Category: Leadership

The summit of Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) is 20,310 feet above sea level, and Werner Berger was 200 feet from the peak. Just another 20 minutes of climbing and he would cross the tallest mountain in North America off his list. The weather, however, had turned nasty. And rather than risk getting caught in a whiteout, Berger’s group turned back.

“Everybody was so disappointed for me and wondered how we could possibly quit that close,” Berger told me. “And for me, it was just a complete delight. The climb was just spectacular. I cannot even verbalize how phenomenal it was. Getting to the summit would have been nice, but it was absolutely not essential.”

Berger can teach the rest of us a great deal about pursuing goals while enjoying the experience. It’s something he learned in his business career, his work as a consultant, and, of course, while climbing mountains.

The 77-year-old would reach the summit of Denali on his third attempt and eventually become the oldest person to climb the highest mountain on all seven continents–earning him a spot in the Guinness World Records. (He also happens to be the other half of a septuagenarian power couple with super-networker, Heshie Segal, whom I wrote about in a previous column).

Berger ran a small successful business until retiring at 43, when he “really went into the dumps” for about three years because he had retired “from something” instead of “to something.” He stumbled into a fulfilling career as a consultant, but he didn’t start mountain climbing until he was 55, when he fell in love with the idea after he and his son made a trip to the base camp of Mount Everest.

What I appreciate about Berger is that he understands what he wants and why, goes after his goals with an intense passion and focus, and still enjoys the results regardless of what happens. In business, leaders too often bumble that first part, nail the second part, and totally whiff on the third. So here are some tips for conquering all three.

EMBRACE THE WHY

Many leaders are great at goal-setting, but their goals are based on the expectations of others rather than steeped in self-awareness. Berger’s leadership was enhanced when he asked and answered questions about things like his purpose, the legacy he wanted to leave, and the passions he had that he might have given up on. Berger’s understanding of his why helped him understand his strengths and limitations, while inspiring him to focus on each moment and not give up when the journey grew challenging. With the why answered, we can start pursuing that legacy or that passion, and that’s when we start climbing the metaphorical mountain.

GO TOGETHER

Mountain climbing is a team endeavor, and going through it together as a team builds empathy and trust for the long haul. In business, of course, we need the right people to support us and we need to support them. In addition to that team, we need the right guides to help along the way. This allows us to accomplish what at times are very personal goals while bonding with a community of people and creating something that goes far beyond what we set out to do on our own.

PURSUE THE GOAL WITH PASSION

Berger sets some very specific goals. In fact, right now he’s planning to scale all seven major peaks again by 2020. The goal matters, and so does our passion for the goal. You know how you can tell? Because you can’t let it go. That’s why Berger returned to Denali until he made it to the top.

RELEASE THE RESULTS

This is without a doubt the hardest thing for most leaders to do – maintain a desire to achieve a goal while at the same time allowing the journey to be something in and of itself. “The truth really is that if I had died after my first Denali climb, I would have still been a happy climber,” Berger said. “Because it was an awesome experience.” And, yet, his appreciation of the journey doesn’t make him any less competitive.

That non-attachment to the outcome frees us to live with joy in the moment. And combined with a competitive spirit, it actually gives us a better chance of achieving our goals. Why?

Because our self-absorbed ego is out of the way and we’re self-aware enough to see the big picture when the storms roll in.

We’ve all heard the expression “don’t believe everything you hear”? This is not just relevant to what other people say; what about all the inner talk you have going on inside your head?

We all have inner voices and all too often they are not voices of support. There are actually four inner voices that you have, which can hold you back from reaching your goals if you are listening to them. The key is to learn to recognize each voice; so you can stop believing everything you hear.

Plus, if you have these voices in your head, the chances are good that those you work with do also. An important leadership skill is being able to recognize when other people are listening to their inner voices, so you can help them combat these thought patterns that are keeping them from reaching their goals.

Let’s take a look at each.

The Doubting Tom

This is the voice that doubts you are capable of doing something. Here we are talking about things that others are capable of doing, but the doubting tom tells you that you are not capable of doing it. Others refer to these thoughts as limiting beliefs. The doubting Tom says I could never speak on stage, I can’t write a book, I can’t talk to him or her, I can’t speak up in the meeting, I can’t share that idea, I can’t start my own business, etc.

You get the point; the Doubting Tom doubts or is skeptical that what you say you want to do is possible for you. If the voice is getting personal like you are not good enough or smart enough that is actually your inner critic, which we will talk about shortly.

The Storyteller

We all know someone who tells a great story; some of those stories are true and fascinating while others are made from great fiction. When the storyteller voice in your head starts talking, he or she is telling you a fictional story about a situation. “Sally does not like me because she doesn’t smile at me when I always see her smiling at Sam.” The storyteller is telling a story without having the facts.

My favorite example was when my inner storyteller told me that an organization I was doing business with didn’t take my email concern seriously because they had not responded. Granted the storyteller was telling that story within hours of sending the email. The truth was the person I sent the email to was actually working on it and had just not let me know yet. Other reasons could have been the person was out of the office, they were engaged on an important project, or any number of other situations, but my storyteller decided to tell a story that got me all worked up for no reason because this is what the storyteller does best.

The Cynic

This is the voice that says “that will never work” and it’s usually because you have tried something similar before and it did not work last time. The cynic says, “Remember, last time that did not work so why would you try it again?” The cynic uses the past to determine if something is a good idea now and will find reasons why it’s not a good idea.

Of course learning from the past is extremely important and looking at why something did not work before and seeing how you can do it differently this time is smart. But letting the cynic stop you from even considering an idea because something similar did not work last time is a sure-fire way to miss out on great ideas that can help you achieve great results.

The Inner Critic

As I alluded to when talking about the Doubting Tom, there are times that the voice is incident specific and says, “you can’t do that (fill in the blank)”; this is the Doubting Tom holding you back from even trying. However when the voice get’s more personal and starts to attack the essence of who you are by saying “you’re not good enough”, “you’re not smart enough”, “it’s not perfect enough for anyone to see”, etc. that is your Inner Critic. That is the voice that has the strongest hold on you and the one that can be the most paralyzing and devastating to your success.

And while the Inner Critic means well, at least that is what it is telling you, it does not have your best interest at heart. The Inner Critic thinks that it is protecting you from getting hurt, but what it is really doing is stopping you from getting to the next level of your success and growth.

Now you know what these voices sound like and how they are sabotaging you; next week we will dive into the strategies to overcome them, or as my friend Jeffrey Hayzlett said when I interviewed him on C-Suite Success Radio, to “stop inviting them to dinner.”

For more resources, articles, videos, and to listen to C-Suite Success Radio visit www.c-suiteresults.com and for comments or questions email sharon@c-suiteresults.com

Last week I wrote about how two companies had to deal with small-scale groups of people who speak out.  The first example the business caved to the few and the second business closed its doors. You can read the article, “Your Company May Be Next” here. In both cases, the organizations stepped away from their business model and gave in to those who speak the loudest.

That reminded me of what happened to Chick Fil A a few years ago but with a different ending. S. Truett Cathy, the owner, decided he didn’t want to be open on Sundays so he could give his employees a day of rest. For years the owner was criticized and even pressured to stay open on Sundays. As busy as this one day of the week is for restaurants the loss of business would not outweigh his position. Years later his business is still up and thriving.

Since his dad’s passing Dan Cathy oversees the company. Cathy endorsed the biblical definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. Those who support same-sex marriage called for a boycott of the restaurant on August 1, 2012. They wanted to show how wrong the owner was. On the day of the boycott, the restaurant was packed. I bet it was and probably still is the busiest day Chick Fil A ever had. People poured out in masses where lines extended outside the restaurant. There were extensive delays in getting their food yet people stayed to show support for the owner.

To counter for the backfired plan supporters of same-sex marriage told everyone to gather the next week outside Chick Fil A’s nationwide. On that day only a handful of people showed up. This is a perfect example of a few people speaking out loudly to get their way.

The overwhelming majority does not sound off. There’s no need to. Yet when a minuscule amount of people wail, they get their way. You let them determine how to run your businesses. That’s ridiculous. You need to stay on your beliefs and not be bullied to do something you don’t want to do. When a 3-year-old throws a tantrum you need to ignore it so they will learn that type of behavior does not work. It can be painful for a bit, nevertheless, you know that training the child has to be done. Whatever the issue, it’s time you show these unruly children that this type of behavior is not allowed.

You have a vision for your business. You’ve done the work, created a plan for your company, acquired the funding, and set the goals. No one should be able to shake you from that objective.

You have the right to your opinions and have the freedom to share those views. You don’t have the right to force others to change to your beliefs. That being said, your company is yours. You can’t please everyone, but then again everyone is not your target customer.

CEOs are constantly concerned with differentiating their business, how they are perceived in the market and profitability, to name but a few areas paramount to running a successful business. I find in my work as a coach and specialist in brand personality, that very often some obvious factors are missing if the potential in these areas is to be anywhere near maximized.

Let’s work on the premise that people buy people – I think we’re all pretty agreed on that one – but let’s look at just why that is so true. Trust is perhaps the number one element that consumers, clients, new talent and partner companies look for when they choose a company to be associated with or buy from. Trust does not come from written words in clever advertising statements or marketing collateral. It simply comes from the feeling that I get when I deal with the people in your company.

That experience is dependent on how the employee or of course you as a senior leader is feeling and how you interact with that stakeholder. The emotion created becomes (in the eyes of the stakeholder) the brand not just of you but the company.

To be successful in our current competitive market, a CEO must be more than an image on the website or an occasional speaker on the internal stage. Today’s CEO accounts for more than 50% of the company’s reputation so this element of your corporate brand cannot be left to chance.

Here, I am sharing the five traits I believe every successful company leader should display if they are to embrace the need to create solid brand personality and lead from the top and be truly engaged with their teams and clients.

• A willingness to learn and listen. Having the ability and willingness to learn new techniques, receive coaching, listen to others opinions and develop their own emotional & social intelligence and communication skills, and not just rely on past experiences for decision making, makes a CEO more adaptable with new fresh ideas to new challenges and situations.

• Openness and transparency. Vital ingredients for effective leadership – if your people don’t know where they are going and why, they will never follow and support you to the level required for creating a trusted environment and culture. Being approachable in the office and having set ‘open house” times can have very positive effects as an example.

• A true appreciation of what’s required for high employee engagement. If a CEO really cares about what his people need to be happy at work and valued in their roles, a culture of trust and respect is supported from the top down. Providing employees with the training to be confident in themselves and feel truly empowered to do the right thing in a safe environment is paramount to creating a respectful culture.

• A high level of visibility to clients and consumers – CEOs who engage with all their stakeholders by getting outside their office, presenting at external events, active on social media, media interviews wherever appropriate and possible, create a higher degree of authentic personality in the brand that so many consumers demand today. We feel that we know much more about the company if we can see into the heart of the CEO.

• Solid relationship building skills. The ability to build trusted, solid relationships is one of the most valuable skills a CEO can possess or continually develop. Being talked about as a CEO who is truly interested in others, respects their input, is prepared to support their ideas and promote them to others and make people feel valued, who always does what they say they will do, are just some of the ways of creating a solid CEO brand that gets talked about and subsequently creates a personality to the corporate brand that truly differentiates.