Win or Learn; Embrace Both

 

Hip Hop fans from the 1990’s will remember Roc-A-Fella Records. Also referred to as “Roc”, the company was founded in 1995 by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Damon “Dame” Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke with rapper Jay-Z as its only artist. In the 18 years between 1995 and 2013, Roc would expand to include artists in every genre and even make a few movies. Artists such as Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, and Kanye West were discovered and given their starts at Roc. The name Roc-A-Fella, though, was a play on the name John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937), an american businessman from New York who founded three universities, controlled the equivalent of 2% of the U.S. economy, and made the 2019 equivalent of $419 billion. To give context, if he were alive today with that amount of money, he could buy every team in the NFL, NBA, MLB, twice and have enough left over to buy Jamaica. The oil business was very good to him. John D. Rockefeller was also known to give good business advice, he has been quoted as saying, “I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity”. Helping to build success from a mess and create something lasting is today’s topic. 

 

It really doesn’t matter what you lead, potential disaster is around every corner, and many of your people are charging right into it. Harassment, discrimination, unfair labor practices, wrongful terminations, and retaliation are just a few of the pitfalls organizations have to deal with on a daily basis. John Rockefeller had to deal with them too, but instead of dreading the experience, he looked at it as an opportunity to improve, and he did. You can too. On any given day, a leader can be confronted with an external circumstance or an employee, who with a misstep in judgement has created a mess that needs to be dealt with. These messes are rarely kept quiet so that the principle players can discreetly clean it up. No, these messes are so tasty that they are zapped directly to Union leadership or to the media so details can be shared widely and without warning the leader is instantly up to his or her neck in the issue. Whether you as a leader have been involved from the start, were given a heads up, or were blindsided, your perspective can help you manage it, resolve it, and grow. 

John D Rockefeller is also known for saying, “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I would pay more for that ability than any other under the sun”. Your value as a leader does not lie in your technical ability, or knowledge of the widgets, your value and success is tied to your ability to deal with people. People problems can be emotional and messy and all have the potential to divide the team, destroy morale, and halt productivity. Leaders often find themselves in the center of it, here are a few rules to follow whether the challenge you face is internal or external, use them or use them to create your own. 

Rule #1, stay calm. Your reaction communicates a message to your team. Are you in control, or out  of control? If you communicate that you are not in control of yourself, they will feed off of that energy and behave in ways that communicate that they too are not in control. Your response from the start is critical. A misstep here can amplify the problem or bring focus to what is important so be mindful. While keeping others from coming off the rails, your relaxed mind also processes problems better.

Rule #2, maintain an orientation of success. Most people just want to know that everything will be okay in the end, communicate that message repeatedly to individuals and groups. Let them know that whatever course of action this team has what it takes to get through it. Rather than being steered by emotion or pressure, keep their focus on the fact that the problem isn’t the problem, their perception of the problem is. Perceive it the same way you do any other problem and take it on.

Rule #3, have we dealt with this before? Most problems that leaders face have been faced in the past, and someone on the team will be more than happy to tell the story about it. Ask around, how have we confronted this issue and how did our plan work? Ask people on your team and get real feedback about it. Can we apply the same approach? Do we need to modify or start from scratch? Usually, members of your team have seen it and have good ideas, tap into it and let them guide you out if possible.

Rule #4, take it to the source. That means going to the people most frustrated by the external problem. That can also mean going directly to the person who is the source of the frustration. Either way, taking it to the source is the best way to get a crystal clear picture of what is going on and the most effective strategies for dealing with it. Don’t avoid it, problem solving is just like a muscle, the more you work it, the stronger you get. 

Rule #5, talk about the issue with your team. Without violating trust or exposing any individual, talk about the problem and talk strategy with your team about how it should be dealt with in the future. Your people have long memories and will remember if it ever comes up again, even if you don’t. These conversations build your team’s leadership capacity. As they grow and get stronger in their ability to solve difficult issues, so does the whole organization. 

One of my favorite Jay Z quotes is, “I will not lose, for even in defeat, there’s a valuable lesson learned, so it evens it up for me.” Not everything will go exactly as you planned. Sometimes your best laid plans go awry. If you keep perspective, understand that it doesn’t mean that you are a failure, and look for the lesson you will grow. Leadership is difficult but you got this. Just remember to stay calm with an orientation toward success, focus on the problem and include your team in the process, you will win or you will learn, and you will SOAR! 

William A. Brown

January 3, 2020