Understanding Your PLC

We are now full on into our seventh month (October 2020) of leading life in and through a COVID-19 reality.  If you are like me, this has meant juggling as a leader, business, and family like never before.  What I know and have experienced, and what my clients have expressed to me, is that everything we do seems like it requires a great deal more intentionality than ever before.  Nothing just happens as a matter of course.  And that means we are expending more effort and energy than ever before.  It is testing our PLC - Personal Leadership Capacity.

This post comes courtesy of the intersection of a number of parallel but distinct events and experiences over the past week.  Often times as individual leaders and organizations we feel overwhelmed by the opportunities and challenges before us.  This reality hit me particularly hard this week - in more ways than one.  I heard flavors of it from a couple of my coaching clients, in individual coaching and group planning sessions I facilitated, and from my own personal and business perspective.

From several of my coaching clients this week I heard the lament of too much on my plate, how do I get this all done, how do I prioritize and/or how do I get others to appreciate that my plate is already full. If we flip the coin on this lament we can hear some other common themes that are all too often a part of our work these days - stress and fatigue on the part of our colleagues and staff, even complete absence or disconnection at times, and points of conflict that seem to come out of nowhere or on issues that seem relatively minor. Sometimes these results are being borne out because of or in parallel to the perception or reality of lack of resources. "How do we keep going with this remote working reality? How do I juggle this home office with my kids doing their school work (or not) at that same I'm trying to manage this meeting? Where do I find the time - or the commitment from others - to deliver on our plans?" The examples and the list go on and on. Time, energy, and money - and more - don't seem to be on our side more than ever these days.

Just as challenging it would seem for some leaders or organizations is the willingness to say no or to otherwise prioritize the requests and workloads coming at them. This is further compounded by the fact that our boundaries between work and home are incredibly blurred, if they even exist at all right now. In some of these cases, as described by my clients, there appears to be an organizational willingness and imperative to say "yes" to everything that comes across the table. If we don't say YES, perhaps that is THE decision that puts us over the brink into irrelevance! Conversely, it may be that there is an organizational unwillingness to say "no" to anything that comes across the table. This predicament is probably enhanced in the kind of reality that we are experiencing right now. Saying no to a request might be perceived as tantamount to asking for your own termination notice. Unfortunately, too many organizations have not been willing to truly establish the key guideposts by which they would evaluate any initiative that comes before them. The result is predictable - yes is the answer to every initiative regardless of current workload or resources. The long-term sustainability of such a response is hardly considered. Just don't say no now.

Therefore, for me, it was refreshing to recently hear a CEO of a large organization espouse to his executive team and governing board the need to understand - and respect - their personal and organizational capacities. Rather than demand more and more - as is the wont of many hard-driving executives - he was holding the feet of his people to a different fire. Understand your capacity. Understand that there are limits to the time available to you in a day, week, and month. Understand that there are limits to your ability to handle multiple priorities. Understand that there are limits to your energy reserves. Don't tell me you are going to add another initiative to your plate and keep to every other milestone you have already set. Chose wisely and execute well. It was a powerful message and one that clearly was being understood and accepted, even if slowly, over time.

The message of this forward-thinking CEO, an individual that I would no way characterize as soft, stands in sharp contrast to others I have experienced or worked with during this time. One of the most iconic examples is of a CEO who tried to alter his staff's perspective on prioritization by use of the somewhat infamous "Big Rocks in the Bucket First" exercise. A decent enough exercise, but it presumes that all managers and staff have the ability - or are allowed - to pick their own big rocks. In the case of the forward-thinking CEO already noted, this appeared to be the case (outside of regulated or legislated initiatives). But for other leaders, who most often define what the big rocks are, there is a lack of appreciation of how many big rocks can be rolled down the hill or the potential consequences of ignoring some of the little rocks that others in the organization need to work with.

In fact, perhaps it's time to update the Big Rocks exercise, particularly now. Perhaps there has to be an understanding of what size of bucket we are actually working with. What's our actual Personal Leadership Capacity? Perhaps as leaders we need to undertake a bit more of an internal environmental scan before launching the next big rock down the hill and understand how that fits with - or displaces - other rocks we launched yesterday or the week before.

The final hitting home point for me on capacity has come on my own business and personal side. The past month has been one of the busiest and most challenging for me on a number of fronts. Altered reality has been challenging my capacity and, more particularly, made me feel that I have been less of the quality family man and coach than I should be and aspire to be. Others - most notably my wife - are also in that same boat. Our stress levels are up. Our capacity is down. While potentially manageable in the short-term, the stress tolerances of continually exceeding one's capacity has inevitable and predictable consequences.

The lesson of capacity is one that I'm trying to learn (or learn again) in my personal and business lives and I trust you can be more forward-thinking, insightful and discerning as you contemplate launching your next big rock into your leadership or organizational bucket.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Ironman & Leadership Lessons - COVID Reset

The die has been cast yet again (and again?).  After a failed restart of my Ironman or endurance endeavors in 2020 - thanks COVID - I recommitted to Ironman Canada 2021!  Bring on another year of prep, training, weight loss, and two-day workouts. 

I originally penned a post about how THE Ironman experience related to leadership for me in August 2012.  At this point in time (September 2020), I'm updating and reprising my musings on this comparative based on the fact that I'm back for another bite of the pain, suffering, and glory that is the Ironman Canada triathlon.  It will have been 10 years since I last took on the challenge, so we are definitely going to see what I have learned and can apply since the last effort.

It's certainly cliche to identify that many leaders look to and experiment with a variety of initiatives designed to improve the performance of their organizations.  Paradoxically, however, the majority of these efforts often fail and can be traced back to the quality of leadership at their helm.  We squander our potential and the potential of our people from not focusing more strongly on self-awareness and self-development.  So what can the experience of preparing for and competing in an Ironman competition tell us about leadership?  Well here are my thoughts.

I've competed in the big Ironman Canada event in 2010 and 2011 and I'm now going back in August 2021 - 10 years removed between competitions.  I've done other running events since then - the Goofy and Dopey races in Disney World, the Berlin Marathon, the Venice Marathon and a few others - but nothing is going to compare to reprising the event - and the preparation - of Ironman.  And in some respects I begin almost from where I started in 2009 getting ready for the 2010 Ironman, trying to establish a training foundation (e.g., relearning how to bike, swim and maybe run), trying to get into a proper race weight zone (as of Christmas 2019 was at 204 pounds and as of writing at 185 with a goal to get to 160 by December 31, 2020), get re-geared with a bike tune-up and purchashing a new bike computer.  

It's going to be somewhat tougher this year than in the past.  In 2010, my family was smaller and perhaps a bit more manageable.  My wife was coming off of her own history of several years of triathlon experience.  I was employed rather than running my own business which meant paid vacation time and perhaps (ironically?) greater control over time and workout time.  And, of course, I'll be 56 years old by the next event versus 45 when I last entered the fray.

Interestingly enough, from the standpoint of being an executive coach, through much of 2011 and into 2012, I had the privilege of working with an executive coach.  At that time, my coach helped lead me through some challenging times and a major transition in my career.  Aside from all the skills and talents you would expect to see in an executive coach, he also brought another dimension to our conversations - he was and is an accomplished triathlete and has competed at Ironman Canada.  This shared experience allowed us to make many comparisons to my work environment and Ironman.  It allowed me to put into perspective aspects of my work that I did control and those that I did not.  As I prepared for the 2010 and 2011 versions of Ironman Canada, and as I now prepare for 2021, I thought I would share with you some of the analogies I've been able to draw between Ironman and Leadership through my work with that coach and from my life and business experience since then.

First, as in taking on a leadership role, there has to be some motivation or goal in mind to undertake an Ironman event. As "they" say , without a goal, any direction will do! Ironman is a daunting undertaking - a 3.8 km swim, followed by 180 km on the bike, then a 42 km marathon.  As I'm sure most amateur athletes would attest to, there are not a lot of positives that come with doing this event.  You certainly get cheers along the way from family and friends, and sometimes from complete strangers.  You do get a finisher's medal at the end of the race (no podium finish for me!).  

And you get to feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment (and relief) when you cross that finish line.

Otherwise it's a lot of hard slogging through the three disciplines and sometimes a lot of talking to yourself as you try to reach the finish line.  You are in the race, in some cases, just to say you did it, to prove to yourself that you are capable.  And most of us in leadership roles would agree that recognition is outweighed by ongoing challenges.  Like Ironman, it's often a lonely journey we take on.  

Related to this motivation and goal setting, the intervening years in business have also taught me the powerful role that experience and specificity of goals can play in one's success.  In each year of my business, I have updated my goals for the year, on at least an annual basis.  In that process, and as I have coached and worked with my clients, I have come to appreciate how many of the barriers we believe we face are actually self-created.  If we create stretch goals that are specific and challenging, we can often surprise ourselves with our success.  That success then encourages further audacity in setting the next impossible goal.  So in Ironman that has meant that simply achieving a new personal best is not enough.  I want to - and am working towards - trying to better my last best time by 10%.  Perhaps that still seems like a small goal to you.  For me it means ramping up performance in each element of the race.  Same philosophy applies to my business which, since 2012, has grown by nearly 400% as measured by gross revenue.  Success, courage, determination, realism, and purposeful action has continued to lay the foundation for better results.

Second, for best results in an Ironman, you spend a significant amount of time training and preparing for the race.  No different than getting ready to take on a leadership role.  For Ironman, you can find yourself starting to prep for the next race as early as a few weeks after the last race!  Granted your training isn't as intense at this point. Rather, you are now trying to maintain your level of fitness, work on improving or sustaining technique, improving core strength, and (if you are like me) looking to shed a few more pounds.  Entering race day - or starting a leadership position - without any form of preparation is a high risk proposition to say the least.  For most of us - including the professionals - success does not come without months of preparation.  Others may spend years getting ready for the ultimate event, building up confidence to take up the challenge by doing shorter distance triathlons.  In much the same way, successful leaders prepare themselves academically, take on smaller challenges, and ultimately work up to larger leadership roles.

Triathlon is a multi-discipline sport.  So is leadership.  However, if we think of triathlon as just swimming, cycling and running, we would miss out on other equally important components.  A critical part of training and race day preparation is making sure your nutrition and hydration are race ready.  Throughout the year leading up to Ironman, you use training days and smaller events to figure out what works for you and what will keep you fuelled for the race. What will your body tolerate? How much fuel do you need to sustain race pace? What kind of electrolyte replacement do you need? Do you need to use salt replacement? How will that change depending on weather conditions? 

So what's the leadership analogy for nutrition?  My take on that is all leaders need to continue to fuel their minds through continuous education and learning.  You can't continue to make positive impact if you don't continue to hone and advance your skillset.  There is too much change too fast in our work world - labour force dynamics, regulations, government direction, world events and upheaval - to stand pat with existing learning.  Leaders must continue to fuel their minds. AND, just like nutrition and hydration, the form of your learning and development has to be customized to your needs and appetite.  What works for one athlete/leader may not work at all for the next.  Know yourself first and best.  Take advice, information and learning from others.  Create your own best solution within the context of your own personal goals and expectations.

Success in Ironman also requires that your equipment - wetsuit, bike, shoes, watch - is race ready.  This means making decisions early on as to whether you want to take on the race with a road bike or a tri-bike, whether you want to go with base components or invest in top-of-the line products, what type of running shoes work for you, and so on.  You'll also find that your training and smaller races will take their toll on your equipment.  At different points in time you will have to replace your shoes as you put on the miles, replace your tires and otherwise tune your equipment in the hopes of not having a breakdown on race day.  In much the same way, as a leader, you have to make the appropriate investments in equipment and tools to undertake your leadership task - do you have the right measurement systems in place, the right tools to effectively communicate with your stakeholders, the right mechanisms to ensure your work group or organization is aligned towards achieving a common goal.  Your experience will cause you to change/upgrade your tools as you work towards your goal.

I can't do justice to the comparison between Ironman and Leadership if I don't discuss mental preparation and hardening.  You can have everything in place mentioned above - training in several disciplines, fuelling plan nailed, equipment ready - but if you are not mentally prepared for race day, all of the prep work will likely be for nought.  In this way, "failure" during training or in a shorter race may become the best guarantee of future success at Ironman.  If you don't face adversity prior to Ironman - flat tire, slipped bike chain, bad weather - you likely won't know how to react when something like that happens on race day.  And you don't want to be doing all your learning on race day!  It's no different with leadership.  The best leaders have faced their share of adversity on their way up to their current roles: they've experienced conflict, they've had to make tough choices, they've had to balance multiple priorities and tasks, and they have sometimes failed.  However, that's what has (hopefully) helped them to become better leaders.

Then it's race day.  All your preparation has led to this moment.  In 2011, that meant nearly 3,000 people entering the water at the same time, each one with their own anxieties, skill levels, and goals.  Some were rookies.  Some had done this more than a dozen times.  Regardless, for the next nine, 10, 12 or even 17 hours, you effectively begin to race on your own, trying to beat the clock.  At this point there is no guarantee as to how the day will go.  You may have expectations but once you start the race you surrender yourself to the events of the day.  Weather can be a factor. In 2010, I got hailed on part way through the bike ride and the temperature dipped to 10 degrees Celsius.  In 2011, the temperature hit a peak of around 40 degrees Celsius.  Same course, different conditions.  In 2011, I got slugged in the face and developed a cramp in my leg half-way through the swim.  Early in the bike course somebody had thrown tacks on the road.  I got through while others had to deal with replacing a punctured tube.  I saw someone else with a broken bike chain.  You can't predict what will happen.  No different in our leadership roles.  Your day can be exquisitely planned out and then you get that one call and your day is radically altered.  As a leader you must be prepared to respond and adjust to the events of the day.

At some point the day does end!  While I did better in 2011 than I did in 2010, I still believe I have more in me.  I have a desire to achieve what I believe my body is capable of.  As in leadership, there is a need for a post-event evaluation.  What worked?  What didn't?  What would I change?  In Ironman you have a small number of well-established metrics that help you to objectively evaluate your performance - heart rate, pace, swim time, bike time, run time, transition times, and finish time.  There are also subjective evaluations at play and most of them relate to how I felt during different parts of the race and after the race.  Was my stomach working ok?  How well did my body hold up to the pounding?  What does all of that mean in preparation for next year?  In the same way, leaders have to conduct ongoing evaluation of their efforts by whatever means available to ensure a greater degree of success in future endeavours.

While I have described Ironman as a solo event, it is anything but.  Most competitors have been introduced to triathlon through other people.  We don't just miraculously decide to take on triathlon without having someone initiate us, inspire us, or mentor us to take on the challenge.  Many of us are also part of teams that we train with and learn from.  Good leadership is also a function of working with and learning from a team.  This includes subordinates, peers and mentors.  We shorten our learning curve and mitigate the risk of failure by learning from others and leaning on their experience and knowledge. 

Finally, as I hope all leaders and triathletes would attest to, none of us truly succeeds or reaches our full potential without the support of our families.  Training for an Ironman can often take up to and over 20 hours each week.  This means many early mornings, evenings or weekends away from family.  It means adjusting family plans to allow for participation in lead-up races and Ironman itself.  It means financial investment in equipment.  And the same holds true for most leadership positions with early morning and late evening meetings, planning forums that take place out of town, conferences, and crisis events that all take time away from family.  In addition, as leaders, we all experience varying levels of stress, trials and tribulations in the course of our careers.  We have to make decisions about when to upgrade our education.  We have to make decisions on when to make a career change.  Are we prepared to move to another city or province to pursue a career opportunity?  None of this can be a solo decision and our success is in no small measure attributable to our families.  

Ironman and Leadership - more than a few lessons to be learned.  Keep training, learning, growing, experimenting and enjoy the race!

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

On What's Important

Once in a while we all need a reminder of what is truly important in our lives.  COVID-19 and its related impacts have helped me - and I hope have helped many - to understand and appreciate our humanity, the need to stay in touch with the reality and challenges facing others, and how we can and should stop and smell the roses, not just on occasion, but as frequently as we can.

Since the middle of March of this year a lot of things have changed and been called into question.  I have been provided with more than one reminder of the toll taken on myself and on others as we have tried to navigate very challenging times.  A small sample of the challenges include:

• How do we make choices with imperfect information and imperfect solutions to continue to advance the educational and social development of our school-age children?

• How can we successfully juggle or maintain some semblance of balance in our lives as we socially isolate, work from home, and sustain a distinction between work and home?

• How do we reman connected with our loved ones who may have health and financial challenges of their own?

• How do we stay connected, period?

The challenges of these times have been brought home for me in many different and powerful ways.  A client of mine who is trying to help a loved one navigate a terminal cancer diagnosis that is now measured in weeks of life left at most.  The recent passing of a mentor of mine. The suicide of two of my fellow travellers within the past couple of months and days apart from each other.  A reminder from a colleague of mine in the banking sector that others continue to struggle and fear for what comes next when loan deferments and nest eggs are potentially exhausted in the next several months.  Others left wondering what happens to their career choices or options they have been working towards for the past number of years.  

For me, this all points to having compassion and grace for ourselves and each other as we navigate some of the most challenging times we are likely ever to face.  It is also a reminder that we still have the choice to be present in much stronger ways than ever before.  And it reminds me that we have choice to show up differently - in big and small ways - if we remain present to opportunity.  

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Gandhi

At this point, I am reminded of a turn in life that happened for my wife and I over two years ago.  Despite the passage of time, I believe it is important to remind myself of that reality and I hope it will also illustrate my points on compassion grace and the importance of presence to self and others.

In January 2018, my wife and I set out to complete a personal challenge.  The anticipated conclusion to that effort was supposed to read something like we came, we ran, we finished.  The direction the journey took, however, was markedly different than planned.  Aside from the typical things we might have expected from this marathon + adventure (e.g., cold weather, thousands of people crowding a course, falls, cuts, and bruises), the journey to and through the Dopey Challenge reinforced the critical importance of knowing and living to one's values and priorities.

Our adjusted adventure began early on our flight from Toronto to Orlando.  Within the first 30 minutes, a medical emergency was announced by the frantic calls of the wife of a stricken passenger.  My wife, aside from being a coach/consultant, jumped into care mode as the registered nurse that she remains. Working in partnership with a couple of other nurses, she proceeded to work under less than ideal circumstances to support and maintain the distressed male passenger.  This went on for at least two hours.  At the same time, I had the opportunity to take care of - or entertain - the couple's five-year-old daughter.  I quickly learned the family of three was on their way to experience their first trip to Disney World. 

Not quite the start envisioned for a memory-making vacation. 

Upon arriving in Orlando, my wife engaged with emergency medical personnel on the ground to facilitate handover.  We also offered assistance to the wife and daughter to get to the hospital or in providing other supports as they required.  What was interesting to me at this point was how, at the conclusion of the flight, the dynamic of support we had seen on the plane had changed.  Of the myriad of people who had been around the stricken passenger, precious few now seemed prepared to extend their efforts and compassion beyond the arrivals lounge.  To my cynical and jaded eyes it appeared that not many were prepared to sacrifice even a small part of their vacations for a stranger they had just met, no matter how compelling the story.

"The future depends on what you do today."
Gandhi

We made an effort to remain in touch with the family over the next 24 hours.  We had made plans to visit various theme parks in and around our races and offered to act as chaperone to the five-year-old girl.  Having young children of our own, we felt comfortable in the belief that we would have been in our element.  The offer was acknowledged but not taken up immediately.  No surprise.  We were, after all, strangers to the family, and updates at the time indicated the father might be discharged from the hospital within a couple of days. 

Within less than 48 hours of arrival, however, things took a turn for the worse.  We had completed our first Disney run of 5k early on Thursday and had been visiting Universal Studios when we got a text midday to see if we could, in fact, take care of the five-year-old daughter.  The father had been admitted to ICU and was struggling.  We didn't hesitate.  For the rest of the day we proceeded to entertain, as best we could, our new found charge.  We were overwhelmed by the courtesy, manners, lightness of spirit, and overall capacity emanating from this beautiful little girl.  In a very short period of time, she won over our hearts.  

At this time we also started to have serious discussions about whether we would shelve the rest of our races to support the family as they dealt with this unexpected challenge.  Our conclusion - despite months of training and anticipation - was a resounding and unhesitating "YES".  Our values directed a rewrite of our priorities.  As the day progressed, however, we learned that other family support was arriving and we could expect to relinquish our "parental" duties that evening. 

Upon the arrival of this additional family support to our rental, we learned from these family members that the father had in fact passed away.

We were left to say goodbye to our new found little friend, trying to hold our emotions in check, trying not to give away our dark secret, knowing that in a few short minutes she would be seeing her mother and getting the news that her world had irrevocably and tragically been altered.  The experience was more than surreal.  Later than night, and in the days to come, both my wife and I found ourselves breaking down in tears, truly unable to come to terms with what had transpired.  Too often, I was brought back to the loss of my first wife in similar circumstances, left to raise a six-year-old daughter on my own. 

For the next few days we likely operated on autopilot.  We ran our races, followed our routine as best we could, but truly found ourselves feeling unfocused and off centre.  As we read Facebook posts from friends and family of the deceased, we found ourselves lamenting this loss even more.  The father and husband seemed to have cut a wide and positive swath in the lives of others despite his relatively young age of 42.  His interests spanned many of my own, including a love of astronomy.  He was a musician.  Some called him a renaissance man.

So why this long, convoluted story and what does any of this have to do with my opening remarks?  First, I believe this is a story that had to be told, and life that had to be remembered, if only to honor a fellow human being.  Second, I believe we must acknowledge the profound impact that can come to any of us who are prepared to be open and vulnerable to others.  This man clearly had impact on those around him - and not just his family.  In many respects he acted as a role model, cheerleader and even leader.  One could see all of this in the messages that followed his passing and the memories that are still discussed to this day. 

I've always seen myself as highly goal-oriented and planful.  However, this experience and the events that I recounted that have happened in the heart of COVID, continue to teach me the power and necessity of being flexible.  They also remind me of what I say my values are and how I believe I should live. Our values were put to the test through this experience and are continuing to be tested now.  I believe we chose wisely and in accordance with our values then, and I hope we can live up to those same values through this latest test. By living to those values we opened up ourselves to the gifts we received from a five-year-old within a microscopic slice of time.  She and her mother helped reinforce the power and value of compassion and vulnerability. 

Words truly seem inadequate to convey this story and the evolving story we are all going through today.  I come back to the need to make sure you know your personal values and assess your actions - in a conscious way - against those values. 

Be prepared to be flexible, compassionate, and even vulnerable right now.  I have seen and felt the power of being in service to others.  Appreciate the impact you could have for others, but even more so the impact on you and who you can become from that courageous step. 

I continue to lament the loss of a friend I never got to make back in early 2018.  I lament the loss of those who have since passed and have been challenged by our current reality  I remain connected to a wife and daughter I might never have known if we had not been prepared to be present and to show up with grace and compassion in light of the pain and suffering of others.

Sometimes its NOT just about leadership.  Sometimes its just about being human. 

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
Gandhi

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Not All Coaches are Created Equal

Coaching continues to grow in its application and importance for many leaders, aspiring leaders, organizations and individuals. As is the case for any growth industry, the challenge for those looking to select a coach is how to sort the wheat from the chaff. How do we know or identify quality coaches from the myriad of people presenting themselves as such? I have seen this challenge play out both at an organizational level, where Human Resources or Organizational Development departments are tasked with vetting coaching resources, and at an individual level, where leaders and aspiring leaders are tasked with wading through a multitude of bios of potential coaches for themselves. I've been on both sides of this selection process - picking an executive coach for myself and being selected by others to be their executive coach. What I have experienced is the processes - and the quality thereof - is as varied as the individuals and organizations involved.

If you are like most leaders I have worked with, your understanding of executive coaching can be pretty basic. You are not quite sure what coaching is and sometimes you are not quite clear on what you want to achieve by engaging an executive coach. Some of the most common reasons individuals look for a coach is they are trying to overcome some personal or professional challenges (e.g., it's lonely at the top, barriers to professional advancement), or even as simple as their organization supporting coaching for their leaders.

Regardless of motivation or understanding, the next crucial step is trying to figure out how to select an executive coach that is right for you.  In my opinion, this is an effort that requires as much time, thought and process as we put into hiring any staff member, contractor, architect, or other professional resource. I say that with the thought that all such other processes in your organization are approached with due vigour and diligence. In many respects, there should be even more effort and structure to selecting an executive coach because what's at stake is your leadership and personal effectiveness. In my opinion, without effective leadership, all other resources in an organization are vastly under-utilized or even squandered.

So how can you maximize the opportunity available to you by getting access to and support of an executive coach? How can you ensure you choose the right coach for you? Here are my top factors and processes in making your best executive coach selection decision:

NUMBER ONE: This is the first and most important barrier to entry to working with you!  Make sure the executive coaches that present themselves for your consideration are in fact qualified - by education and experience - to provide the requisite level of service you are looking for. I'll demonstrate my bias here in that I believe qualified coaches must meet a minimum threshold which I define as a graduate of a program that establishes the coach as Certified Executive Coach(CEC), they are members in good standing with a professional coaching association (in my case the International Coach Federation [ICF]), and tangibly demonstrate a commitment to advancing their coaching acumen. This latter part relates to continuing education and certifications relevant to coaching. In short, the only candidates that are worthy of your consideration are those that are well-trained and have an excellent track record of ongoing professional development.

Number Two: Get access to a bio or resume for a variety of coaches. Get a sense of who they are and their track record. Approach this just as you would any other recruitment process. You are hoping to have a number of options to select from and to do that you need more than a few examples to choose from. Your decision may even be informed by the multitude of samples and approaches you see coaches taking in responding to your requirements.

Number Three: Relevant and complementary experience. While it is true that one does not have to be an expert in a given sector to coach someone in that sector (e.g., I don't have to be an engineer to coach an engineer), there is no doubt that some sort of relevant and lived experience that allows your coach to relate to your challenges and opportunities is going to benefit the quality of the coaching engagement. My coaching career has been pre-dated by 25+ years as senior leader of large complex organizations (e.g., $$$ million in accountability, thousands of staff, highly political environments).  This, coupled with years of coaching senior leaders, probably allows me to more effectively work with leaders with similar scope of responsibility. 

Number Four: Just like in any other recruiting process, try to gain some clarity for yourself in what you want an executive coach to do with and for you. By way of analogy, it's a pretty daunting task to go looking for a Chief Financial Officer or IT Director if you have no idea what tasks you want them to focus on or what education and skills you need them to have. The same holds true when selecting your executive coach.

Number Five: Get references from their current or past coaching clients. If they've had positive impact on others, it's quite likely that these other clients will be more than willing to speak with you about their experience.  If they have negative experience with the coach, they might be even more willing to be frank with you about shortcomings or challenges. If the coach in question is on LinkedIn, look for endorsements and testimonials from their clients. Get the evidence. Verify the claims of success or skill of your potential coach. 

Number Six: Take the time to interview at least two to three prospective coaches. Ask them your key questions. Ask them to describe in detail their coaching process. Ask them to describe in detail their successes and their failures (e.g., toughest assignment, learnings, whether they have been fired from a coaching engagement). Ask them how they stay current in their coaching practice. This is a critical selection decision for you - take the time to get this decision right! Make this a true and effective interview.  Don't speed-date your way to a decision.

While selecting your executive coach is a very personal decision, one tactic that I have seen work well is some form of panel interview or input. I remember one client who involved a number of his direct reports in the selection process. We do this in any other number of recruiting and selection processes so why not with an executive coach?  

Number Seven: Be wary of coaches who over-promise or offer to solve your problems. While you are definitely looking for confident and competent coaches with a track record of helping clients to identify, clarify and address your challenges, be clear for yourself that it is YOU who sets the agenda for the engagement, you are the one true agent of change, and you have the power and expertise to set your future direction. In my opinion, if you are feeling you are getting the hard sell, then it's time to walk away from that engagement.  

Number Eight: Consider this an investment in your personal and professional leadership. What is that worth to you? What is it worth to your organization? It may appear more than a bit self-serving on my part, but be wary of coaches who offer bargain-basement coaching rates. While price is never a guarantee of quality (see other points in this list), it should give you pause to consider what you might be signing up for. There may be a reason you can get coaching for less than the going rate.

Number Nine: Connection, connection, connection. Beyond ensuring your coach is actually a qualified coach (see Point #1), despite whatever skills, qualifications, and references any coach might have, if you don't feel a connection to a particular coach, I'd suggest not contracting their services.  This is an individual you are going to have to feel completely comfortable in revealing all of your fears, anxieties and challenges. You are going to have to be ready to be challenged by this indiviudal in each session and during the term of your coaching engagement. If you don't feel a connection, move on to other options. This is about YOU and no one else.

Choosing a coach is a critical decision for your leadership. You want the best resource available to you. Don't settle. Your executive coach can be one of your best resources in advancing your personal leadership, so put in the time and effort into the selection process. After all, it's about YOUR leadership.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

My Why: Why Human Resources?

When I started my post-secondary education over 25 years ago, faced with choosing a major in a field such as Finance or Marketing or Human Resources Management, I didn’t know why I was drawn to HR Management. All I knew was it was the clear choice.

So why have I continued to dedicate my career to the HR profession? I have asked myself this question many times over the years. And what it comes down to is how the principles of successful HR Management deeply parallel who I am, my values, and how I show up in life.

HR and Me

I am driven by connection. Humans require connection to thrive and to feel like they belong. Through life experiences, I have recognized that being connected to individuals, clients, a worthy cause, or a value-add project feeds my soul.   Organizations must strive to have connection with their employees to motivate them to work towards business goals, and to help them see they’re also connected to working towards something bigger.  

My DNA is rooted in collaboration.  I am a firm believer that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Great things happen when people nurture synergies and work together instead of working in silos.  Organizations that collaborate with HR know the value of being a partner in business and, as a result, can leverage effective human resources to meet common goals.    

I am grounded by the belief of doing the right thing, and by acting with integrity, we set the stage for people’s success. Organizations must act with integrity and stand by aCode of Conduct to cultivate a healthy and productive workforce.  

Trust is the foundation for every relationship and crucial to my purpose. I have learned that without trust, it is difficult to build healthy relationships, move ahead, accomplish tasks or achieve goals – both personally and professionally. Organizations need to create a culture of trust with and among employees to drive results. At its best, with trusted advisors at the centre of HR, employees can feel empowered and valued to make a difference.

I am genuinely interested in people – their stories, their journeys (as everyone has their own path), their goals and progression in life, why they made specific decisions, their mistakes and their successes. With that passion, I have dedicated my career to bringing out the best in people. One area that has helped me to successfully elevate people is putting people first, which is a sign of humility. Humility, or being humble, helps build strong employee relationships and breaks down barriers and egos to reach business goals.  And I believe organizations need humble employees and leaders for people and the business to be successful.

What have I observed in HR over the last 25 years?

I have seen business practices that work and others that do not work.  Here is what works:

• Putting people first. Successful organizations know what matters most to employees. This, in turn, produces business results.  Putting people first means organizations focus on building strong relationships with employees and invest time in actively involving employees in business decisions.  It also means employees believe they have a voice and organizations value their feedback. They believe leaders listen and act on their valued ideas and input. 

• Giving employees opportunities to grow.  Incredible human potential is realized when organizations allow people to soar! Leaders who empower employees to make decisions, who offer support and mentorship to reach their goals, who are empathetic and provide flexibility to balance life, who are present and listen to their needs, and who go beyond building on strengths, enable employees to believe the sky is the limit and anything is possible. 

• Organizations embrace performance excellence.  People crave feedback! It truly matters to employees when leaders have ongoing, meaningful dialogue and provide them with feedback. Performance excellence exists when employees know how they’re doing, where they fit, and where their potential may lead.

Here is what does not work:

• When HR does not sit at the leadership table as a valued business partner.  HR is an organization's human resources multiplier. If HR is not viewed as a valued business partner, it will not contribute to increasing human potential and company performance.  

• When employees do not have a clear line of sight on their role to reach business goals and outcomes. If this happens, organizations will observe low employee performance and productivity, and low employee morale and engagement.  

• When organizations choose to be “teddy bears” instead of “lions”.  Organizations that do not have the strength and courage to deal with employee issues (teddy bears) run the risk of negatively impacting the company culture, employee morale and potentially losing great talent. Organizations who are prepared to deal with employee issues and make difficult decisions (lions) will reap the benefits in increased employee loyalty, team performance and a more productive workforce. It is essential to leverage HR to navigate sensitive employee issues. 

Why is HR essential to the business?

HR is, first and foremost, a partner to the business. It is a business-critical function that prioritizes people, productivity and performance. It is a trusted advisor, compliance partner, employee advocate and change agent. Collaborating with HR allows organizations to focus on people, which is what matters most to successfully meet business goals.  

What have I learned?

Employees need to:      

• Feel connected to their roles and to the company;

• Be valued and rewarded for their contributions;

• Receive ongoing performance feedback to reach their fullest potential.  

Leaders need to:

• Be present and 100% accessible to their teams;

• Involve employees in company decisions and promote two-way feedback;

• Be transparent and set relevant employee expectations to achieve company goals.

Organizations that know the value of HR, with employees who live by a clear set of values and beliefs, will reach company goals successfully. 

My Why

It is 100% clear to me today why I chose HR as a career path. Every day, with each of my clients, I get to live my values of connection, collaboration, integrity, trust and humility. I get to live my purpose to connect people, leverage human resources and deliver performance. And with the marriage of these parts of who I am to their importance and impact in HR Management, HR and I are a perfect match. 

Driven by connection,
Rita

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Rita Filice, BCOMM, CPHR
Partner, BreakPoint Solutions
ritaf@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2544

Phoenix Rising - The Possibility of Post-Traumatic Growth

We live in interesting times.  This statement of the incredibly obvious encompasses a range of experiences for many of us right now, including the real or potential loss of job/career, a dramatic shift in how teaching and education is delivered to our children, how we shop, how we work, how we live, and how we interact with each other.  The ripple effect of these seismic changes is certainly not fully understood by any of us now and we face immense uncertainty as to how decisions today may play out for our future.  At points in time, I can't help but think we are entering into and living through a new dark age. Those are the moments of despair talking!

But there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Just like the dark ages of history were followed by a renaissance, I believe each of us has the possiblity to establish a new and stronger future for ourselves.  And by a new and stronger future, I mean something that is greater than a return to the status quo as we have come to know it.  So this blog is intended to convey to you the possibility of better things to come out of your current trials and tribulations.

The concept of post-traumatic growth is something I was only exposed to in the last few years. I was taking a course that delved into the relationship between coaching and psychology.  One of the readings was from Richard G. Tedeschi (Psychologist at University of North Carolina).  Upon reading the article on post-traumatic growth, I had an immediate epiphany.  Tedeschi was talking to my lived experience!  This enlightenment, however, raised as many questions as it provided answers.

The concept of post-traumatic growth first begins with the trauma.  And by trauma I don't mean a minor injury or wound.  Much like what many of you may be experiencing through the current time, the trauma I refer to is one of paradigm-shattering reality.  The two personal examples I can provide includes (1) the sudden and unexpected death of my first wife in 2007 and, (2) the involuntary termination of a leadership career of 25+ years in 2012.  In respect of the former, my life changed in minutes as I learned of the death of my wife while seated in the Denver airport on my way back to Edmonton.  In respect of the second, my personal identity as a leader shocked me into a new reality upon being reintroduced to the marketplace.

In both circumstances, the foundations on which I had established my life and my identity changed.  In one instance, I instantly became a single parent to a six-year old daughter.  Now having to nagivate life - seemingly - on my own.  In the second instance, my personal identity as a leader was challenged.  I could no longer call myself CEO, or Vice-President, or similar such moniker.  In both cases, my sense of self and my world view were radically upended.

From this darkness, however, ultimately came not just recovery, but far greater success and fulfilment than I would have envisaged or imagined possible prior to either of these traumas.  Following on the tragedy of 2007, I can directly trace my journey to the finish line of Ironman Canada 2010.  In those three years I had remarried, had two more daughters, lost 40 pounds and became an athlete.  My priorities had been reordered.  Possibilities had been realized and pursued.  My values were rediscovered and reinforced.  I had become a new man physicially, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

A similar experience took place with the loss of my senior leadership role in 2012.  Many sleepless nights preceded and followed that eventful day.  But from that point, I can say I have established a thriving coaching and consulting practice that has allowed me to step even more fully into my power and potential.  I have more fully owned my purpose and values, which has allowed me to far exceed what I thought was the pinnacle of my leadership career in 2012.  From loss came far greater success and enjoyment.

What accounts for that exponential change in fortune?  What explains not just recovery or a return to status quo, but a leap beyond?  That was what perplexed and intrigued me.  I've come to a few conclusions about what allowed that post-traumatic growth for me and what has also allowed it for others.  This experience also sets the stage for what I am experiencing now through COVID.  In assessing my past (and current?) experience, I can now look at that through the lens of Stephen Joseph's THRIVE model.  I wasn't aware of that model in 2007 and 2012, but I can attest to its reality then and now.

Taking Stock.  In the context of post-traumatic growth (PTG), this means assessing my own reality - mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.  What's real?  What's happening?  What can I control?  What can I do?  Basically, what is the true state of my affairs. Each of us is likely to do this differently.  Unfortunately for me (likely) in each of my traumatic events, I took the masochistic approach of evaluating and re-setting on my own.  It doesn't have to be that way and, for many of us, this process could be helped by reaching out for support, including the help of counsellors, therapists, family, and others.

Harvesting Hope.  This can relate to seeing a positive future, seeing possibilities, and re-engaging with one's own strengths and abilities.  What can be done versus what might no longer be possible.  With the death of my wife, I refused to believe my life also ended at age 42.  What else could I do?  What future yet lay before me?  Similar process for losing my job.  What could I yet be?  How could I not let this setback define me, but rather motivate me?

Re-Author My Story.  Leading from and supported by a sense of hope, I took steps to challenge beliefs about myself and my world.  While it took time, I did in fact change my narrative about who I was.  By 2008, I came to believe I wasn't also dead and that I had more to live and achieve.  By 2014, I had largely successfully re-centred myself around my commitment to supporting great leadership.  In the midst of COVID, I used the gift of time to finally formalize a proprietary leadership and coaching model.  I changed my narrative from despair to possibility.

Identifying Change.  Taking the time to actually notice where small, positive changes are starting to take place.  And more than just a passing notice - documenting and rewarding the positives that are starting to happen.  Losing weight, getting healthier, seeing an uptick in monthly billings, more engagements on LinkedIn or on my blog, getting positive feedback on drafts of the leadership and coaching model.

Valuing Change.  Understanding the significance of the changes being made and starting to derive some meaning from the adversity that has been experienced and will continue to be felt even once the initial trauma has passed.  For me, this included providing a fulfilling life for my daughter (and myself), continuing to be impactful for leaders, aspiring leaders and their followers, and now thinking about how to take my impact on leadership and coaching to another level.

Expressing Change in Action.  Everything - including good coaching - comes down to action.  We must move from seeing things differently and thinking differently to acting and being different.  It takes courage to change.  It takes courage to move beyond the pain we are feeling to create something new and possibly even better than before.  Just do it.  Even if it feels awkward and imperfect.  Keep moving forward.

To be clear, the readiness to THRIVE and the ability to move through the phases of the model was, and is, highly dependent on a range of circumstances.  I can honestly say I wasn't ready to THRIVE until a year after my wife's passing.  It probably took me at least that long to come to terms with a change in career path - and identify - after leaving my last executive role.  COVID-19 THRIVE?  That's a story that is still being written, but I believe I'm in that process now based on the the actions I have already taken.  And everyone is going to go through this at their own pace.

So I offer this model and this personal disclosure to help you navigate your own path forward and to hopefully show you there is a light at the end of the tunnel - that is not a train.  Leadership through these times starts with self.  Part of that self-leadership comes in recognizing the challenge and your own strengths, abilities, and potential. 

Take stock, harvest hope, take action.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Leadership: What's Your POV?

I think about leadership a lot. This week maybe more than usual as my BreakPoint SoultionsTM partners and I introduce AscensionTM, our in-house leadership model. The model moves through Animation, Articulation, Amplification, and Action,  with Assessment integrated into every element of the model. We believe the model provides a dynamic approach to identifying, expanding and realizing goals that can be used by individuals and organizations.  More information is available from me, any of my partners, and at  www.breakpoint.solutions.

BreakPointTM Solutions AscensionTM Model

It’s not my intention to sell the model here, rather I’ve been reflecting on what I believe about leadership and how it’s changed over the years.

Like many people, my initial understanding of leadership was as a verb. The act of leading others. Getting others to do what you want or need them to do. Outward focused and the responsibility of someone in a position of authority. The more I read and think about it, the more I realize that before you can impact or influence others, you need to look inward. As a result I’ve identified some steps toward becoming a leader:

1. Recognizing where you have opportunities to be a leader

2. Be willing to lead

3. Getting clear about the purpose (the Why)

4. Communicating from that position of clarity

5. Honing your skills

6. Have the courage to take action to make things better

Today I’ll tackle 1, 2, and 6. The rest I’ll leave for another day.

A Leadership Point of View

A few years ago I was introduced to Level Three Leadership-Getting Below the Surface by James G. Clawson. If you’ve heard me speak about leadership, you have heard me refer to a key concept in Clawson’s book that resonates with me:

Being a Leader depends on point of view, not title or status.

Clawson’s leadership point of view consists of three elements:

• Seeing what needs to be done

• Understanding all the underlying forces at play in a situation

• Having the courage to initiate action to make things better

Anyone can adopt a leadership point of view. No position or authority is required. Instead, many of us adopt other points of view – by choice or by habit. You will all recognize the others:

• The follower – who waits to be told what to do;

• The bureaucrat – who waits for permission or simply passes things up the chain;

• The administrator – who is constrained by what has been done before and can’t handle anything new or out of the ordinary; and,

• The contrarian – we all know the contrarian. At one time or another we may have been the contrarian uttering phrases like “that won’t work”, “we’ve tried that before”, “yes but…” and on and on.

I invite you to ask yourself a few questions:

• What point of view am I operating from? 

• Is this where I typically operate – my habitual way of seeing the world?

• If not, why is my point of view different now?

• Where do I have opportunities to apply a leadership point of view?  

Did you see yourself in any of the other points of view? If so, don’t be too hard on yourself. We’ve all been there at one time or another and sometimes with good reason. A follower POV, for example, is fine when you are new in a career or position, but if you find yourself here after a while, it’s great to step back and ask why. Is it as simple as changing your view or do you need to ask for help or additional training? 

The bureaucrat and the administrator may be tougher. Let’s face it, some jobs are bureaucratic or administrative. I think the trick is to not settle for any of these points of view. Even in the most bureaucratic or administrative position you can be on the look out for what needs to be done and the underlying forces in the situation and when your situation prevents you from taking action the courageous thing to do might be to ask someone who is in a position to act to do so.

Of all the others, I think the contrarian is the most dangerous. Dangerous to the team because the negativity can get in the way of success – and dangerous because it is contagious. If Dale doesn’t care, why should I? If Dale says we’ve tried that before and it didn’t work, why bother trying? But, perhaps the most dangerous thing about the contrarian POV is that it’s sticky! Once you are there, it’s hard to get away. It takes a conscious effort to make a switch. In her book Change Your Questions Change Your Life, Marilee Adams identifies mindsets and pathways and suggests we can use switching questions to change from one mindset to another. Adams suggests that questions like Why are they so stupid? or What’s wrong with me (or them)? will move you further down a negative path. On the other hand, questions like What do I want for myself and others? What assumptions am I making? or Am I being responsible? can move us to a more positive mindset.

What questions can you ask yourself when you need to adjust your point of view?

Questions will also help if you find yourself occupying a point of view that is different than your typical world view. What is it about this situation that has shifted you from where you normally are to one of the others? Can you use shifting questions or the leadership POV to readjust? It may require the courage to take action!

I hope by now you agree that being a leader is a choice. It’s about recognizing when we have the opportunity to lead, being willing, and taking action. Many of us see what needs to be done and understand - at least - most of the underlying forces at play, but having the courage to initiate action to make things better is, for me, what differentiates a leader. You know these people. We all do. People in our lives, in the public eye or historical figures who provided leadership regardless of, and sometimes in spite of, their title or authority. Could you be one of these people?

So the most important question to ask yourself might be:

Am I willing to adopt a leadership point of view?

Willingness to do so, especially having the courage to take action, is a giant step toward leadership for those who are starting out and a giant step in the right direction for those who already see themselves as leaders.

Keep your eye open for opportunities!

My hope is that sharing what I’ve been thinking gets you thinking.  As always, I invite your comments or questions.  Agree, disagree, and share your own tips and tools.  Thanks.

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Dale Cooney, BSP, MBA, CEC, ACC
Partner - BreakPoint Solutions
dalec@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2546

Leadership is a Creative Process!

Leadership has been defined and dissected in more ways than we can probably number and from a variety of authoritative sources from which I draw my inspiration - Covey, Collins, Sinek, Kouzes & Posner, to name a few.  Each of these leadership gurus has helped me identify, refine and grow my leadership philosophy over the years. 

None of their musings, mantras and models mean much, however, unless they are matched against the lived experience of an individual leader.  To become truly useful and powerful, the lessons these authors try to impart must also be applied in the real world.  As leaders, we must put the various theories to the practical test in our own unique environments.  We must see what could work for us - or not - and then evaluate to what degree our level of success in implementation was the result of quality and intensity of effort, true understanding of the model and principles being applied, or some combination thereof.  Tools on their own are not the answer.  Tools on their own are not going to turn us into better leaders.  What is required is critical and concerted application and adaptation of that tool to our environment and skill level. 

This is where I believe a key - and underappreciated - aspect of leadership comes into play.  The skill or tool of creativity.

I believe one of the least understood qualities of good and even great leaders is their ability to be creative.  This goes beyond being entrepreneurial or innovative in relation to getting new products or services to market.  In my view, creativity in leadership is characterized by a spirit of curiosity, a motivation for making impactful change, for trying something different, and even a commitment to exploration with all the attendant risk that comes from trying something new.  Creativity in leadership means challenging oneself and the teams that are being led.  Creativity results in conceiving of and realizing dreams never thought possible before.  Creativity does in fact lead to exponential changes or quantum leaps in thinking and being.

What makes for a creative leader?  What provides the context for creativity for a leader and thus for their teams and organizations to build, advance and succeed (perhaps out of all proportion to their perceived limitations)?  I believe there are a few key factors to consider:

Ability to Defer Judgment: A rush to judgment precludes understanding of the true or real challenges or opportunities before a leader and their team and constrains perspective on possible new opportunities, options and avenues of exploration.

Passion to Seek Out Novelty: While deferring judgment opens up the mind, the novelty principle requires a leader to actively seek out and explore options that are original, unique and out-of-the-box.  You might even note that such a leader is voracious and compelled to seek out insights from all kinds of sectors and sources.  

Drive for Quantity: This quality, building on the previous two, suggests that the quantity of ideas explored is an ally of the quality of ideas ultimately achieved.  Creative leaders always seem to have a variety of ideas in their heads.  In fact, it can even be exhausting keeping up with their restless energy and stream of thought!  In this case though, quantity is intended to leverage the probability of generating several good options.

Make/Seek Connections and Applications: Creative leaders recognize that limiting their field of view to their particular industry or sector is woefully insufficient in terms of pushing the envelope.  This is also where the drive for novelty and quantity come into play.  Creative leaders look for ideas and synergies from a variety of related and (seemingly) unrelated experiences, sectors, fields of study, stories, and genres.  

Practical: One of the key aspects of useful creativity is the ability to implement something of impact or effect.  The ability to translate creative ideas into practical application is one of the key elements that separates the dreamer from the effective leader.

As I noted earlier, creativity in leadership is not simply about introducing new products or services to market.  One of the hallmark distinctions between leadership and management, or between being a leader and a doer, is getting things done (bigger things done) through others.  In the context of leadership, therefore, and in the tremendously dynamic and ever-changing reality that is today's modern economy and workforce, leadership also demands creative approaches, adaptability and flexibility in responding to and achieving the potential of one's teams. How does a leader create and apply a creative process to building the capacity and capability of their teams? 

In the context of leadership, therefore, the elements noted above (and likely more) need to brought to bear on leveraging the skills and abilities of a team or organization.  Moreover, the leader has to have the vision and be actively scanning the environment to understand the challenges or opportunities available to the team. Next, the leader has to build a level of awareness on the part of the team as to the importance of these challenges or opportunities and why achievement of success is so critical.  Then the team has to be engaged in an experimentation phase - brainstorming, piloting, trial balloons - that start to put ideas to the test.  And finally, and most critically, something has to be implemented.  Engaging the team throughout the creative process allows for definitive buy-in and adaptation as environmental circumstances dictate.  

Leadership is an art. You are the conductor, the sculptor, the artist or perhaps even the chef.  You are the creative inspiration and shaper of your team to something beyond what any one of you could achieve.  Commit to your creative aspirations for your leadership and to the benefit of your team.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Our Leadership Choices

I last posted to this blog over a month ago (April 2020). At that time we were relatively early in our COVID response in Alberta/Canada.  Around the world we have witnessed a multitude of varied responses to this pandemic, its health and economic impacts, and hoped for relaunch.  Many of us - myself included - were wondering what the short-term and medium-term future held for our employment and business prospects, how we might make ends meet, how we could still deliver on the educational requirements of our children (hello home schooling!) and protect vulnerable family members from a premature death. 

How the world has changed in a month - and not in a good way!  As I write this we are seeing continued massive economic dislocation throughout the world, the first faltering steps towards (perhaps premature) relaunch, documented deaths from COVID nearing or over 400,000 globally (and more than likely an underestimate), no ability to say when normal - whatever that means - returns, and now the greatest civil strife in the USA that I have witnessed in my lifetime. 

Leadership has never been more in question and never more required than now.  But, I dare say, we are found wanting for courageous and selfless leadership like never before.  And I recognize as I say this that not everyone's definition might include a reference to selfless and others might well define courageous as draconian and iron-fisted, not conciliatory, considered and collaborative.  I lament the political posturing and bravado that somehow seems to be more the norm than ever before.  And this situation prevails not just in the USA - the easy target with a reality TV persona focused on dominating the streets and bible-holding photo-ops - but also in large parts of the world from Brazil to the UK. 

How have we come to this crossroads in leadership and life?

I come to back to elements of a post I first wrote back in August 2014.  At that time I had just completed a book by Sebastian Haffner, written in 1978 and translated from its original German in 1979.  This analysis of a prominent historical figure of our time was entitled "The Meaning of Hitler."

Right off the mark you might now question how I could reasonably tie an assessment of Hitler's reign to our current state of affairs.  And sadly others would not question this comparison at all. What possible insight could I have gleaned from a book analyzing the actions of a genocidal megalomaniac?  Simply this: Haffner analyzed both Hitler's successes and achievements and contrasted that against his failures and defeat.  What he concluded from both was that the rise and fall in Hitler's fortune was not a result of any physical, mental, emotional, intellectual or other change in Hitler himself.  He suggests that Hitler was quite dogmatic and unwavering in pursuit of his ends and the means to achieve those ends.  Rather, Haffner states, "[The] key lies not in any changes in Hitler.  It lies in the change and alternation of the opponents with whom Hitler had to deal."  He goes on to say, "Successes always involve two [people] - and the success of one is the failure of the other.  Given constant strength one can be successful against a weaker opponent and unsuccessful against a stronger one...Hitler's successes and failures become instantly explicable if one turns one's attention away from Hitler and towards his opponents at the times in question." (Underline is my emphasis.)

Haffner specifically suggested that Hitler only succeeded as a leader when he faced weak opposition, when he faced weak leaders - Chamberlain, Daladier, and others within and outside of Germany - in the years leading up to World War II.  After the invasion and subjugation of Poland, and most definitively after 1941 and declarations of war on the Soviet Union and the United States, Hitler faced a decidedly different calibre of leaders in the form of Churchill, De Gaulle, Stalin and Roosevelt.  He ultimately was defeated even though his character and tactics had not changed at all from those that had led to his early, spectacular successes.

When I first wrote this blog, I focused only on the external opponents of Hitler and how that changed the fortunes and outcomes in World War II.  What was clearly missing from my analysis, and became even more important in the eventual devastation of Germany, was either the active participation of others in the pursuit of Nazi utopia or the acquiescence of greater portions of the population in this march of doom.  Hitler not only rose to power and achieved his earliest successes because of weak or naïve external leaders.  First and foremost, Hitler had the active support of those that believed as he did, saw their advancement in his actions, or were simply complicit in allowing events to unfold as they did.  Hitler had willing and willfully blind accomplices.  Some believed as he did.  Others turned a blind eye to what was happening before them so long as they could gain or not be adversely impacted.  If it wasn't happening to them (e.g., constraint/ elimination of rights, persecution, execution), they kept whistling in the dark, convincing themselves there was a greater good at play, bad things were not really happening, or otherwise pretending life was normal or better than it had been or otherwise could be.

That's where I fear we have come to now.  Collectively, if we lament the state of our society and the calibre of leadership that is with us or has led us to this point, we have only to look in the mirror for the answer as to "why?".  If we have looked in the mirror, we have seen the enemy and it is us.  It is with this line that I understand, if not fully comprehend, the protests and riots taking place in the streets of US cities - many of which I have walked in ignorance and bliss on countless trips before now.  Columbus, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, to name but a few.  I also must appreciate that we in Canada are not so distant from this level of discord and polarity.  We also tolerate, incubate and ignore leaders who would divide us from each other, create enemies of others, all in the belief that we are somehow above the ideological chasms that exist elsewhere.  We remain blind, naïve and complacent at our peril.

This may seem like a somewhat belaboured point, but the insight I gained from this unlikely source is that mediocre leaders, poor leaders or destructive leaders succeed not so much by what they do but by what we ourselves fail to do.  If we desire different leadership, we must have the courage to look for it, to ask for it, to demand it, and to support leaders that will inspire us to some more noble goals and achievements.

If the collective WE fails to exert our own expectations and standards for the type of leadership we desire, than we likely deserve the hand we are dealt.  As well, look at the experience of other nations and societies we may find that while misery loves company it's no recipe for success.

It's about the choices WE make and It's All About Leadership!

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Grace and Compassion through Crisis

The concepts of grace and compassion - for self and for those you work and live with - have increasingly come to the fore over the last several weeks.   I apply that assessment and reality to myself as well as to my clients and their organizations.  Working with a variety of leaders and organizations, I have had a bit of a ring side seat to see how the COVID-19 - and related/unrelated economic impacts - have played out for their teams.  Some seem to have strengthened and managed well.  Others have been characterized by various levels of discord and sometimes outright conflict. 

Make no mistake.  The impacts we are experiencing are highly variable.  Some organizations and businesses are running on the treadmill like never before.  If you are in the business of personal protective equipment, supply chain management, trucking, digital technology, or foodstuffs, the bottom line may be looking quite robust and well beyond normal projections.  If your business is any way related to providing personalized services like massage therapy and hairstyling or needs/has to operate with a requirement for large volume attendance, like movie theatres, the bottom has likely dropped out with concerns about short- to medium-term viability.  In between all of that we have some businesses and organizations whose teams are being impacted differentially.  In this case I think of the healthcare sector. Those working on direct care patient care = all hands on deck.  Those with more distant affiliation to that current focus = potentially having their priorities put on ice.  In other circumstances = hiring as many direct care staff as possible and/or increasing their hours.  For others, it means even going so far as layoffs.

And this just relates to the varied work-related impacts.  This doesn't begin to take into account the myriad home-based and personal realities that we are dealing with.  And those realities are very different.  We have seen negative reaction and push-back to celebrities endorsing physical distancing - as they send their video messages from their palatial homes with every amenity possible to them and grand spaces that provide opportunities to both engage with and find distance from other family members as required.  We see increasing number of (hopefully isolated) protests in some urban centres seeking to end the lockdowns.  We've seen the rush on toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and weapons all based on fear of "what if".  The impacts for individuals are as varied as their circumstances - young or old, single or married, with kids or no kids, being in the same city as extended family or not, remaining employed or not, having a financial cushion or not, having somebody in a care facility or not, having access to technology (e.g., FaceTime) or not. 

Then there are your own personal resilience reserves.  Like it or not, those reserves are pretty much what we had when we entered this particular fray.  They are a function of our life experience prior to all of this, how much adversity we have previously experienced, how centred we are (e.g., understanding our own values and life purpose), how connected we have been to others (e.g., did we/do we have a support network), our self-care practices, and our perspective on the world and ourselves (e.g., do we see ourselves as victims of fate or creators of our own destiny).  I certainly believe there are things we can do in this time to support our resilience, but it’s a bit more challenging to enhance resilience if we feel under duress than in other less stressful times.

What does this all have to do with Grace and Compassion?  Clearly these are not normal times.  As a leader you are going to have to find a way to navigate these times for yourself AND for your team.  First, understand and OWN this reality.  Maybe you believe you are navigating these rough waters quite well.  I would encourage you to challenge that belief or assumption.  Objectively evaluate your current capacity.  These are not normal times.  Even this honest exercise may demonstrate a degree of courage, honesty, and vulnerability that might be beneficial to the teams you lead.

What can you do for your teams right now to provide them with the necessary grace and compassion through this crisis and help them have grace and compassion for each other?  Several opportunities come to mind:

• Recognize the differential impact that may be playing out for your team members.  This may be a function of their life circumstances (e.g., married, kids, caring for elderly parents, etc.), a function of other personal capacities and experiences, or even their ability/capacity to work virtually or not as now being required.  A one-size approach to leading them is not appropriate, nor would a "buck-up" mentality be helpful.  Situational leadership writ large!

• Reinforce that everyone is trying to do their best under trying circumstances.  Under stress, we all do things that are not necessarily our normal or best behavior. We might be physically, emotionally, or mentally exhausted.  We may have a "straw that broke the camel's back" moment.  Help your team to give each other the benefit of the doubt and provide space to calm the waters.  Be present with each other at this time.

• Confirm and clarify priorities.  Right now there is an increased chance for confusion as information mixes with rumor about what the next phase of the crisis response may have to look like.  Focus, clarity and succinct communication has never been more important.  Don't overwhelm your team with data and speculation.  Keep it simple Simon (KISS).  Less is likely more right now, particularly if people on your team are feeling overwhelmed or not quite on their game.

• Provide an appropriate forum for them to share their challenges AND their potential solutions. Even this simple opportunity to connect and share experiences can be a powerful tool to support connection and instill some sense of control for each of them.  While our mind can be a dangerous neighborhood to go into alone, the opportunity to know that they need not be isolated can perhaps shed some cobwebs for all.

• Maintain presence and connection.  This is important at all times but perhaps even more so with physical distancing requirements and being in crisis mode.  The greatest value in this will be in using virtual opportunities to not just conduct business, but also demonstrate sincere empathy and recognition for the work being done by your team.  If you can model that leadership, empathy and recognition, you can set the tone for how your team shows up for each other.

• Demonstrate confidence in your team, empower them, and enable them.  There may be an increased temptation to micro-manage every detail of crisis management right now.  However, if you have been clear on priorities and engaged in good communication, the need to take over should be mitigated.  Allow your team to be meaningfully engaged and even appropriately distracted by their work right now.  That simple act alone may help them manage through.

• Manage the pace.  In many cases right now you might be feeling you need to run at a sprint pace.  Unfortunately, you are engaged in a marathon distance (or ultra-marathon).  The sprint pace is not sustainable.  You will have to find the courage to slow yourself down, and slow your team down, if you want to remain effective and functional over the next number of weeks or months.  

We are going to get through this.  The question is how much stronger or weaker we will arrive on the other side.  How many of our people will still be with us in body or spirit once the current crisis passes?  The answer to that question will likely relate to how much grace and compassion we have shown for each other and ourselves.  

And that IS about leadership!

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Time for a BreakPoint

BreakPoint Solutions as a the name for our leadership development and consultancy firm was a very deliberate and purposeful decision.  Not that the naming of any company or venture is ever random.  But as it was launched, there was a realization that there was an opportunity to capture the essence of what we were going to be about, who we wanted to be, and what we hoped to achieve.  The definition is intended to convey the power of coaching, leadership, self-awareness, and strategic intent that encompasses our work here at BreakPoint:

"an intentional stopping point or place to pause, an opportunity to derive new knowledge, establish commitment to a new direction in one's career or life...allowing one to evaluate a current path, effort and results, inspect one's environment, and reset for future success."

The reality of COVID-19 has put us all into a definitive - if involuntary - pause and, at the very least, a short-term enforced resetting of priorities.  There has been a vast amount of speculation as to what the future holds or what it should hold while we ride out a storm with no definitive end date.  We keep speculating as to when life will return to "normal" - end of April, mid-May, end of June... never?  We have reasonable belief that a vaccine is still at least a year out and that it is reasonable to expect another wave, or more, of COVID-19 will haunt us into the fall and perhaps beyond.  Vigilance and reinforcement of new health and social norms will be asked and required of us.

So beyond managing and/or leading through this, how can we, as leaders and individuals, effectively and constructively use this pause.  One of the requirements of leaders in particular is to not just get caught up in the crisis of the moment.  We are singularly called to think strategically, keep our "eyes up", and chart a course across the stormy waters to the murky future.  As leaders, we also have to act to calm the waters for those who we purport to lead - not add gas to the proverbial fire.  Easier said than done I know.  I also realize that for some businesses, the long-term is currently being measured in just months, weeks, or even days - all as we keep an eye on the cash reserves and bills that still keep coming in.  

As an executive coach, entrepreneur, and small business owner, I have always tried to practice what I preach.  Not to simply throw tools, templates and resources at my clients without actually putting those same tools to use in developing and guiding my business and personal development.  

So what has this pause meant to me? How am I remaining strategic and even visionary while riding the waves of this storm-tossed sea?  How am using this BreakPoint?

I've gone back to revisit at least two tools.  At the first and simplest level I've gone back to review my own leadership and personality assessments.  This includes emotional intelligence, Total Strengths Deployment Inventory (TSDI), and Myers-Briggs.  Why am I doing this? I recognize that I am - and we all are - operating under new, sustained, and significant stresses in all aspects of life (personal and professional), and likely not operating from the best place.  So the review of these results helps make the unconscious conscious, arms me with a better ability (with some conscious effort) to slow down and reset, and ultimately be in a better place to continue to be relatively sane, productive and present for others. 

The other core tool for me is my own personal business plan.  While I have always approached the concept of this plan - and strategic planning in general - as a dynamically supportive process and document, it is abundantly clear that the assumptions that informed this plan at its annual update in August last year have been radically upended.  The growth curve that has characterized my entrepreneurial venture since 2012 is going to be flattened. That is reality.  

I still, however, have choice in terms of how I respond to that reality.  For some, the current crisis might reinforce the futility of planning at all.  What's the point?  We are merely railing against the wind and creating the delusion of control.  I don't believe that.  I'm not content to believe I am merely subject to the winds of predetermined fate. I don't believe any of us can truly function without a sense of our core self and a desired future state we wish to achieve.  But then I have always remained idealistic despite a number of significant bumps in both my personal and professional lives.  

This is where the value of my personal business plan comes into play.  This is more than just a plan for the business of BreakPoint Solutions or my own individual coaching/consulting practice.  It encompasses concepts of Mission, Vision, Values, short- through long-term objectives, strategies and tactics.  It also encompasses the entirety of planning for the whole of me - personal, family, and professional. 

The need to review the plan has been reinforced by the new environmental reality.  That reality and my review has reinforced the essential soundness of my Mission and Vision.  I am confident that I am pursuing the right things for the right reasons.  

Strategies, tactics and targets for this year are definitely going to be changing - and this also provides opportunity to ensure I am living in accordance to my stated Values.  So while things like family vacations in Florida have been cancelled and Ironman competition in August hangs in the balance, what has been reinforced is the need to spend quality time with my loved ones.  Balance and fun remain essential.  We just need to do it differently right now.

From a business and professional standpoint, my Values and the rest of my plan call me to continue to focus on being of service to my clients.  Coaching has never been more relevant to those being challenged by these circumstances or having to work virtually.  Connection versus isolation.  This pause has also afforded me the opportunity to invest in a range of offerings that have been in my idea bucket for months, if not years.  I've pulled the trigger on getting some of these products trademarked and copyrighted.  I'm still building the legacy for years to come, despite short-term challenges.

Long story short, this pause, while quite unwelcome, can form the basis for resetting, getting further clarity on what is important and what is necessary, and thus set the foundation for greater strength coming out of the storm when it passes.

So use this BreakPoint to your best advantage.  Slow down to go fast.  Establish and confirm your priorities.  Build hope for yourself, your team, and your family.  We can use this enforced pause to advantage.  We can build stronger foundations.  We can continue to live our Mission fully and achieve our long-term Vision. It's About Leadership and It's About Leadership of Self. 

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Being the Eye of the Storm

The last several days and weeks have been unlike anything we have ever experienced before.  The reality of COVID-19 and our need to respond to its challenge on personal, organizational, community, national and global levels has been compared to the Great Depression, the total war effort of World War II, and even the Black Death.  At this point we don't know the full scope of what will transpire in the short-term (much less the long-term), with such timeline being measured in hours, days and at best weeks.  We have seen models and projections in terms of lives that may be lost, economic havoc to be visited and being visited upon employment and business survival, and time over which COVID-19 may be with us.

The challenge to leadership - your leadership - has likely never been greater than it is now, or may ever be through the rest of your career.  In some cases you are being called on to make decisions - right now - that you believe are going to make the difference to the survival of your business or organization.  You also may be juggling issues of how those short-term survival decisions will impact the long-term viability of your business.  You are walking a delicate tightrope of short-term and long-term decisions and impacts.  For some of you, particularly in healthcare, you are also making decisions which literally have life and death consequences. 

So what truly are you called on to be as leader at this time?  This metaphorical hurricane is upon us and the winds are tearing away at the fabric of our shared reality.  Your role as a leader is not to pull yourself from the storm, nor always dive in amongst the lashing winds and rain, but rather to be the eye in the storm for those you lead and serve.

This is going to call on all your reserves, courage and discipline you can muster.  And you do have tools to make that happen.  But you will need to create a plan, hold to a plan and create some supports to help you execute that plan.  Here are my thoughts on the kernels of a plan to support your personal leadership so you can effectively lead in and through this storm we are in.

Get CRYSTAL CLEAR on the REAL Priorities - In the walls of the storm there is a lot of flotsam and jetsam being thrown about.  It will be easy to get distracted by everything coming at you and being thrown at you by the full range of your stakeholders.  Get focused on what the true critical priorities are at this time and continuously reinforce and uphold those priorities for yourself and your team.  Calm the waters as best you can.  When new requests or initiatives come up, come back to the priorities you all agreed had to guide you to begin with.

Clarify and Hold to Your Values - What is going to guide your personal and organizational actions at this trying time?  Solidify your understanding of your true north.  Understand what tradeoffs you are going to have to make right now.  Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.  Appreciate and own that you and your team are making the best decisions you can with the information available to you right now.  If staff and client/customer safety is #1, your actions need to be so guided.  If economic viability is #1, make it so.

Take Time to Breathe - Despite your belief that your presence and insight is required 24/7 over the next number of days, the reality is that such effort is not sustainable and it will actually become largely counterproductive.  Maintaining or trying to maintain such a high adrenaline pace will progressively diminish your mental, physical and emotional capacity.  As you maintain the sprint effort during the course of this marathon, you will falter.  You will need to exercise the discipline to disengage - even on a daily basis - to maintain your balance so you can maintain the balance the rest of your team is going to need. Go slow to go fast if you wish to finish this race.

Self-Care - Beyond taking time to breathe on a regular basis, you are going to have to ensure the basics of proper sleep, nutrition and mental distraction for the duration of this.  Failure to take these necessary steps will continue to erode your leadership capacity.  If your health erodes, you will be in no position to serve or save anyone else.

Stay Connected - It's lonely at the top.  And these days - with physical distancing - it’s lonely in the bottom and the middle as well.  One of the very real challenges in leadership at the best of times is believing we have to take on the challenges we face alone.  This is a leadership fallacy from the "good times" and is a critical failure waiting to happen if we carry gallantly and alone now.  Find a way to stay connected with your team, with a confidante, with other leaders - or even your executive coach.  Our mind is a dangerous neighborhood to go into alone...

Sustain Hope - As hard as it is to believe now, this too shall pass.  The storm will subside.  One of your critical roles in leadership will be to provide a sense of balance, hope and optimism for those in your charge. You can only do this if you develop and maintain for yourself a positive vision for the future post-storm.  You can only do this if you don't allow yourself to become overwhelmed and exhausted in the current fight.  Give yourself just a bit of space to imagine a world that is calmer, if different, after the storm clouds have broken and the sun shines once again.

I leave you with the poetic verse of Rudyard Kipling.  While the first verse seems to speak most strongly to the calming presence required of leadership right now, I believe there is strength in its entirety.  Stay well, stay well, and stay sane. 

“If you can keep your head when all about you 
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all ... doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with [Royalty] - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all [people] count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a [Leader], my [love]!” 

- Rudyard Kipling...

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

A Post-COVID-19 Future?

The hyperbole - and reality - surrounding the impact and the response of the world to COVID-19 has been profound.  The images that we've seen from around the world - Pope Francis conducting prayers in a vacant St. Peter's Square, coffins filling churches where once devotees gathered, largely empty and desolate streets of major cities across the world - some of which I have only recently visited.  The dire economic impact for so many with mass layoffs, increased debt and personal and business bankruptcy looming.  As I self-isolate at home, while watching my wife fully engage in the health care system as a nurse leader, and watch the daily tally of cases and deaths in my province, country and around the world I wonder how this shared experience will change the life we return to post lockdown.

The answers to this big question - what does the future hold? - is, of course, highly speculative.  To some degree the answers will depend on how long we are in lockdown, how long it takes our "systems" to return to whatever the new normal will be, and also how resilient and creative we can be as individuals, businesses and nations.  And will we learn from this experience or seek to quickly expunge its sting from our individual and collective memories?  I expect that we will see an acceleration of changes that had already been prevalent before COVID-19 added proverbial gas to our ever-changing world - urbanization, on-line shopping, virtual work and education, migration and population dislocation, movement to increased environmental consciousness.

What I note below are a series of questions, largely presented as a set of opposing forces with no definitive answers.  Ying and Yang.  In some circumstances, the approach to the questions betrays my personal bias and hope for the future as well.  So in no particular order here are my observations, questions and perhaps hopes for a new and different future ahead.

Isolation versus Connection - I've seen and experienced an interesting dichotomy during this enforced lockdown.  While we have all been forced to self-isolate or at least constrain our contact with humanity we seemingly have never craved connection more.  Social media has been both a bane of false information and the glue that has kept us connected and sane.  If I reflect upon how life was for me over 50 years ago as a child growing up in a small rural community we had strong familiarity and connection with our neighbours.  Prior to COVID-19, at age 55, I can honestly say that I interacted with my neighbours hardly at all.  We were cordial but insular.  What does the future hold?  In a post-COVID-19 world will we revel in new opportunities for connection or will we be even more cautious and hold to our individual fortresses of solitude?

Individualism versus Collectivism - we have seen and experienced a marked contrast in human response (and even national responses) to the march of COVID-19.  We have all seen - and perhaps contributed to - the run on toilet paper, hand sanitizer and ammunition in the past several weeks.  We have seen narcissistic, self-serving/preserving and mercenary behavior from even our most esteemed leaders while at that same time seeing amazingly selfless acts and commitments from others.  Most notable in this last category have been healthcare professionals across the globe.  Will a post-COVID-19 world lead us to more self-centred and protectionist reality or one in which we aspire to collective support?

Tribalism versus Globalism - in the current reality, and perhaps for the right reasons, we have seen jurisdiction after jurisdiction shut its borders.  This has impacted travel on a domestic, national and international level.  Much like the behavior operative at a personal level in hoarding toilet paper, we have also seen commentary and actions on a national level relating to bans on exports to other countries of essential medical supplies.  This has been supported by social and political commentary from some quarters that can be best paraphrased "Take care of our own first."  What COVID-19 demonstrates, however, is that certain events respect no national or tribal boundaries.  We are only as strong as our weakest link.  So will we become more isolationist, protective (even racist) in a post-COVID-19 world or will we strive to become more unified as a species?

High Touch or High Tech - perhaps this comparison doesn't hold as a set of polar opposites.  In reality we likely need both.  The respirators, haz mat suits for a variety of professions, the monitoring capacity for health and security purposes, the scientific endeavours being urgently pursued to create vaccines and other palliatives all can seemingly act as barriers to the human connection we all need.  Paradoxically, the challenges we are facing now will likely accelerate technological advances no less than battlefield experiences during World War II and other conflicts accelerated advances in the medical field.  The question will continue to be how do we balance the need for human connection as we develop and implement technological advances?

Democracy versus Authoritarianism - prior to COVID-19 Western democracies were already experiencing significant moments of self-doubt and introspection.  From the "yellow-jacket" movement in a number of countries, to Brexit, to the MAGA movement in the US (occasioned, in part, by disillusionment with the "establishment"), to nascent separatist movements in a number of countries.  In contrast, "we" have felt the apparent strength and purpose from a country like China over the years as their economy - and political clout - has grown unencumbered by dissenting opinion.  We have also started to mimic the authoritative approach to COVID-19 that China, Singapore, and South Korea have taken to minimize and control the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19.  So what impact will this pandemic have on the future of democracy?  We will expect and demand more from our leaders?  We will expect and demand more of ourselves?  Do we continue with multi-party democracy or, as in the current environment, expect more collaborative and consensus-building as opposed to left versus right jockeying for position?

Freedom versus Security - similar to the polar opposites noted above, have been the disparate responses (at least in western democracies) to the requests and then more forceful actions relating to social distancing, isolation and shutdowns.  For some individuals (e.g., spring break participants, some political leaders) the constraints on personal freedoms and the impact to the larger economy are not just unpalatable but unnecessary or even unconscionable.  In the words of some, the cure can't be worse than the disease.  For others, the "temporary" loss of movement, association and general liberty are more than justified under the current circumstances.  The question becomes, will western society continue to value personal freedom to the same degree going forward or will this become more balanced against the type of vulnerability that COVID-19 demonstrates we all share?

Capitalism versus Socialism - at this time of major economic dislocation, perhaps particularly in the US (but also in other countries) many have begun to question why the private sector and its political allies who would have railed against socialist policies or tendencies would now expect governments to bail them out.  Likewise, we have also seen a dawning realization or stronger appreciation for the efforts of healthcare professionals, educators and those earning minimum wage as key backbones for what makes our economies and societies function.  And we have seen governments across the world strive to get cash in the pockets of individuals to get them through the next number of months - universal basic income?  With the exception of Alberta, we have also seen the public sector be a safe(r) haven for employment than the private sector despite calls for "social consciousness".   What lessons will we take away and apply to the new world order after this particular crisis passes?  What approach or philosophy will we take forward to how we live and sustain ourselves?
The challenges to leadership have never been more daunting, complex and dynamic than in today's environment.  In some cases, the forces at play have been building for awhile and COVID-19 has merely sharpened the edges and pushed other things to the final tipping point.  COVID-19 may have also helped us focus on true priorities  What remains to be seen is what we will truly learn from this experience, how willing we will be to engage in honest self-reflection and make opportunity from this challenge.

It's All About Leadership.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Sustaining Resilience

The concept - and need for - personal and organizational resilience has never been more critical than now.  But right now THIS feels very personal.  The reality of COVID-19 has levelled the human playing field.  Without a doubt those with means may have some advantage in isolating and in not having to worry (as much) about financial implications in either the short- or long-term.  Outside of that, however, COVID-19 seems to care less about the size of your wallet and more about who you may have been associating with, your age and other underlying health conditions.  Once you get it, it seems pretty apparent that even if could afford to have your own critical care team, intensive care unit and respirator the outcome is still a roll of the dice.

What have I seen so far?  I've seen friends and family scrambling back from overseas trips, worried that borders might close or flights might disappear before then can get home.  I've seen places we've stayed in Italy on the brink of bankruptcy - honest, hardworking small business owners who may be - have been- devastated by this plague.  I've talked to many of my coaching and consulting clients and heard their anxiety for themselves, their families and their livelihood.  And we've only just begun this journey.

For myself, I've seen a slew of cancellations - even of virtual events - as people look to ensure compliance with public health directives or just get strongly focused on core business and family priorities.  I'm now mostly working from home, partly because both school and daycare for my two youngest children have been cancelled.  I'm a home-based business, entrepreneur and daddy daycare now!  I keep in contact with my 79-year-old mother who lives in another province - making sure she lives safely.  I've seen my oldest daughter "graduate" her latest university course in March - versus April.  And my wife - being a registered nurse and health care leader - has now gone full-in as a leader in a senior's living complex.  I'm all in. There are no bystanders in this thing.

So how can we maintain some sense of balance and resilience at this time? I could give you a very strong "academic" formula for that as could others.  But I believe at this time that we more practical guidance, suggestions and developing lessons on how to make it through right now.  And that's not to say that I have THE answers.  I don't.  I've had plenty of anxiety if not panic attacks and sleepless nights as I contemplate what is around the corner and how long this road is going to be. So what am I doing to sustain my resilience (and save my sanity)?

Batten down the hatches - I've started to anticipate that my business revenue is going to go down.  Do I know that for sure?  No.  But I'm not going to be complacent about it.  So some of the first things that I did was take advantage of the tax holiday declared by our governments.  Stop or slow the pace on those payments.  Second, I stopped salary payments to myself and my wife/co-founder.  We will take a more measured approach to our expenditures - we are not in normal times.  Finally, I assessed the rest of our expenditures.  Overall, I tried to take the pressure off of us right now even if the bank account was fine to make those payments.  I don't know what the future holds so let’s slow the pace.

Plant Seeds I - my view of the world may not be as bleak as I think it is.  Time will tell.  One of the first things I believed was at play in the broader world was that as people self-isolated the need for socialization and connection would be stronger than ever.  So I started a "group-coaching" offering and this week it kicks off with at least a half dozen "clients" coming together to share challenges, options and hope for the future.  And I'm not currently charging for this effort.  However, my offering was heard by at least one organization and they are now asking me to undertake a similar effort for their leaders with some compensation attached.

Plant Seeds II - never let a good crisis go to waste?  As one client reaches out and requests some support for their leadership and staff at this time it begs the question "what about others"?  Additionally, now may be a great opportunity, while business is at a slower pace, to invest the time in your own or other's personal development. So I've come up with a whole series of virtually-delivered options and various iterations of leadership/staff support and development options and put them out "to the world"...In some cases these are very much of the group coaching nature with between 6 and 10 participants.  In other cases it has been a series of lunch-and-learn topics - again focused on limited numbers to promote interaction - being very focused on the reality of the day (e.g., resilience, leading through crisis, building and sustaining teams, etc.).  Not every one of these will land with everybody, but planting seeds.

Sharpen the Ax - idle hands are the devil's playground?  And your mind is a dangerous place to go alone?  I could drive myself crazy if not focused on some task or objective.  I'm a very goal-driven and achievement-oriented individual.  So I need to create meaningful work if I am not otherwise engaged.  Right now this means reading and creating.  There are numerous projects that have been on the back burner that are necessary for the long-term success of BreakPoint Solutions.  So now is a great time to create.  It's happening now.  And the fruits of this may be seen as early as this month and certainly within this year.  Learn.  Develop.  Create.

Stay Healthy - I'm not losing track of my physical health at this time.  With the support of my family I made a commitment last year to return to Ironman Canada.  It's certainly debatable whether the event scheduled for August 30th will take place and lead up events are in even more jeopardy.  Training may be more challenging with gyms and pools closed and team training sessions cancelled.  But I persevere and right now I'm on track to have lost nearly 35 pounds between Christmas and Easter. The bike strength and running strength are growing apace.  Positive path forward!

Future Focused/Non-Catastrophizing - there is a lot that I could worry about.  And I do.  But I'm also trying to keep focused forward and hold on to or create a positive future vision for myself, my family and the business.  What does that mean?  For one thing continuing to invest in my skill set - just came off of a webinar last week and got some new ideas.  In May I start the final course to complete my Graduate Certificate in Advanced Coaching Practices.  I continue to plan and remain hopeful about meeting friends in New Mexico in November of this year.  And I'm planning on a return to Europe next year to check back in with new found friends and experience history.

Stay Distracted - it definitely can't all be work right now.  We need to have some healthy distraction, particularly in these challenging times.  For me that does mean more reading - but not work-related.  It certainly means the Ironman training noted above.  It also means some decidedly geeky pursuits.  May the Force be With You!  Find fun.  Make fun.  Build fun.

Stay Inspired - I have a whole lot of very personal reasons to sustain me and keep me level.  My family.  I need to stay strong and focused for them.  I need to help them be optimistic about the future even if right now we need to keep distance from boyfriends, postpone 7th and 10th birthday parties and/or reconfigure them, and have wedding anniversary dinners done in house with no babysitter.  There is still a strong future ahead and we all have something and someone to work for.  And once we get through this - and we will - we will definitely be the stronger for it.

Those are some of my strategies to maintain personal resilience.  I REALLY would like to hear what some of your strategies are.

Please share your stories with me at gregh@breakpoint.solutions or through our website at www.breakpoint.solutions or look me up on LinkedIn. 

Stay safe.  Stay well.  Stay resilient.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

LEADING! in - and through - Crisis

Well we are not in Kansas anymore.  

As I write this I am practicing my own social distancing, maintaining a coaching/consulting practice through virtual means and (currently/temporarily) acting as daddy day care to my 6 and 9-year old daughters.  This latter part comes as both their school and daycare have been closed for the foreseeable future.  As a family we are now trying to navigate many of the shoals that all of you are now living - maintaining an income stream for bills that still need to get paid, cancelling vacation plans (slated for late April/early May), keeping the cupboards stocked (while not hoarding!), trying to advise and support elderly parents remotely, setting up education plans for our kids so that they actually do "graduate" and are ready for Grade 2 and Grade 5 in September and re-establishing sustainable child care.

That is "just" the personal/family side of the equation.  Then there is the business side of the equation.  We are well-positioned for long-term viability.  Short-term pain on the other hand is a reality.  From my past leadership experience - leading portfolios of several hundreds of millions of dollars, thousands of staff and many more thousands of client interactions I also appreciate the tremendous strain on leaders at all levels of an organization as they try to the current reality.  I speak from personal experience having been a senior leader if he former Caritas Health Group as the Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer with specific responsibility for all clinical services at the Misericordia and Grey Nuns hospitals.  I was also one of that organization's key liaisons with Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health as we attempted to coordinate our response efforts on a provincial and, sometimes, even on a national scale.

In my time as a manager/leader dating back to 1986, I've had the opportunity to work with and observe many leaders, managers and staff.  They have all helped me grow and develop my own leadership philosophy and style.  Sometimes I've learned great tools and techniques from them as they have navigated normal and not so normal situations.  

One of the areas of greatest learning has been in the experience of seeing how managers and leaders react to "adverse" events.  Those events have covered a spectrum of circumstances - poor (to deadly) service to clients, a staff crisis, or a building or equipment malfunction impacting service delivery.  Or pandemic responses like H1N1.  The set of circumstances is largely irrelevant other than in trying to convey that something bad has happened - is happening - that needs to be addressed.  More importantly for me, is the importance that strong and calm leadership behaviors can make in those circumstances.  

Despite the challenges before us leadership at times of crisis - at times like these - calls upon us to be pillars of stability, strength and vision even when we don't come close to feeling that way!  What we critically need to avoid is becoming part of or creating the crisis that we are supposed to be managing or solving. 

Your role as leader "...keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..."

All too often, there can be a tendency to lose one's head during a real or perceived crisis.  There is no doubt that with COVID-19 that we are experiencing a real and impending crisis.  The worst for us here in Alberta and Canada is likely yet to come.  However, our actions in response - like hoarding foodstuffs and other basic supplies - will only exacerbate an already difficult situation.  Similarly in our leadership roles, we have to resist the leadership equivalent of buying up all the toilet paper we can get our hands on.

So what might allow a leader to respond more appropriately and calmly even in the face of the current crisis.  Ironically, the best advice might come from an Ironman tip that I received long ago - go slow to go fast.  Leaders need to find the courage and discipline to step back for long enough to evaluate whether in fact they are responding to the right issue at the right time.  You are going to get literally hundreds of problems and "solutions" thrown your way in the next number of days and weeks.  And these "solutions" are all motivated by everyone trying to achieve the best possible results and outcomes, not recognizing that none of us are operating from our best thinking place.  We are all under stress and duress particularly in circumstances like COVID-19 when you are juggling every area of one's life right now. 

Ironically, what might be required is less decisive - reactive - decision-making and a lot more patience and deliberation.  It might make a leader antsy but slowing down and being more considered will result in less unproductive expenditure of precious time and energy.  Time and energy that needs to be put to better use right now.  Immediate action or any action does not mean effective action.  While hoping that an immediate/decisive response establishes or maintains a persona of being in control, responsible and competent, the reality is often far different.  More often the sense we end up  conveying to staff and others around us is that we are in panic mode.  We move from "leader" to generating fear, stress and anxiety to everyone unfortunate to be caught up in the vortex of activity.

Aside from the mental distress that the leader is subjecting themselves and their team to, a "decisive" yet hasty reaction is just as likely (or more likely) to lead to the wrong decision as to the right one.  In most situations we rarely have 100% perfect information.  In crisis situations this is even more the case.  Therefore, crisis demands disciplined leadership, an ability to remain calm, and the strength to keep yourself and your team focused in order to solve the problem at hand.  In my experience, panic and performance excellence rarely go together.  A panicked reaction often leads to more problems to solve.

A leader in crisis (versus a leader who manages through crisis) also creates a number of other negative impacts that may not be understood at the time or even later. First, in your haste to make a decision, you many not even be solving the right problem but merely papering over symptoms.  Second, by making a hasty decision you may inadvertently compromise your ability to achieve other more important objectives.  Third, rather than creating an effective and productive team you are more likely creating fear, reduced productivity, risk aversion and indecisiveness amongst your staff.  Ultimately, you are also doing damage to the perception of your leadership capacity - you are not creating an image of a confident and competent leader amongst your team, peers, superiors, or other stakeholders that can be looked to for strength in times of challenge.  You become self-defeating.

So Keep Calm and Carry On!  Easier said than done I know.  It may somewhat paradoxical right now but there will be value in taking a "breakpoint" to truly clarify your thinking.  As a leader there is value - even now - in not being "on" at all times.  Your job is a thinking job, a cerebral job.  Give yourself time to think before acting. 

Your considered reaction will calm others, help them focus on doing the right things, and ensure understanding of all impacts of your actions.  I'm convinced that by taking a more measured and less panicked approach that you will make better decisions and the confidence in your leadership will be enhanced.

Leadership excellence means more patience, poise and discipline than ever before.   

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions
gregh@breakpoint.solutions 
www.breakpoint.solutions 
780-250-2543

Deming's 14 Points Stand the Test of Time

I've been on a personal leadership journey for 30+ years now and I've definitely hit some bumps along the way. And I have much yet to learn as the journey continues! That learning comes more from the bumps than it has from successes I've enjoyed - and I've had the privilege of working with a few great teams in my career. Those teams have taught me a lot about leadership and basic human values over the years and I owe them a great debt of gratitude.

One of the things that I have come to believe is that you cannotdiscover leadership lessons if you lack humility, a commitment to ongoing learning, and a sincerewillingness to always being open to hearing what others have to say about our leadership capabilities. An unwillingness to be that open or honest can at best reflect naivety and at worst pure arrogance. We must be prepared as leaders to objectively and critically assess our areas for personal improvement on an ongoing basis.

I believe that objectivity - and sometimes distance from a leadership experience - is crucial in drawing the right conclusions from our current and past positions. In addition, if we can have the courage to build relationships with some strong confidantes who will help us assess our experience so much the better. I recall now with more than a little trepidation my first leadership role at the outset of my career. That first role was very challenging to my ego as I learned the on-the-job realities of leadership. Most importantly I experienceda key aspect of leadership - the experience of working with people and managing relationships.

The first and most immediate lessons I took away from that experience were the wrong ones. Of course, they were discovered immediately on the heels of leaving the role and were arrived at without benefit of external validation. At the end of this first role, I truly believed that in order to be as successful as I thought my peers were I would have to adopt a tougher, more unyielding leadership style. Maybe that's not what my more experienced peers thought they were modeling to me but that's what I initially took away from my formative experience - be tough, demand performance, get respect through fear, be distant from your staff, be above your staff.

I am very grateful that immediately following this experience that I had an opportunity for reflection in the course of my master's degree, including an internship in another organization. It gave me time, distance and other people to learn from before I set myself down the wrong path of leadership. Through my studies and internship - an opportunity to learn from two organizations implementing total quality management - I became exposed to the work of Dr. W. E. Deming. I further explored his teachings through my master's thesis on total quality management. It was eye-opening and his principles really struck a chord with me at the time. Over the succeeding years I have come back to his basic principles more than once. I have learned from other leadership guru's as well, but Deming's perspective has had continued value for me. I want to touch on only a few of his 14 Points with the belief that these have much to inspire those in leadership positions - or those looking for good leadership.

Point Seven - Institute Leadership.

Dr. Deming calls upon management to lead rather than manage. Simple statement but what does it really mean for us as leaders? Well I'm pretty confident that if you were to talk to many of frontline staff and management personnel outside of the executive suite they would provide you with countless examples of where they felt they were being "managed", not "led". This bias towards "management" is without doubt enhanced by the pressure on businesses to perform and achieve better results. A typical management response is to exercise greater control and oversight to make sure results get better. More often than not efforts of this nature only seem to put more barriers in the way of getting good work done - more reports to generate, more signatures to get, more unreasonable timelines to meet, multiple and conflicting demands, and failure to hear and act upon input and recommendations from staff.

Point Eight - Drive Out Fear.

I've already made my confession in regards to violating this particular principle, at least insofar as thinking that fear might be an effective tool of leadership. And maybe it can be in the short-term but not if you are trying to create a high-performing organization for the long-term. With fear in an organization there cannot be open communication, innovation, and teamwork - and these are allrequired for an organization to achieve the full measure of its potential. Leadership of any organization - and at all levels of the organization - must actively model open communication, encourage appropriate risk taking and innovation, and promote teamwork from the executive suite through to the front lines of operations. With fear in place an organization shall continue to squander the full potential of its people and the organization to the detriment of the people it purports to serve.

Point Ten - Eliminate Slogans, Exhortations and Targets for the Workforce.

Everybody needs to measure performance. Deming did not intend, nor do I suggest, that system performance not be evaluated on an ongoing basis. Rather, what Point Ten addresses is the notion of trying to assess an individual'sperformance without reference to understanding of the system in which that individual works. If an individual is prevented from achieving higher levels of performance by a system (that management has created or allowed to be created) then performance managing an employee, setting new targets for them to achieve, and giving them "motivational" speeches will have little impact on performance. It is far more likely that such efforts will actually cause frustration, demoralization and reduced performance.

Deming's red bead experiment is a great illustration of this principle - given an equal number of red and white beads, an employee is tasked with collecting only white beads with an employer-provided scoop or paddle. Inevitably, the employee collects some red beads in their assigned task. As a result of "failing" in their assigned task, the employee may be given further direction by their supervisor, there may be encouragement to do better, they may be applauded if their red bead count has gone down, or they may be chastised if their red bead count goes up. Regardless, their individual effort and various interventions at the personal level will have no impact on actual outcome. It's like expecting employee engagement scores in an organization to go up simply by saying that the target is 10 out of 10 on the next engagement survey. Only by changing the system and the organizational environment will better, more consistent results be achieved. I see a strong correlation between Point Ten and the need to Drive Out Fear from an organization as noted earlier. In fact, I believe that what leaders often create by exhortations to do better is an environment in which results and information are hidden through fear rather than discovered. And only by discovery can we improve.

Point Twelve - Remove Barriers to Pride of Workmanship.

In this Point, Deming was referring to unclear expectations, lack of timely feedback (or any feedback), lack of training and support, and systems that focused on short-term results rather than long-term goals. Staff and front-line managers are often frustrated by multiple tasks or changing priorities (see Point Seven) as leaders change focus or react to external stimuli without, it seems, due regard to long-term objectives or stated core values. And unfortunately, more than one of us can relate to the fear that the performance evaluation process creates in us - either as provider or receiver of the experience. Too often this is because we establish the evaluation process as a one-time event, not as a continual process of discussion, engagement and opportunity. There is a need too to ensure that the evaluation process becomes an opportunity for leaders and staff alike to identify and invest in skills and intellect. It is also a great opportunity for leaders to model desired behaviours and reinforce common goals. On this latter point, I firmly believe that there must be a high degree of visibility and sincere engagement with internal audiences on par with leadership visibility and engagement with external audiences. Without the kind of internal alignment that comes from such effort the ability to deliver on commitments to external audiences and customers stands on shaky ground.

There certainly is more gold in Deming than I have covered here. In addition, what this hopefully reinforces, is that we don't need to go looking for "new ideas" on leadership. There already exists a lot of knowledge - and common sense - upon which to enhance our leadership. Make it so!

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-250-2543

Lies, Damn Lies and Assessments?

Despite the title of this post, I believe that assessments can and do play a valuable role in many aspects of organizational life from leadership self-assessment, recruitment and selection decisions, developmental activities, and team-building support to name but a few. However, a couple of recent experiences that I've had an opportunity to be involved with also point out the perils of improper positioning and utilization of these very same assessments. The consequences of such can lead to hiring the wrong candidate for a role, reinforcing poor leadership or team behaviors, demotivating (rather than motivating) performance, and impacting the credibility of organizational effectiveness and development efforts for the organization overall.

There are a number of factors to consider and methods to utilize to get the best out of the vast array of assessments available to you as an individual and as an organization.

One. Understand your organizational context. Nothing exists in a vacuum and you may up against past (poor) history of how assessments have been used before. There may also be current cultural circumstances getting in the way of the validity and credibility of the assessment results. This came home to me recently when I was informed - perhaps from one person's perspective - that many raters might have "fudged" their input to a 360 assessment. This was ostensibly done out of concerns of confidentiality, anonymity and fear of retribution. What organizational leadership - and I - underestimated was the degree to which a culture of fear and distrust was operative in the environment. The clear outcome was far less useful and impactful data for the person receiving feedback. This then directly impacted on the quality of a leadership development plan.

Solution: Honestly evaluate the climate your are introducing an assessment process into. This may even lead you to conclude that an assessment process should not be initiated. Be clear about the limitations you are working under at the beginning of the process. Proceed cautiously.

The bigger solution: In this case, there was clearly more work required to develop a climate of safety, trust and open communication in the organization. In this case, we would have been better off to do some larger and heavier lifting before proceeding with an assessment.

Two. Understand (clearly) what you are trying to get out of an assessment. Too frequently organizations, HR departments, or leaders become enamoured of a particular assessment and fail to understand its limitations. Assessments - and there are a multitude out there - are designed with specific ends (and foundational philosophies) in mind. Be cautious of your own biased experience with them. One size does not fit all. Ensure that all stakeholders are clear about why and how the assessment results will be used. Keep aligned with that agreed upon focus. In the past, I have been particularly disturbed to have seen an assessment instrument initiated within a framework of professional/personal development later used as part of a performance evaluation process!

Solution: Use the right assessment for the right reason, ensure clarity of purpose on the part of all stakeholders, and stay focused.

Three: Recognize the limitations of any particular assessment. However, impactful any one of us may find the insights of an assessment it is only data not answers. It is only one piece of data. For the very same reason that best practice would never suggest an interview panel of one or simply relying on the quality of a cover letter to select the next leader, I would similarly recommend holding up the assessment results up to thorough scrutiny and balancing that data against other information you may have.

Solution: Don't rely on a singular source of data to draw conclusions - about others or yourself. Proceed with caution. Seek corroborating data.

Another solution: Aside from looking at past performance and related data you could consider use of more than one assessment. Depending on your need, you may find that two or more assessments together provide a better complementary mix of information for your purpose. People are complex machines and may need a variety of lens from which appropriate conclusions can be drawn.

Four: Guard against your biases. Much like reading the daily horoscope - if you are into that - we all run the risk of looking at assessment results without understanding our own filters and biases. The result - we look for what we want to see and find it. So as the person being assessed if you already strongly believe something about yourself, whether positive or negative, it will be there. Likewise for HR personnel or leaders critically evaluating potential leadership candidates, new hires or team members.

Solution: Be prepared to challenge yourself and your preconceptions. Whether you like or dislike the results of an assessment consider the opportunity/challenge. Watch your biases. Be aware of your filters.

Five: Get a proper debrief of the assessment results. Far too frequently I see individuals and organizations that fail to get/provide a proper - or sometimes ANY - debrief on an assessment that they have put good time and money into. Sometimes this is driven from a cost perspective. Other times it comes from a misplaced sense of our own intellectual capacity to critically and objectivelyevaluate the assessment results.

Solution: Work with a professional that is both certified and experienced in the particular assessments you are using. Just like any "job interview", critically assess their qualifications and experience. Get references and testimonials. Even test-drive them if you can. Qualified professionals can be a great assist to you in properly using assessments - they can just as easily cause significant damage if not qualified or otherwise suited to your organizational culture.

Six: Be prepared to develop and commit to an action plan. Flipping back to the daily horoscope comparison, and perhaps the shiny-object syndrome, one of the worst things that can come out of an assessment process is NOTHING! The effort that may have been put forward in both in cost and time of participants, which is even higher when considering 360 assessments, should warrant and demand some sort of constructive action plan. If not, then any lessons or insights drawn from the effort run the risk of having to be relearned later or casting aspersions on any future assessment and development activity.

Solution: Commit to a solid purpose and action plan once the assessment(s) are due to be completed. Create supporting structures that will help with action. This may include creating a template for a personal development plan. This may be creating milestone reporting dates for updates to be had with the individual receiving the assessment results. Ideally, you or the organization commit to making the assessment far more than a one-off event. It should fit with the bigger picture of what the organization or you are trying to accomplish. Structure, Structure, Structure. Action, Action, Action.

Seven. Prepare the ground. This could certainly tie into Number One above but as you or the organization prepare to initiate an assessment process do all you can to communicate the purpose and process for the assessment. Address as many questions as you can. Fill any information vacuum that might exist. Make any and all stakeholders true partners in the process. Alleviate fears. Build confidence. Build validity and credibility for your assessment process.

The list above may start to give you a lot of pause as you consider current and future assessments. And maybe that's a good thing. If you become more aware and purposeful in this regard that might in fact be the best outcome. Without that perspective you likely run the risk of fulfilling the fear of the title of this blog post - your results will be far less than they could have been OR they might be far more damaging than you ever imagined.

Creating and sustaining highly functioning leaders and teams is a challenging business. Assessments have their place if used appropriately and effectively. Use them with your eyes and minds wide open

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-250-2543

Friend...and Leader?

Trust, familiarity and connection between leaders and staff has often been a theme in my coaching and consulting work. How much connection is appropriate or inappropriate? Leadership as a lonely vigil or the belief that leaders need to be apart from staff in order to be effective arises on a regular basis. Is this true or is there a different answer? What better place to look for an answer than Star Trek!

In the Star Trek The Next Generation episode, titled "The Defector", Commander Data acts out a scene from "The Life of Henry V" on the holodeck of the Enterprise. The notion is that by exploring the works of Shakespeare he will be better able to understand the human condition. Data's director and mentor in this endeavor is Captain Picard. The scene focuses on the King passing himself off as a commoner to be amongst his troops on the eve of a great battle. At the conclusion of this dress rehearsal, Data expresses confusion about the King's behavior - "Captain, why should a king wish to pass as a commoner? If he is the leader, should he not be leading?" In that regard it seems to me that Data expresses a widely-held view amongst followers and those who lead - leaders must stand apart from their staff if they are to be effective. Picard's response is even more compelling, however - "Listen to what Shakespeare is telling you about the man, Data. A king who had a true feeling for his soldiers would wish to share their fears with them on the eve of battle."

From my very first job as a CEO in 1986 I can recall being chided for being overly familiar with my management team and staff. Many in my community, my Board of Directors, and even members of my own management team would often express concern about my engaging manner and style. They took issue with me playing golf with my staff, being part of the hospital slo-pitch team, being part of the hospital hockey team, inviting people over to my house and even the notion of idle chats in the hall or sit downs in the cafeteria. In many if not most cases, we didn't discuss "business" but rather would discuss a whole range of other topics - news stories hitting the front pages, family events, and anything else that might come to mind. Did that make us friends? In some cases yes, in other cases no. Regardless, this type of interaction certainly broke down barriers and reduced or eliminated preconceived notions about "Management" and "Staff". I believe the relationships I developed allowed me to better understand the challenges my staff faced. In some cases it allowed my staff to understand my bigger picture and challenges as well. Ultimately, I even developed some great relationships with previously intractable foes. This effort certainly generated greater trust and credibility in me from those that I led. I believe it allowed all of us to be more on the same page moving forward particularly when times were tough.

Amazingly enough, even though nearly 30 years have passed since my first leadership role (Yikes!) I still hear about and see the same adverse reaction to leaders having anything more than "business-focused" engagements with their staff. Oftentimes this seems to develop into executive isolation in the C-suite or a strict adherence to rules and regulations so as to not have the appearance of favoritism. But as Picard's quote reveals, there is a great deal that a leader can gain from being amongst and with their followers. Moreover, what the quote starts to touch on is the critical role that trust between leader and followers plays in being successful in a leadership role. In my experience, if you can inspire trust as a leader you are in fact going to get better results, increased morale, enhanced creativity, loyalty and retention. In contrast if you can't foster trust - or in fact engender mistrust amongst your staff - you can be assured of a range of negative results.

In case you see the above commentary as the rantings of Star-Trek enamored geek let me first refer you to the 2002 work of Patrick Lencioni, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team". In this work and in subsequent writings, Lencioni described and expanded upon what holds a team back from achieving high performance. The critical linchpin that Lencioni identified - which was the core and base of poor performance and team dysfunction - was the Absence of Trust. This manifested as an unwillingness of team members to be vulnerable and authentic in their group, unable to genuinely share with their colleagues, and lacking the opportunity and safe environment in which to admit mistakes and weaknesses. Without a strong basis of trust, teams could not hope to engage in constructive conflict, nor establish a shared commitment to common goals, nor hold themselves and team members accountable to expected performance standards, and never achieve the results that they desired. In all respects developing this trust comes from the tone set by the leader.

This concept of trust, however, is not new or a recent invention. Starting in 1983, Kouzes and Posner began a research project in leadership that would ultimately lead them to write several acclaimed books ("The Leadership Challenge", "Credibility") and identifying the five leadership practices of successful leaders. At the heart of their research and conclusions was that a leader must know their followers and speak their language. People must believe that you understand their needs and have their interests at heart. Only through an intimate knowledge of their dreams, their hopes, their aspirations, their visions, their values is the leader able to enlist their support. I don't know about you, but it seems to be a well nigh impossible task to achieve that kind of understanding of your staff and followers if you don't spend significant time with them, earning their trust, building your credibility, and perhaps even becoming a friend to more than one or two of them.

Let me put at least one qualifier out there on this leader and friend concept. You are the leader - whether as supervisor, manager, director, vice-president or CEO. This means you have duties and obligations that may put your friendships in jeopardy at certain points in time. You are obligated to make the tough choices as required. Ultimately, you can't put your friendships ahead of your moral, legal and ethical obligations. Everybody needs to understand the parameters under which you ultimately have to function as a leader. Just as in other parts of your world, some of your friends will be more understanding of the realities that you face than others. Hopefully, however, based on the foundation of trust and credibility you have established by being present, available and truly engaged with your staff you may get cut a bit more slack than if you were the aloof, distant and omnipotent leader that some see as the pinnacle of success.

So, yes being a Leader and a Friend is possible and from my perspective and experience quite logical (as Commander Data and Commander Spock might both say). Build your trust and credibility by being amongst your followers, understand their challenges and let them understand yours. The results might surprise you.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-250-2543

Handyman or Professional?

One of my most recent posts focused in on what YOU should EXPECT from your coaching experience. This was driven by some feedback that I had received from various sources about their sometimes not so positive experience of coaching. In fact, some of their stories were more than just disheartening including some extraordinarily basic violations of a professional code of conduct, i.e., confidentiality.

These experiences and a recent webinar I was privileged to attend with Heidi Hadubiak of BreakPoint Solutions (www.breakpoint.solutions) reinforced, for me, the need to continue to raise the bar for coaching as a profession. In the recent webinar, hosted by Ben Croft of WBECS, he not only focused on the specific content of the session (e.g., marketing) but also articulated his passion and mission to raise the bar on the quality of coaching worldwide. I was inspired and energized by his commitment.

It's in this vein that I come back to the topic of engaging with coaches who are in fact credentialed and who have made a commitment to making PROFESSIONAL coaching their profession and vocation - not a sidebar, not a means of padding their consulting or other income. Experience is valuable certainly. Is training and credentials the be all and end all? Certainly not. There is a need for a BALANCE between education/training and experience. But I stress the word balance. I assert that if your coach is not credentialed they are lacking in that balance.

Let me put this in terms that might make more sense by drawing upon my own amateur skills in home repairs! A number of years ago I undertook a rather massive home improvement project with the help of some friends. The project in question was construction of a nearly 500 square foot stone patio in my back yard. Some of my friends had experience in similar projects - but certainly were not qualified tradespeople. The factors that I weighed in the decision to unleash "the amateurs" - myself included - came down to cost and perceived complexity (e.g., puffing out our chests and declaring our manliness we said "We Can Do It!").

Things turned out well enough at the time, I learned a lot - most of it the hard way - had some relatively cheap manual labor at my disposal for a weekend, and impressed my girlfriend with my physical stamina in shoveling load after load of crush and sand, placing stone after stone, and finishing a large project in relatively short time.

Several years later, however, I've found that I've had constant repair work to do on my masterpiece, dealing with some subsidence in key areas of the stone patio and now worrying about at least one retaining wall needing an extensive redo. Perhaps the "cheap and cheerful" way of my amateur handyman approach isn't leaving me with quite the legacy I hoped for?? Maybe an "expert" would have been better engaged despite the up-front cost??

So how does this story relate to coaching? Too often I see some of the same mentality coming into play during evaluation of personal or organizational coaching. Cost definitely comes into play as it should. But rather than evaluating such expenses as an investment and weighing such against the hard outcomes desired there is a decided emphasis on cost-control. A "good-enough" mentality enters the equation and a desire to either do-it-ourselves or hire a "handyman" for truly foundational work.

So can you do it yourself, hire a non-certified coach, or a consultant who sidelines as a coach to support your efforts? Sure, but you might wonder if the investment of time and effort really gave you the return you required or ended up being sustained beyond your initial intense effort. Like my home improvements, you might have been better off engaging an expert at the beginning rather than engaging in constant "repairs" to achieve the product or results you hoped for in the beginning. Or even worse, you end up like some of my contacts who actually feel they not only wasted their money but got taken down a decidedly wrong path, had their trust violated, or were otherwise compromised.

I'm suggesting there is a leadership lesson to be learned from my home handyman approach noted above. Leaving aside the do-it-yourself effort for now - which requires a great deal of personal or in-house skill that most of us don't have - how do you discern the "handyman" from the professional support you might need in coaching? Solid track record and referral base are clearly good indications but I'm also going to recommend that you look for impeccable credentials including certification in national or international regulatory bodies. Holding or pursuing such a credential (e.g., ACC/PCC/MCC with the International Coach Federation) is a sign that the individual professional not only demonstrates knowledge and skill in their chosen field, but also holds themselves to the highest professional standards and are prepared to be judged according to a strong code of professional ethics.

Further, certified members of these professional associations have chosen to contribute to a broader body of knowledge, to regulate themselves and provide accountability to clients and their profession as a whole. Credential-holders complete rigorous education and practice requirements, providing testimony to their commitment to excellence. These professionals look to protect and serve consumers of their services, measure and certify competence of their members, and inspire the pursuit of continuous development.

At the end of the day the choice of how to deal with your coaching and leadership requirements is fully in your court. Credentials are certainly not a 100% guarantee of success but just like in home renovations they are a better bet than just looking for the cheapest bidder. As in my do-it-yourself reno, you can pay now or pay later (or both). Make the time and investment pay off. In this case, It's About Leadership! And there is nothing more worthy of your investment than that which leverages all of the rest of your success - your leadership acumen.
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCCPresident & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-250-2543

What SHOULD You Expect from Your Coach?

In the past I have described factors to be used in selecting your executive coach and how an individual could make the most effective use of their coach. A gap in this information relates to whatYOU SHOULD EXPECT from your coach once selected and engaged. Coaching is a partnership and like all partnerships is only as effective as the quality and commitment of the participants. While I believe a coach can't work harder than their client it is just as clear that a coach should deliver on a number of expectations and obligations in order to support client success.

Why this topic at this present time? Unfortunately, after having been at this work awhile, I have heard several client experiences and circumstances where an acceptable standard of performance has not been achieved - to my way of thinking. This reality might not be that different from a variety of other sectors where individuals/firms offer products/services for sale that really don't deliver on their promises. High price and flashy marketing doesn't equate to quality of offering or results.

Much of the challenge, I believe, comes down to lack of client knowledge and awareness of what "good" or even "great" quality and performance for a coach should look like. While I have talked about how you should go about selecting an executive coach that doesn't address what you should expect - and perhaps demand - from a coach. What I offer below is informed by personal experience as a coach and feedback from my clients about what they have appreciated in our work together.

Clarity of Roles and Expectations. This starts with actual documentation that serves to describe the partnership role between a client and coach. This certainly doesn't have to be a form vetted by respective lawyers - a trust-based relationship, which coaching is, should not have to go down that path! However, there should be enough clarity between you and your coach to understand what each person is expected to bring to the work, the pattern of work, access between formal sessions and an emphasis on confidential nature of the work.

Confidentiality. This should really go without saying...but I'll say it. This is a particularly important consideration when an individual is being sponsored by an organization to utilize coaching, when a coach is involved in group/team coaching, or coaching multiple individuals in an organization. There is no question that there is great value to me as a coach in having a greater understanding of organizational context through working with multiple clients or engaging with a client's executive sponsor. However, it also requires the coach to confirm up-front - and subsequently DEMONSTRATE- how confidentiality between sponsor/client/coach or between team members will be maintained. Just as important, the coach also has to actively guard against any risk of bias or triangulation in their coaching experience with any one individual.

Purposeful Process. As the coaching client you drive the coaching agenda. The coach should help you in confirm and clarify this agenda and then help hold you accountable to your goals. Your coach should be able to balance the need for structure in a coaching engagement (e.g., consistent focus) while at the same time being agile and flexible as client learning and circumstances evolve. Bottom line for me - no canned approach. While I do have coaching agreements, intake forms, leadership and team assessments at my disposal, and other tested methodologies and processes, all of that takes a back seat to strongly understanding individual client challenges and opportunities and the organizational culture from which they arrive. A coach's approach should be tailored to the client - not the other way around.

Challenge. To be truly effective a coach must challenge your beliefs, assumptions, sacred cows and preconceived notions. There is nothing I appreciate more than hearing clients say that our work together has made them uncomfortable (in the good way, not the creepy way...), expanded their frame of reference or possibility, and perhaps even radically altered their entire direction. Paradoxically, if you are finding your coaching sessions to be lovely chats and highly validating you might not actually be getting real value from your coaching partnership. Your coach needs to bring the right balance of compassion and courage to your work in pursuit of your goals.

Capacity Building. Akin to Challenge noted above, your coach should be actively working to build your skills to the point of helping to dissolve the coaching partnership at some point in time. The goal is not to create dependency but rather capacity for the individual leader to soar on their own. In this regard, I often work with my clients in the scheduled last month of our time together to confirm a decision to continue - if value from the client's standpoint is still being delivered - or to strongly transition out of coaching by using skills learned/developed/enhanced during coaching. This can often mean creating structure on a go-forward basis (e.g., continued pattern of thinking time replacing coaching time) that replicates the successful elements of the coaching partnership. It's why I share freely any and all of my coaching tools with my clients post-engagement.

Preparation, Continuity, Accessibility, Responsiveness. I recently had the opportunity to interview a number of my current and former coaching clients for a developing video production. Key elements of benefit identified by a number of them was their appreciation for how prepared I seemed to be for each coaching engagement, how I seemed to be able to retain the narrative string between formal coaching sessions and throughout the entirety of the coaching engagement, and the level of accessibility and responsiveness afforded to them between formal meetings. None of this occurs by chance. I have created processes for myself - and my clients - that strives to prepare us both for upcoming coaching sessions. By the very nature of my work I am constantly scanning my environment for resources and tools relevant to my work and the success of my clients. Despite being busy, my clients are my priority and quality and speed of response are foundational for me. What would you expect from your thinking partner, your sounding board, your coach?

Coaching Presence and Trust. Like confidentiality this seems to me to be an area that should not have to be emphasized. How engaged and attentive do you find your coach? Are they fully focused on you and your work - whether in-person or virtually? Do they practice active listening? Do they provide you all the space you need to think and work? Are they talking more than you!? Are they providing you a safe space to be vulnerable? Do their (powerful) questions relate to the issues you are actually grappling with? Coaching - it is all about you!

Holds to Coaching. Your coach is supposed to coach you. Not advise and certainly not direct you. Your coach is not there as mentor or consultant - these roles imply some level of superiority versus partnership. The coach must continuously demonstrate a belief in your personal ability to tackle your challenges and opportunities. The coach must understand their own boundaries and the boundaries of their profession - unless otherwise trained, we are not counsellors or therapists. At times you may expect that your coach, acting in YOUR best interest, would connect you with other professionals or resources even if it meant personal financial loss to the coach. The coach needs to be able to demonstrate an ability to act in your best interest, not theirs.

Drives Action - and Results. At the end of day coaching has to be much more than active listening, powerful questioning, being a sounding board, a place of safety/vulnerability - something active and positive has to come out of the partnership. Demonstrating a compassionate edge, your coach should help you design actions and deliver results. You or your company are investing time, money and energy into this endeavor - there must be purpose to the endeavor. Get pushed and get results.
I believe these are some of the qualities and experiences you should be looking for as you experience coaching. Lofty goals perhaps and I admit to feeling some misgivings as I document these expectations - can I live up to these requirements in all circumstances? I am constantly striving to do so! It's About Leadership! And in the case of coaching - It's All About You!
_____________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-250-2543