Something that strikes most visitors to Walt Disney World is how “nice” of a place it is. It’s very clean. The employees are called “cast members” because they’re playing a role and they have a reputation for great service and friendliness. Everyone knows that.
But there’s another unique element present at Disney World that is seemingly beyond
Keeping it simple is something I like other people to do. I, however, am not always so good at it. That’s why I like simple equations – they help me focus, and help me explain things to others.
p=P-i
…where p is
As a guy obsessed with maxing out potential in groups and individuals – and one who believes the person at the top is the one most responsible for making it happen – I was pretty fired up about the concept of Undercover Boss. In each episode, a CEO goes undercover, in disguise, to work next to front-line employees.
The format got tired quickly – boss leaves fancy home and doting family, stays in fleabag hotels, realizes he/she is totally inept at frontline tasks, discovers that employees are (gasp!) real people with real problems, cries (most episodes), promises to change, and gives lavish rewards to the episode’s featured employees.
What a great concept – and what a disappointment in a show.
Still on vacation. Something to share with you, though: This woman has a fantastic blog that is great reading for anyone who cares about public education. Check it out: Expected freedoms.
The posts on this blog have been primarily about effective behaviors of good leadership. But leaders do not exist in a vacuum, and it’s important to remember that much of the work in a high-achieving organization is accomplished by the “followers.” The readings on this site focus on things leaders do to keep those followers engaged and motivated. Let’s take a moment to look at the big picture of follower engagement. I know that sounds like a buzzword, but you can call it whatever you like; keeping people happy, firing people up, making people feel loved, keeping them on your side, maintaining loyalty, whatever.
So many believe that leaders are “visionary”. It’s true – but a problem is this:
The concept of vision is “out there”, esoteric, hard to grasp. Aren’t visionary leaders somehow “special” in that regard? How can you “teach” vision?
A working definition of “Vision” as it applies to leaders:
Vision is a two-fold ability:
1) the ability to accurately see the current reality of the organization/situation, and
2) the ability to creatively see the possibilities of the organization/situation.
I’ve been reading about the Adaptation Principle. This can take on many forms depending on the venue (it’s very popular in exercise physiology), but in organizations it goes something like this:
When we get used to things, we don’t notice them as much. We also don’t think about their meaning.
Examples:
or
How is being an effective band director like running a good business?
or
What if the best practices in band program administration collide with the best practices in managing and developing employees?
It is striking how the franchise prototype model outlined in “The E-Myth” coincides with an effective, student-leader-empowered, music program:
My first boss was fond of saying this: “Most days, we have fun around here.”
The first time I heard him say this was in my job interview. He followed it up with “…and you can’t say that about most jobs.”
It was my first job, so I took his word for it.