pandemic has changed so many business operating models. Furthermore, customers have learned new ways to interact with the company. Some of these new ways they like and others they have learned to tolerate. Same goes for employees. Therefore, we must plan on at least another 24 months of living and working in an adaptive period.


Still, it is the time to start thinking, discussing and preparing for a post pandemic world. We know 2021 and 2022 will be challenging and messy, but given all we experienced in 2020, we also know that we are stronger and more adaptable than we ever thought possible. So, hang in there and know that better days are ahead.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Why Invest In Leadership Training During A Global Pandemic? - Part #1

Right now, we are caught between what was, pre-COVID, and what will be, post global pandemic. Every day, there are more endings, interim solutions and hope for new beginnings swirling around the work place. As a result, leaders are stretched and teams are struggling.


When we take stock of where we are right now and look forward to the next 18 - 24 months, it is clear to all of us that we need more people to become leaders and we need our current leaders to become better leaders. The unknowns and uncertainties will not go away with a vaccine. They will just evolve into new problems and new challenges. 


Therefore, now is the time to build capacity so we can continue to adapt. As Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen in their book, Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All (HarperCollins, 2011), wrote, “It’s what you do before the storm hits - the decisions and disciplines and buffers and shock absorbers already in place - that matters most in determining whether your enterprise pulls ahead, falls behind or dies when the storm hits.” And we all know that the upcoming months and years are going to be filled with more storms.


So, if your organization needs to be better prepared, then now is the time to sign up your key leaders for the 2021 From Vision to Action Leadership Training. Through a challenging, interactive curriculum which blends lectures, selected readings, small and large group discussions, participants in this four part leadership training gain critical knowledge and skills which improve their ability to help their people and the organization as a whole move through periods of prolonged uncertainty.


Given the global pandemic, the first two sessions this year will be via the Zoom platform and the final two sessions will be in person if it is safe for us to gather that way in 2021.


For more information about this unique training experience, please click on the following link:


http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Leadership-Training.html


For more information about the dates, location, price and how to register for the 2021 training, please click on the following link:


https://chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2021


Now is the time to create leaders before you need them. I look forward to hearing from you in the coming days.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, January 4, 2021

There Is No Fast Lane On The Road To Recovery

Many of us want this to be a better year than 2020. We all have high hopes for a large degree of normality to return to our lives. We seek to recover all that we have lost in 2020.


However, we need to remember one uncomfortable truth as we enter this new year. There is no fast lane on the road to recovery. It takes time and it is a process, most of which happens on the inside rather than just on the outside.


As leaders who grasp this fundamental truth, we must realize that creating the right environment for this internal process to take place is mission critical to making 2021 a better year. The first step in that creation process is to increase psychological safety. Rather than defaulting to dysfunctional methods of managing people, i.e. carrots (paying more for work completed) or sticks (reprimanding or threatening job loss), we need to focus on execution as a pathway to learning.


Furthermore, to increase psychological safety, we must recognize that this is the year to support people to grow and to achieve a new level of performance. The key word in that sentence is “grow”. We do this by offering support so people have the confidence to embrace the changes before them. As their personal confidence grows, so will their confidence in their team grow. The former involves more proactive coaching and the later is more emotional more than mental. 


At the same time, we as leaders need to recognize that it’s not just making sure all the goals, new systems, etc. will happen this new year. It is how our direct reports feel about implementing them in 2021. Facts and feelings are part of creating psychological safety. 


The second step is to role model personal accountability for our words and our deeds. When we choose to hold ourselves accountable to a higher level of integrity, we send a message to everyone that this new year involves doing on-going internal work and generating significant external results.


So, as we begin this new year, let us all remember that there is no fast lane on the road to recovery. The only way to it is through it. Now is the right time to commit to becoming a better person and a better leader in 2021.


Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257