Wisdom is a very powerful trait to have. It requires one to have foresight and usually comes with an experience of dealing with a lot in life. In that sense, Jan Rutherford* is a very wise man. His wisdom, however, can be very demanding for people around him sometimes. That is because his questions, shrouded in simple English language, are usually deep and require "a bit" of processing and intentional thought.
So when, and for a few times now, Jan asks "What are you working on?", answers like "a new software module" or "the new network security architecture" or even a "new n-tier plan for the network operations center", as logical as they sound, might not be the right answers. The question entails answering another question (a classic leadership quote): Are you laying bricks or building a cathedral?
As a new father, and someone who has the privilege to work with leaders like Jan, these questions hold a very unique value to me. My answers to the questions have to include both my professional and personal life. My team, at work, and my son at home, both require nurturing and encouragement. What they also need, sometimes, are restrictions and rules: without the rules, my son would want to crawl all the way to India. The effort that I put in always has a "work in progress" status attached, which brings me back to the original question.
So, what I am I working on?
I am working on solving problems. My passion lies with making things simple. Both at home and work, my idea of a good solution includes not just the technical toolkit at my disposal, but also the people that are going to benefit from the solution that I create. That could include a process simplifying system like a whole new ERP** or building an infant learning system for my child at home. The idea of creating anything should be rooted in two very simple rules:
- the people that we are solving the problem for should consider it to be just that - a solution.
- what we create should add true value to people's lives.
While solving problems, for the foreseeable future, and hopefully continuing to get better at it, I am also trying to learn continuously and contribute to the growth of my son and my team.
As for the second question, I am not building just any odd cathedral, Mr. Rutherford. I am working on creating the cathedral.
What about you? What cathedral are you building?
*Jan Rutherford writes about Self-Reliant Leadership on his site http://janrutherford.com/
**ERP: Enterprise resource planning is a cross-functional
enterprise system driven by an integrated suite of software modules that
supports the basic internal business processes of a company (source: Wikipedia)
While looking after a crawler (yes, crawling has indeed started), we got really overwhelmed this week. Our beloved child is unstoppable at the moment, absolutely full of raw energy, and any impediment in his path seems temporary to him, and he does everything that he can to remove the obstacle.
It finally got to a point where we had to invest in a baby cage, err...a play pen! We loved his energy and enthusiasm but the proverbial conditions had to be applied.
We have set up the play pen and everything of need is in there, to keep the kid entertained. What is also there is a sense of security that keeps his expectations (of being playful and constantly on the move) and our wish (of removing everything that might cause him pain or hurt him out of his way) in alignment.
Talking of conditional freedom and alignment of goals, I read a few days ago about the 20% Rule at successful organizations like Google. Through the rule, engineers are encouraged to take 20 percent of their time to work on something company-related that interests them personally.
Seems like some organizations have set up "play pens" for their employees at work to add value, but have fun while doing what they do everyday. The conditions include contributing to the organization and creating something unique and useful by utilizing their "fun time".
Another very successful organization, Apple, has made famous the idea that it is the "crazy ones that change the world because they are ones that think that they can".
Looks like all we have to do, as leaders, both at home and work, is create an environment where having fun does not take us away from adding tangible value. Once we create the environment however, we must get out of the way of the crazies and let positive change happen.
Image: Flickr - alfanhui
All of us have a list of simple pleasures that never fail to bring a smile to our faces. Chocolate lava cake, Tom & Jerry cartoons and a good cup of Chai are some things in my list. Amongst my wife's favorites, I am sure there is an entry for boxes of articles that she loves ordering on-line for us. We come back from work and these boxes, outside our house, instantly make her giddy.
With our son on top of our priority list, it is no surprise that most of these things are really elements dedicated to his growth or pleasure (food, clothes and/ or toys). The best clothes and toys, that we can afford, make way to our house and usually add to the interior decoration of our living room floor in no time at all. While we work to keep the little one engaged and entertained with the new toys, it has been he that has ended up teaching us a big lesson.
The great toys, as it goes, and the things that we buy almost hold no value to him. What he really enjoys is spending time with us. His engagement with us, compared to all his toys, is far more entertaining to him.
Are we making a mistake by buying all these things for our son? May be.
There are some things that are definitely important. These "things" include encouraging him to crawl, teaching him to eat solids and trying our best for him to not bang his head against obstructions in his, usually, straight line path. There are others, however, that we, and he, can do without. I have a feeling he understands it better than we do at the moment.
If we think about it, we will realize that this lesson holds true for our work life as well. We can have all the happy hours, sundae afternoons and cupcake Fridays, but if we do not spend quality time with the people that we are working with, all these "things" become ineffective very quickly. The connection has to be at a much deeper level. "Shiny new toys" can add to the experience, they cannot create relationships.
There are a few rules of thumb that I follow with my team. The list below underlines the fact that my leadership is a work-in-progress at best and there is much to learn. I hope we:
- Run, as far away as possible, from an Us VS. Them attitude.
- Spend time with our team to know them better.
- Keep the team engaged in almost all decision making (the decisions effect all of us).
- Encourage the team to give it their best every single day.
- Acknowledge, individual and team, weaknesses and create plans to get better at it.
- Take time out to enjoy our wins (underrated but very important).
- Whatever we do MUST have a lot of passion and conviction.
We can talk about and implement all the team building rules and best practices that thousands seem to be preaching at the moment, but if we are not out there to listen, engage and grow together, with the people that we work with, it will not be long before the temporary distractions become obsolete.
What do you do to get past distractions and move towards a more engaged relationship?
Let me start this post with a very pertinent question
When was the last time you walked around and interacted with your team and did not talk about work at all?
As I found out, the result could be very rewarding and a great learning experience. It might also benefit people who have an appreciation for team work.
Frankly, it had been some time that I had made an intentional investement in team building. My interactions had been limited to work, goals and time-lines and I had lost sight of one of the most basic of human traits - the need to belong. There was a correction needed and thankfully all it took was a walk, a genuine appreciation for team work and an interest in my team's life outside of work.
The king that does not walk amongst his people after the sun sets rules his people, but never wins them over, for he never knows what ails his people, and can never make them truly happy.
It turned out to be a very good day indeed. My team-mates, as great as they are, excel as pirates, mountain bikers, visual effect artists, race car enthusiasts, horse trainers and pilots amongst other things outside of their work life. One of them even featured in a music video recently and she was fantastic. Great stories of accomplishments and hard work, and I am sucker for good stories especially the ones of success.
Talk to your team mates about what they love doing outside the work environment. One of the best ways of knowing someone is showing a genuine interest in them as people and not treating them merely as a resource at your disposal.
Organizations, and successful ones, are investing a lot of time and money in the truest of their resources - their people. Knowing your team, which goes past their names, titles and resumes, is a very humbling exercise. There is a possibility that we are going to learn a lot about ourself in the process and work together with our peers not as a group of people, but as a team.
