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 life and I trust that you can be more forward-thinking, insightful and discerning as you contemplate launching your next big rock into your leadership or organizational bucket.
_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

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 2-day workouts. 

This effort brings back to mind the training, lessons learned and experiences of my two previous experiences of triathlon. That experience, and those lessons as it relates to leadership are recounted below.

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 tune-up of bike and purchase of new bike computer.  

But it's also 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 2010 and 2011 - and as I now prepare for 2021 - versions of Ironman Canada I thought I would share with you some of the analogies I've been able to draw between Ironman and Leadership - and throw in a few more that grew from our work together - and from my life and business experience since then.

First, there has to be some motivation or goal in mind to undertake an Ironman event - as there must be in taking on a leadership role.  As "they" say , without a goal any direction will do! Ironman is a daunting undertaking - 3.8 km swim, followed by 180 km on the bike, followed by 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, on at least an annual basis, my goals for the year.  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 in 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 as early as a few weeks after the last race for the next 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 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 is race ready.  Throughout the year leading up to Ironman you use training days and smaller events to figure out what works for you and will keep you fueled for the race - what will your body tolerate? what amount 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 skill set.  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 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 that your work group or organization is aligned towards the achievement of 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, fueling plan nailed, equipment ready - but if you are not mentally prepared for race day all of the prep work might be - will 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, large or small, 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 level, and goals.  Some were rookies.  Some had done this more than a dozen times.  Regardless, for the next nine, ten, twelve or even seventeen 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 did I feel 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 so as 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 of time 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.  Same holds true for most leadership positions.  Early morning meetings, late evening meetings, planning forums that take place out-of-town, conferences and crisis events 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 change in career.  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!

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

On What's Important

Once in a while we all need a reminder of what is truly important in our lives.  COVID-19 and 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 beginning 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 that 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 minute 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 2 hours.  At the same time I had the opportunity to take care of - or entertain - the couple's 5-year old daughter.  I quickly learned that 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 offered assistance as well 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 have 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 in 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 5-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 that 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 around mid day to see if we could in fact take care of the 5-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 dart secret, knowing that in a few short minutes that 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 6-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.

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 saw all of this in the messages that followed his passing and 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 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 choose 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 5-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 that have passed since and have been challenged by our current reality  I remain connected to a wife and daughter that 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

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

Executive Coach/Consultant

BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.