Category: Career

The One Mistake to Avoid as a New Leader

The One Mistake to Avoid as a New Leader

Jon Rennie

You got the new job. You accepted the promotion. You’re in charge now. Whether you’re a first-time leader or an experienced manager in a new role, the first 100 days are critical. It’s important to set the tone early.

One of the biggest mistakes I see new leaders make is when they spend all their time working in their office. It’s even worse when they work with the door closed. It’s natural to feel the need to work hard when you are moved into a new role but isolating yourself is the worst thing you can do as a new leader. You need to get out of your office and go to where your people are. You need to employ MBWA.

“See and be seen. Get out of your office, walk the talk, make yourself visible and accessible.” J. Willard Marriot

MBWA stands for “Management by Wandering Around.” MBWA means getting out of your office and wandering around in an unstructured manner. The goal is to walk through the workplace to check with employees, equipment, and the status of ongoing work. MBWA was originally used at Hewlett-Packard and described in detail in the book, In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. It’s a great way to “see and be seen.”

Here are 4 reasons why you should get out of your office and employ MBWA:

Observe. Go to where your people are and see what is going on. Observe the conditions, the mood, the work-in-progress, the activities, and the potential problems. In Lean Manufacturing terms, observe what is happening at gemba, the place where value is created. Don’t rely on reports of what is happening, go see it yourself. What is working? What isn’t? What problems do you see? What areas need improvement? A leader that observes his team understands their challenges.

“Expect what you inspect.” W. Edwards Deming

Listen. Listen to what your team is saying. People love to talk. Ask them what they are working on. Find out what they like and don’t like about their jobs. Ask them for areas they think should be improved. You’ll be surprised what you learn. Many employees have great ideas but they are reluctant to share because they were ignored by managers in the past. It may take a while to get the best ideas but keep at it. The more you listen, the more you show you care.

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” Bryant H. McGill

Be seen. One of the biggest reasons to get out of your office is to be seen. Your team will appreciate the fact you took the time to see what they are doing. It shows you care. They will also be observing you closely so you can use this time to demonstrate your values. If you spend time looking at the safety of the workplace, they will know you care about safety. If you pick up trash, they will see you care about having a clean workplace. Don’t underestimate the power of your presence.

“Quality requires your Presence.” Eckhart Tolle

Communicate. Spending time with your employees in their work environment gives you the opportunity to communicate one-on-one. This is when you can get to know your people more and answer their questions. It’s hard in large meetings to communicate the reasons for your actions but one-one-one time allows you to clarify. Listen and talking to your team shows respect and it demonstrates you care.

“Honest communication is built on truth and integrity and upon respect of the one for the other.” Benjamin E. Mays

Don’t make the mistake of spending all your time in your office and away from your team. Get out and be with your people. See and be seen. Communicate and listen. You will learn new things and observe what is really going on. Your team will appreciate that you took time out of your day to be with them.

What do you think? Have you tried MBWA? How did it work? What else can we gain by getting out of our office and going to where our people are? Let me know in the comment section below.

Looking to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone? Hire a Navy Seal

Looking to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone? Hire a Navy Seal

Jon Rennie

“Don’t get too comfortable. Ever.” Navy Seal

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. We’ve all probably read this quote or seen something like it on Instagram. Deep down, we know personal growth comes when we depart our comfort zone. Many of us are willing to step outside our comfort zone for short periods of time for incremental improvements, but we quickly move back to where we are content.

It makes you wonder, what would happen if we left our comfort zone for an extended period? What if we went even further? What if we hired one of the toughest men on the planet to live with us and train us like a Navy Seal for a month?

“I don’t stop when I’m tired. I stop when I’m done.” Navy Seal

Luckily for us, we don’t have to wonder because someone has done it. And the story is both inspiring and hilarious.

Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet is that story. It follows the author, Jesse Itzler, a successful entrepreneur, as he leaves his comfort zone in an extreme way. In a desire to raise the bar on his fitness, Itzler hires a decorated Navy Seal to live with him and train him.

A clash of cultures. From the first day the Seal moves into Itzler’s high-end apartment in New York City, there is a clash of cultures and mindsets. Itzler is a wealthy businessman with a young family living a comfortable life with three homes, private jets, cocktail parties, and all the trappings that comes with success. The Navy Seal (who’s name we never learn) has nothing except a backpack and an attitude.

“Even the way he spit was scary. If he hit you with it, it likely would leave a scar. He was intimidating. Physically, the man looked like someone sprayed muscle paint all over his body. Ripped. Flawless.”  Jesse Itzler

To get the most out of this book, it should be listened to on Audible because it is read by the author and you get Itzler’s true reaction to all the crazy things the Seal wants him to do. Where Itzler seeks comfort, the Navy Seal chooses to be uncomfortable. When it snows, the Seal wants to go running. When he’s exhausted, the Seal wants to do more pull-ups. When the lake is frozen over, the Seal wants to cut a hole and jump in. Itzler’s reactions to the Seal’s unconventional training methods are priceless. For 31 days, Itzler trains like a Seal, completely outside his comfort zone.

“Whatever you got going on, someone else has more pain. You gotta learn how to fight through it. No matter what it is.” Navy Seal

The transformation. What makes this book special is Itzler’s transformation. He starts out questioning and pushing back on the methods of the Seal. He also doesn’t understand why the Seal lives a simple life, doesn’t have a lot of baggage, and is always pushing himself to extremes. As Itzler begins to transform, he learns he can do so much more than he ever thought. He realizes that all his limits are in his head. He starts the training by not being able to do 20 pushups but ends up doing more than 250 a day. He begins to enjoying running in the snow and looks forward to jumping in the frozen lake. He learns to enjoy being uncomfortable and discovers that, by challenging himself, he can do more than he ever dreamed was possible. He also learns the importance of living a simple life.

“Most of my successes in life have come from learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.”  Jesse Itzler

While most of us can’t afford to hire a Navy Seal, we can learn a lot from Itzler’s experience. Each of us have mental barriers that stop us from achieving our goals. We think we can’t lose weight, start a business, get in shape, stop smoking, go back to college, or write a book. We’re afraid to start because we’re worried we’ll fail. But, as Itzler learned, we are more capable than we realize. It takes getting out of our comfort zone and becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable to reach our potential. As the Navy Seal reminded Itzler, “Every day do something that makes you uncomfortable.”

5 Keys to Setting the Tone as a New Leader

5 Keys to Setting the Tone as a New Leader

Jon Rennie

Whether you’re a first-time leader or an experienced manager in a new role, the first 100 days are critical. People are watching you closely which can be intimidating but it also can be used to your advantage.

“As a leader you set the tone for your entire team.” Colin Powell

Setting the tone is imperative during these early days. Here are five things you can do to let people know what type of leader you are.

Create a buzz. Do something to get everyone talking. Make it extreme so the message is clear. This is something I always do. In one manufacturing plant, I had the maintenance team paint over all the signs for the reserved parking spaces for managers, including mine. The message was simple, there is no special treatment for managers. We are in this together.

Set the example. Your minimum behaviors will be your team’s maximum performance. If you expect people to be on time, you need to be on time. If you expect managers to get out of their offices, you need to be out of your office. If you expect people to wear their safety equipment, you need to wear your safety equipment. It’s simple. Just as children follow a parent’s lead, your team will take cues from you.

“The reality is that the only way change comes is when you lead by example.” Anne Wojcicki

Signal your priorities. What’s important to you will be seen by your team. If you spend the first hour of the day on your computer and not with your team, they will see that. They will assume they are not as important as your e-mail. If you spend a meeting constantly looking at your phone, they will assume their presentation is not a priority for you.

“You are the leader and the troops will reflect your emotions.” Colin Powell

Establish the mood. We all know attitude is contagious. Regardless how you feel, you need to be upbeat and optimistic around your team. You still need to be empathetic when you have serious issues to deal with, but if you are consistently upbeat and in good spirits, the team will demonstrate the same. In the same respect, if you are quiet, unresponsive, angry, abrasive, sarcastic, or hidden, the life will get sucked out of your team.

“See and be seen. Get out of your office, walk the talk, make yourself visible and accessible.” Bill Marriott

Be open, available, and visible. Go to where your people are. Greet them every day. Show interest by actively listening and being open. Engage them on the subjects they care about. Your team will see you care and are interested in their thoughts and opinions. They will see you as open and willing to listen. They will be more likely to share their true feelings about the challenges they face.

Setting the tone early is critical. All eyes are on you as the new leader, so make it count. Create a buzz, set an example, show your priorities, establish the mood, and be present. These activities will let your team know what kind of leader you are and what your expectations are. This will help you down the line when you need their help to tackle the tough issues.

To learn more about how respected leaders set the tone, read Colin Powell’s leadership book, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership.

Let me know what you think in the comment section below.