16 inconvenient lessons of leadership
“I learned far more thru adversity than planned professional development.” — Brian Watson, IT Executive Director, University of Georgia Extension
When Brian Watson was called to lead the University of Georgia Extension information technology professionals, he understood that leadership would be — inconvenient.
Life does that to us, doesn’t it — comes at inconvenient times in inconvenient ways asking more of us than we think we’re ready to give. Great leaders like Brian know that inconvenience transforms us and pushes us out of our comfortable box into unlimited potential.
Or, as Ted Lasso says, “Taking on challenges is a lot like riding a horse; if you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”
Here are the 16 inconvenient lessons Brian applies as he leads his team.
1. Accept and exercise your leadership. Do not abuse it.
“Never step into a leadership position and say ‘I’m going to show you how it’s done,’” Brian says. Lead with humility, understanding that people will recognize your role without forcing it upon them.
Good leaders know that being the boss means lifting up your team and protecting them from attack.
“Some bosses will throw their people under the bus without a second thought; great bosses pull their people from the bus’s path before they’re in danger,” says Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence Habits.
2. Manage upward.
“Your job is to serve but also to advise, Brian says. “Help your organization build and innovate.”
And, that starts with trust. Trust is the Extension currency that allows people to tell us their problems and believe in the solution we offer. Trust is the foundation of those long term relationships with partners, stakeholders, and customers. Trust is the reason they show up, donate, volunteer, and advocate.
When people trust a company: 91% buy from it, 76% recommend it to a friend, and 42% share positive experiences on line, says leadership author David Horsager. Think that would help Extension grow?
“Trust is a confident belief in someone or something. It is the confident belief in an entity to do what is right, to deliver what is promised, and to be the same every time, whatever the circumstances. Trust implies being reliable, dependable, and capable.”
“Without trust, there’s no way that any organization can sustain innovation.”
David Horsager, The Trust Edge
@ Wil Bingman image
3. Take time to plan, develop strategy, and cast a vision.
Day-to-day decisions overwhelm if you don’t ask yourself one simple question: “Will this get us closer to our shared vision?” Extension has a habit of doing things because we’ve always done them without asking ourselves if they are still relevant. Before you commit, consider if it gets you closer to where you want to be.
4. Think strategically, not transactionally.
When you keep the long game in mind, you understand sometimes the investment now will take time to show return, Brian says. Every day won’t balance out, every cost won’t have immediate benefit, but when you weigh the cost against the long term value, the scales tilt positively.
© Judy Mae Bingman. The Taft Collection: A Daughter of Pyrrah designed by Lorado Taft on the University of Illinois campus.
5. Stay calm and set the tone.
Understand that people have bad days, Brian says. “Nothing good comes from yelling at them.” A great boss is a port in the storm, Bradberry says.
“In a healthy workplace culture, toxic behavior isn’t tolerated from anyone. Everyone is held to the same standards. A healthy culture isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have for attracting and retaining top talent.”
6. Pick your battles.
A mom shared frustrations raising teenagers. He didn’t use good table manners; he didn’t clean his room how she wanted; he didn’t get homework done early. I offered this advice, 36 years in the making: pick your battles.
When you point out every fault, he has no idea which ones matter most, so he ignores them all. You’ve placed equal importance on not standing up straight as reckless driving. You need to let the things that don’t really matter (that aren’t dangerous) slide. When they become a problem to him, he’ll correct them.
Relationships are like money in the bank; if you’re always making withdrawals, your “love” account goes bankrupt. Or, in the case of colleagues, constant corrections will damage your relationship and leave you with no collateral for the things that matter.
“Everything can’t be a fight. You can’t die on every hill,” Brian reminds us.
7. Every crisis will end, and every success has a limited lifespan.
Even with the best strategic plan, emergencies happen. Crises reveal our gaps, those contingencies we failed to consider.
Enter 2020. Prior to March 2020, the Illinois state communications team usually handled state-level marketing efforts; field offices were often left to their own to develop material because each in-person event was unique to that location — until COVID closures turned everything into online OPEN-TO-THE-WHOLE-WORLD activities.
The COVID crisis showed us big gaps: no easy way for field staff to ask for help, no way to track the 2,500 additional project requests we received that first year, no way to evaluate their use or success, and not enough people to cover the explosion of needs.
Use a crisis to overhaul what isn’t working. No plumber ever told me to just let a leaky pipe keep dripping. Eventually, that baby’s going to blow. Fix and move on.
As far as successes, know what every livestock show kid knows: Be graceful in defeat and gracious in success. Next show likely has you standing in a different place in the ring.
8. Lead by example.
It’s important to spent time on the front line, and in Brian’s case, that means answering help desk tickets or solving a technology challenges himself at times.
“Don’t ask your team to do what you are not willing to do and model the behavior you expect from them.” Brian Watson
That means working with employees where they are so you have an accurate understanding of what your team is facing.
9. Place an emphasis on community.
No information technology professional will do 100 percent of their work without interacting with the humans on the other side of that technology.
“We have to get out of the office and be part of the organization we serve. Operational silos are a disservice to your clients and to your team.” — Brian Watson
Relationships matter — and if anyone knows that, it’s Extension professionals who only succeed when meaningful, trusting relationships are built with clients.
“We humans crave community, which is a good thing considering that in today’s knowledge economy, no matter who you are or where you work, you have to work with – and through – people.
“At its core, service is selflessly acting on behalf of others to ensure their success. Service is the essence of an unselfish act. And when you act selflessly, you can be the Spark who transforms a group of individuals into a team.” — Spark: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
10. Put your money where your mouth is.
When possible, rely on grassroot efforts. Start small with a mini pilot, and when people say, “Oh that’s nice,” move forward and expand with confidence in your team. Of course, you might also determine the effort isn’t achievable with the team on hand. Either way, you’ve shown your confidence in your team to try first.
11. Maintaining the status quo means you’re falling behind.
Don’t get mired in stagnation.
“Find opportunities to innovate — better ways to do things and better things to do.” Brian Watson
12. Pursue proactivity over reactivity.
Brian’s strategy was to get out of the responsive mode and open up his options by envisioning all the options before a crisis limited his choices. Instead of always waiting for the next shoe to drop, choose your desired path.
“When we are reactive, our choices to respond to a situation are limited and we are forced to accept consequences we may or may not like. Being proactive provides greater choice and opportunity, and the ability to shape our own destiny.” — Jerel G. Nelson, Proactive: 9 Elements & 9 Quotes
13. Encourage your team to take calculated risks.
Does any state’s annual performance review included this question: What did you try this year that didn’t work?
Brian reminds us that calculated risks are “worth taking because the result, if it is successful, will be so good.” (Cambridge Dictionary)
I think we can all agree we need more flames, not less; more ideas, more sparkles, more extraordinary, more maybes, more “let’s try.” We need good, so create a system that supports staff as they take chances that may be so good.
“The first time someone comes to you with an idea, listen closely, because how you handle it will dictate how they choose to contribute in the future,” says Will Guidara, author of Unreasonable Hospitality. “Dismiss them that first time, and you’ll extinguish a flame that’s difficult to rekindle.”
14. Hire good customer service representatives; train them as IT professionals.
At the recent National Extension Technology Community Conference, IT directors across the country were asked whether they hire based on technical skills or customer service skills. Each chose customer service.
“Some think good customer service only means ‘I fixed their problem,’” says Brian. Be eager to serve. Give grace for other’s shortcomings. Start with kindness. Work until the job is done.
15. In the absence of facts, perception might as well be reality. Measure and report.
Even in the presence of facts, some people will still believe what they perceive to be, so Brian makes sure to measure and report his team’s impact and worth. That documentation allows him to walk into Extension leadership with a 98% “exceeds expectations” approval rating from clients interacting with the IT team.
It wasn’t always that way. They used to encountered negative attitudes often dating to something that happened years before. The documentation helped ensure all clients had their issues solved in a respectful manner.
16. Purposefully develop and document your personal leadership philosophy.
“The way you do one thing is the way you do everything,” says author Guidara.
Managing a team is less about herding cats and more about understanding each cat's preferred brand of catnip. Being genuinely curious about your team members — what motivates them, what challenges them, what makes them tick — is like unlocking character profiles in your favorite video game. The more you know, the better you can tailor your leadership style to fit their needs.”
Jones Loflin, Cultivating Curiosity: A Leader’s Key to Sustainable Team Growth
People don’t leave bad jobs; they leave bad bosses.
Brian’s found the secret sauce to retaining happy employees, even though the journey had its moments of inconvenience.
“Inspire. Teach. Protect. Remove obstacles. Be human.”
“If you cultivate these characteristics, you’ll become the unforgettable boss that your people will remember for the rest of their careers.” 7 Things that Make Bosses Unforgettable, Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence Habits
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Too often the only focus is the cost without adding to the scale the benefit that person adds to the organization: the value of their historical knowledge, the speed of completing work they’ve rehearsed hundreds of times, the respect for the process and the people, the willingness to go farther than expected.
We can’t throw a fit about every little thing that doesn’t suit us. If we constantly correct our children, we’ll have nothing left in our “love account” with them when it comes time to fight the really important things, things which put our children in real physical danger. (available on my sister site: LikeMyLife.com)
“Extension work is an out of school system of education in which young adults learn by doing. It’s a partnership by government, land-grant colleges, and the people which provides services and education to meet the needs of the people. Its fundamental objective is the development of people.”
Get a book from my personal library
Want to be trusted by clients and colleagues? Start with reading The Trust Edge (Paperback) (Kindle) by David Horsager. Follow that up with Trusted Leader (Kindle) or The Daily Edge (Paperback) (Kindle).
From the beginning, start with good leadership habits; find them in Emotional Intelligence Habits by Travis Bradberry. (Kindle)
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara would never have been on my radar if I hadn’t heard him speak. Now, I think it should be required reading for every manager.
Spark: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success (Paperback) (Kindle), Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch, Sean Lynch
These are my favorite Ted Lasso items:
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