Author: leavitt.75

Establishing Team Norms

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I recently listened to a podcast episode about designing teams and effective teamwork strategies(link is external). The podcast, Design Thinking 101(link is external), is fabulous and I recommend subscribing.

My key takeaway from the episode was the idea that team rituals can be designed using iterative design principles and that any team that wants to be high-performing needs to start with a leveling conversation about how they want to work together.

The conversation only needs to take an hour. It starts with each person sharing their values in how they want to work and talking about the behaviors they would expect to see if the team lived those values. Then the team establishes rituals that allow them to practice and hold themselves accountable for the behaviors they agree to do. As an example, if a team says they want to give feedback, they may decide to hold a weekly retrospective meeting to share their observations and feedback.

The magic comes from ensuring everyone has a voice in the process, explicitly documenting norms that can cause unexpected conflict, especially for new team members, and repeating rituals that reinforce the agreed upon behaviors.

Is there a team that you are part of that would benefit from level-setting?

Our Most Important Gifts

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With the holiday season fully underway, many of us are busy looking for the perfect gifts for our family and friends. I have been reminded repeatedly that our most important gifts are the ones that don’t cost money. Our most important gifts are when we are in service to each other in small ways.

It is fully listening when another person is talking. It is seeing the person and affirming that they are valued and appreciated. It is a smile or greeting when we see another person. It is remembering to ask about someone’s family or pets. It is texting or calling a friend to just let them know you are thinking about them.

As my husband reminded me recently, instead of asking for blessings, we should be asking how we can be a blessing to others.

I wish you all a joyful holiday and hope you look for every opportunity to give the gift of service to others in small but meaningful ways.

Labels That Stick

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Each morning my leadership team does a quick standup meeting to coordinate and connect. At the end of each week we also share one thing that we are grateful for or learned during that week. A video shared during last Friday’s meeting got me thinking about the labels we give ourselves and others.

Senior Relationship Manager Will Mills(link is external) shared this short video(link is external) as a primer for a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice workshop we were participating in later that day about our identities and explicit bias.  

One of the workshop activities was to list adjectives we use to describe ourselves, then pick out the characteristics that we dwell on the most and the least. Many people in the workshop found that the labels they thought about most were the ones that they were most self-conscious about. If a person felt judged by others for a piece of their identity, they focused on that piece the most.  

The video and my experience in the workshop showed me that judging ourselves and others can be entirely unspoken, but highly impactful. We are constantly receiving (and assigning) labels. What if we focused on the positive instead of the negative? 

As we head into Thanksgiving, I am reminded of a saying that sits over my friend’s door that is so important, especially in how we talk to ourselves: 

“Be Kinder Than Necessary”

It is true that every person is both amazing and flawed. Do you focus on the amazing or flawed parts when you interact with yourself and others? 

Rewrite Your Story

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We all have a story to tell, whether in our personal or professional lives. How we tell our story is crucial to achieving our goals.

It is important to recognize that our emotions and our stories are linked. We have the ability to change our stories which means we can change our emotions about those stories as well. When we rewrite our stories in a positive way, we change our feelings and our behaviors for the better, creating a more productive roadmap toward our goals.

As part of our second leadership training last week, each participant was asked to identify two leadership opportunities. After identifying their opportunities, we had each participant write their current story around one of their opportunities. I asked each participant to rank their story on the Fear to Freedom(link is external) scale and write two adjectives that describe their feelings about their story. The most common descriptors of the current stories were frustrated, anxious, stuck, overwhelmed, exhausted, ineffective and nervous. 

Then each participant rewrote their story describing the best possible outcome they could imagine around their leadership challenge using the following Written Positive Intention(link is external) rules. 

  • It is written in past tense (as if it has already happened). 
  • It is written in all positive terms. 
  • It should be hand-written, not typed, if possible. 
  • It identifies the most exceptional outcome you can imagine. 
  • It focuses on how you and others feel about the outcome and the impact you can have if you achieve your positive outcome. 
  • It is always a draft. Modify it over time. Write several versions to identify when your intention is based of fear, which may mean it is self-focused or your ego is showing up. 

The change in each participant’s feelings concerning their leadership opportunity was remarkable. After discussing in small groups how rewriting their stories affected their emotions, I asked participants to share what they learned from the experience. Here are a few of the remarks:

  • “My fear and anxiety are the barrier and that I can control.” 
  • “This is a tool that can help us frame our thoughts to achieve the results we want.” 
  • “Just doing this exercise helped me feel more powerful over the challenge.” 
  • “It really helped me to clarify the specific barriers and hurdles that are making me feel stuck, but also made me see the large number of variables to think through to get to that positive story.” 

We all face leadership opportunities every day. Next time you are feeling overwhelmed and stuck, I would invite you to use the Written Positive Intention(link is external) rulesand rewrite your story.

Listening Tour

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As part of my onboarding at Ohio State, I am embarking on a listening tour and getting to meet leaders from across campus. It is so much fun and inspiring to meet so many committed and talented people. This approach, outlined in The First 90 Days(link is external) by Michael Watkins, is an excellent way to understand an organization, even if you are not new to it. 

The format for each interaction is generally the same. I ask whoever I am meeting with to describe their role and what their team does. I continue by asking them to discuss their strategic goals and what they are concerned about. Many people are surprised that I don’t want them to focus on technology needs, but talk more broadly about what they are trying to accomplish and understand the impact they are trying to make. I also try to minimize the time that I spend talking about me. I end each interview asking the following questions from the book. 

  1. What are the biggest challenges the organization is facing (or will face in the near future)? 
  1. Why is the organization facing (or going to face) these challenges? 
  1. What are the most promising unexploited opportunities for growth? 
  1. What would need to happen for the organization to exploit the potential of these opportunities? 
  1. If you were me, what would you focus attention on? 

I am only partially through the listening tour, but the insights that I have already gained are really helpful and the interactions are energizing. I have appreciated the graciousness of individuals who are open to being my friend in addition to my colleague as I adjust to a new job and home. I have also loved some unexpected perks, like the squash and honey from my tour of the Waterman Farm Complex(link is external). 

When is the last time that your primary focus in a meeting was to listen and learn? 

Strive for Ownership, Not Accountability

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Person reading under a tree that resembles the shape of a human brain, with sunset in the background

Words are powerful and being intentional and thoughtful about how we talk about our work matters.

I was recently in a meeting where accountability was presented as a core principle. I know that this was well-intentioned and is a common way to think and talk about effective management. The problem with using accountability as a framework for leadership is that its goal is compliance. It relies on hierarchy and invokes fear and resistance.

In the Wiser Way training at Temple University, Eric Brunner presented a concept that resonated with me and changed how I talk about and approach my work. Here is the information he presented:

  • Accountability is doing what you are supposed to do because someone else expects it of you, accountability springs from the extrinsic motivation of reward and punishment. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of accountability: “Subject to having to report, explain or justify; being answerable, responsible.”  The core metaphor for accountability is “I’m holding your feet to the fire.” (Does that sound like fun? No wonder so many people subconsciously go into avoidance mode when told they will be “held accountable.”)
  • Ownership is doing what needs to be done because you expect it of yourself, ownership springs from the intrinsic motivation of pride and engagement. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of ownership: “The state, relation, or fact of being an owner,” which in turn is defined as “to have power or mastery over.”  The core metaphor for ownership is “I’m transferring title to you, or I’ll own that.”

This shift in thinking is helpful whether you are a manager or subordinate because the fundamental question that needs to be answered changes to, “What information and authority are needed for me to transfer or take ownership of this task or project?” That question implies autonomy and trust.

What would change if you approached your working from the mental model of ownership instead of accountability?

How does this concept apply when you are the one managing or the one being managed?

Through the Kitchen

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Cindy Leavitt with Buckeye Nut at Ohio State Football game

I have seen Colin Powell speak a couple of times and admire him as a leader. One thing that he tries to do when he goes to any event is to enter or leave through the kitchen to see and talk with the people who are supporting the event.

Last week, I got a chance to “walk through the kitchen” when I attended my first Ohio State football game in Columbus.

I started very early in the morning at the police station attending a series of coordination meetings watching the many branches of law enforcement work together to make sure everyone was safe as they attended the game and activities surrounding it.

I got a tour from the Ohio State IT team of the technical infrastructure that allows the game to be recorded. The vast wifi and cellular complex which supports electronic ticketing and enables fans to send pictures and texts from the stadium during the game. I toured the TV trucks and talked with one video technician who showed me how he compiled the video vignettes that I expect when watching a game. They were also broadcasting the game in 4D, requiring tons of additional cameras to be installed and synched.

I visited the locker rooms and recruiting room and saw the tributes to the scholar-athletes and winning teams. I talked with security guards and ushers (a couple of them were in their 80s) about their dedication and joy in working at the games.

I attended the skull session, which is free to the public, where the band puts on a mini-concert and the coaches rally the crowd. I was on the field as the band performed the Ohio script and the star-spangled banner. I was christened as a Buckeye by the Big Nut super fan as he gave me a Buckeye necklace.

The small part of the game that I actually watched was from the press box where dozens of reporters from around the world reported on the game.

Attending the game “through the kitchen” opened my eyes and made me aware of the incredible amount of dedication, hard work, and skill by hundreds of people that were invisible to me before.

How can you pass “through the kitchen” at work, at home, and in your community?

Who and what are you not seeing?

Embrace Discomfort, Discover Joy

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Person performing yoga in front of a sunset

It took my best friend almost two years to convince me to try yoga. My standard response when she would suggest it was that I wasn’t flexible, so I couldn’t do yoga. She would not so gently remind me that the entire reason I should do yoga was to increase my flexibility. Her persistence and my stiff neck eventually prevailed, and I signed up for a beginner Iyengar Yoga (link is external)class. That was almost 15 years ago.

One of the things that I love about Iyengar Yoga is its emphasis on proper technique and the extensive use of props to ensure that you safely support your body as you try the different postures. Taking that beginner class was foundational to giving me the knowledge, skill, and confidence to shape my practice in ways that work for me.

I have done in-person classes, online classes, yoga apps, and personal practice. Yoga is now one of my most valued tools for being the person and leader I aspire to be. The following mantras that I have learned and practiced doing yoga help me every day when I am working.

  • Your breath is the primary tool to release tension.
  • Practice being uncomfortable and managing yourself when things are really hard.
  • Focus on your own experience, and don’t compare yourself to anyone else in the room.

I went on an educator trip to China a few summers ago with several other faculty and colleagues from Temple. One of the faculty members who was traveling with us was a yoga instructor, and he generously offered to lead us in yoga each morning. One of my favorite memories of that trip is doing yoga in the hotel hallway at 6 am with my friends.

While I initially resisted trying yoga, it now brings me joy daily.

What are you resisting? What could happen if you stopped resisting and stepped into the discomfort of trying something new?

Shift Your Mindset, Keep Your Focus

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night light on a bed stand

Sleep: Photo by Beazy on Unsplash

 

I think of sleep as one of my superpowers. I can typically fall asleep within a couple of minutes after climbing into bed and rarely have insomnia. Unfortunately, as I have been moving and changing jobs, my sleeping superpower has gone on hiatus, and I have been waking up several times each night and unable to go easily fall back asleep.

Because this has been happening for several weeks, I have had a chance to try many different techniques and remedies, and none of them have been particularly effective. I found that as the weeks went by, when I woke up in the middle of the night, my anxiety about not being able to go back to sleep was increasing and compounding my insomnia.

After several weeks of the same approach, I shifted my mindset. I decided that I was not going to think of this as a problem but started paying close attention to what my body was saying that it needed and doing what it was saying it needed without added internal commentary.

The first night after I decided to shift my thinking, I woke up at 1:30 am and immediately started thinking about a couple of things I needed to do, so I got up and started doing the tasks. After I completed the tasks, I felt sleepy and went back to bed and slept for a few more hours. Finally, I woke up feeling refreshed and not tired.

The next night, I woke up around 2 am and felt tired, so I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Every night has been different. I have started to pay attention to when I feel sleepy at night, and instead of finishing watching a show or writing an email, I stop and go to bed.

This mindset shift has been helping me get the rest I need, even if it is in a different pattern than I have in the past.

Accepting what has changed turns out to be the most effective way forward. Resistance only shifts our focus and energy to what we don’t want, making it more likely to happen. This is especially difficult to do when we lose one of our superpowers.

Honoring David

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Photo from Boston University: https://www.bu.edu/sph/profile/david-jones

Grow from accidents rather than place blame

This wasn’t the first week blog I had intended to write. But that’s the thing about loss, you can’t plan for it. The emotions that come from loss mix with everything else happening in your life. So, as I embark on the next chapter of my life and career, I do so by honoring a friend whose last chapter came too soon.

I got the news of David’s fatal accident while I was shopping. My son looked on in concern as I started muttering, “no, no, no, no….” and thinking, not David and what about his wife, Sarah, and their three beautiful children. David was an incredible person and wonderful husband and father. He was so alive and vibrant and good.

David had been training for a marathon and his training run had ended in his death as a subway staircase collapsed under him. The stairway had been closed for several months because it needed repair. But David went on the stairs, and they collapsed.

When I was younger, I would have wanted to assign blame to convince myself that there were things I could do to assure that something similar didn’t happen to me. The city was to blame for not repairing the stairs sooner, someone must have removed the barrier, so David wasn’t even aware of the danger, or David didn’t think that he by himself was enough stress on the stairs, so he ignored the warning.

But the truth is that it could have just as easily been me. Accidents happen. I regularly ignore barriers on my bike and ride across bridges that are closed to traffic. Assigning blame won’t bring David back or make me feel better.

My deep sadness is for Sarah and their children. They are going to miss David so much and his loss will shape them and will be part of their journey and growth.

After the tragic death of my niece and nephew, my sister-in-law struggled for years and is now a grief coach(link is external). She wrote about her journey back to joyfully living in her book, Miracles in the Darkness: Building a Life After Loss(link is external).

I have been so sad this last week whenever I think about David and his family. The best tribute that I can think of to honor David is to try to live like he lived.

  • Love fiercely
  • Care deeply
  • Give generously
  • Live joyfully

David, you will be missed!