WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.400 Welcome to Hacking Your Leadership. I'm Chris Lorenzo, and welcome to this week's 2 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.960 Thoughtful Thursday. Don't forget to follow us on YouTube at Hacking Your Leadership and 3 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:10.919 leave us a review on iTunes. On this Thoughtful Thursday, I want to 4 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.599 talk about something that is near and dear to my heart when it comes to 5 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:18.640 leadership. And this is something that I've experienced many times in my career in 6 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:26.600 retail leadership, and that's this idea that all things that are a problem come 7 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:30.480 back to how are you training your people? How are you coaching your people? 8 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:35.079 How are you asking them to do things you know more correctly? If 9 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:38.079 the results aren't there, it's because you have to do this better or that 10 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:44.280 better. And sometimes that's true, sometimes that's absolutely true, but sometimes it's 11 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:51.679 not true. And sometimes these questions are being asked by people who haven't walked 12 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:56.719 in your shoes for a while or ever, and it's tough to have those 13 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:00.079 conversations with them when they can't necess really see eye to eye with you. 14 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:03.640 Have you had this happened to you before? Definitely, for sure. And 15 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.480 I think that this is good because it's a it's a smaller part of a 16 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:11.359 larger conversation. You know. Um I wrote about this a couple of weeks 17 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:15.680 back on our LinkedIn newsletter around just kind of the myth of training, coaching 18 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.560 and focus and again, does training help? Absolutely? Does development help? 19 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:23.239 Yes, absolute hundred percent. We're not saying that that's that's not the case 20 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:26.879 when it happens though many times, is that you're kind of doing the same 21 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.840 thing over and over again, or this belief that it's always training that we're 22 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:33.959 not talking a little bit deeper. It's like, well, who is training 23 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.400 and how are they training? And is the training effective? And then not 24 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:40.640 only is there a training done, but then what's the follow up and what's 25 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:44.519 the what's the process in which we're validating the training? And so much of 26 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.400 that falls into the effectiveness of leaders. And so I think that there's been 27 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:53.200 many, many times where I've been in conversations and dialogue and we always want 28 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.439 to kind of default to that like, oh, it's like it's it's it's 29 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.120 it's a training thing, or it's just like and it's like, well, 30 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.719 yes, and because how many times do we have to train the same people 31 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:06.239 on the thing we want them to do without finally saying it's not about the 32 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:09.960 training. Maybe it's about the execution of the strategy. Maybe there's other factors 33 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.080 that are here, and so I think it's it's just something that it's good 34 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:17.800 for us to for us to discuss, but also for leaders to constantly look 35 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:23.800 at because a lot of times the defaults for many strategies, for many organizations 36 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:27.319 is just simply that oh, they need more training, under the assumption that 37 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.319 they just don't have the training they need to do the work. And there 38 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:34.199 are other factors that I think can be a lot bigger in the impact of 39 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.520 them not getting the work done how it should be done right. Well, 40 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.240 So let's talk about some of those other factors here, because a lot of 41 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:43.159 it comes down to prioritization. And you know, we talk about this as 42 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:46.520 in our culture acronym. The l for culture is to lend air support. 43 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:50.400 So if you're a leader, your job is to kind of filter out the 44 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:53.919 noise and make sure that your team, that your people reporting up to you 45 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:58.520 don't have a list of seven thousand priorities. If everything is a priority, 46 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.039 nothing is a priority, right, That's how it works. There has to 47 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:06.120 be something that is a priority, a couple of things, but not everything 48 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:09.039 is a priority, and that can change, but it shouldn't change daily. 49 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:14.479 It could change quarterly, it could change annually. Like you're supposed to reevaluate 50 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.719 what your priorities are based on moving levers of a business if things are not 51 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:22.039 moving the way you want it to move. But if a priority is AB 52 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:25.159 and C on Monday and it's D, E and F on Tuesday, that 53 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:30.360 implies that what you said on Monday wasn't actually a priority, and you lose 54 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:32.960 credibility as a leader when it comes to naming off any priorities at all. 55 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:38.439 And so you have to really be clear on what the priorities are, and 56 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:43.840 you can't kind of be in it, like if you're being inundated by noise 57 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:49.520 from outside the system. You often will have competing business groups kind of telling 58 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.599 you what they believe their priorities are, and it's their top priority for sure, 59 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.639 because it's their business group. You as the leader then have to go 60 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:00.639 in and filter that and decide what is actually the priority. And there are 61 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:04.039 things you can do to figure out what is actually the priority. Look at 62 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:11.159 how people are rated on their annual reviews. Look at what constitutes someone getting 63 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.840 a raise or a promotion or not. You want to know where the priority 64 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.920 is. Look at what gets a person a promotion, don't It's what the 65 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.879 old added you ask a politician, don't tell me your priorities, show me 66 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.439 your budget, and I'll tell you what your priorities are. This is the 67 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:27.920 exact same thing. And so what I want to ask you, Lorenzo, 68 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.319 is have you ever run into a situation where you have to kind of push 69 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.279 back on someone who has um you know, who's trying to tell you this 70 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:40.680 is a priority and you have to kind of make it clear to them this 71 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:44.319 actually isn't a priority for you, not because it's not to them, but 72 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:46.680 because it just isn't to you. And so I don't want to ask you 73 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:47.600 that, but first I want to get up toward poet of our sponsors. 74 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.560 All right, Lorenzo, when did you have to kind of make sure that 75 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:56.519 someone who is telling you something that's really important to them it is a priority 76 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:00.560 to them, that it just isn't a priority to you without kind of hurting 77 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:02.519 that relationship and saying no, sorry, Bud, you know, go away 78 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:04.839 and come back later. You have to maintain that relationship. You have to 79 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:09.079 have a working relationship with them, but you, but you, you really 80 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:11.160 it's not a priority to you. It just isn't. Yeah. I think 81 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:15.040 a lot of it sometimes to your point earlier, is around negotiation, communication, 82 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:16.920 relationships, those types of things. And I can think of many times 83 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.959 when somebody has come to me to say, like, this is the thing, 84 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:24.360 this is the priority, this is what you know needs to be focused 85 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:30.399 on. And and because of the work that I do, and because of 86 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.439 the teams that I lead and the involvement and things that are going on, 87 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:38.600 I many times have had different perspectives and said, like, I'm not saying 88 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:42.040 it's not important, but when it comes to like what are we really trying 89 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:45.759 to solve for here or how does this align with the other things that we 90 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.040 have, I think in what I've learned over time is to just continue to 91 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:55.600 ask more questions to help to connect the dots on where does this land in 92 00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:00.000 the in the kind of the you know, the list of all priorities, 93 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.480 because we have to be honest enough to say that there are many, and 94 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.199 then we have to be honest enough to say that some are more impertinent than 95 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:09.879 others for different types of reasons. And and again when you're when you have 96 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.879 teams where you have multiple leaders, you have complex businesses, you have different 97 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.680 uh you know, different work areas of responsibility, you have all this type 98 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:23.120 of stuff. There are going to be things that may be more of a 99 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:27.879 priority to this group or to this leader specifically versus that leader or that group 100 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.040 specifically. But then as the leader of leaders, you're kind of responsible for 101 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:34.240 it all. So I share that because I think that's where I have and 102 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:38.879 that's typically where I push back, because it happens constantly where I'm like, 103 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.560 Okay, walk me through that, walk me through that as a priority. 104 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.279 Why is that a thing? I understand that we may be solving for scale 105 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:50.879 or solving for a reduction in this behavior. Um, and but where maybe 106 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:56.040 you're seeing that as a as a as a as a behavior that needs to 107 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:59.680 change. I'm saying that behavior shows up differently from me here. Let me 108 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:02.439 walk you through and then to ask the questions around, Okay, so like, 109 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.240 is this something that's more of a priority than this other thing? Because 110 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:10.959 sometimes people are not even aware of I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. 111 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.480 They're not aware that there are some other bigger priorities that are going on 112 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:16.040 sometimes because they're so hyper focused on the thing that they are trying to solve 113 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:20.160 for. They're not even thinking about the other things that are also going on 114 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:23.639 out there. So sometimes it is a matter of saying like, okay, 115 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.439 well hold on, I hear what you're saying. This is something that you 116 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.360 want me to focus on. Let me give you some other things right now 117 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:31.000 that I'm also being asked to focus on. And I would love to get 118 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.759 your perspective, like where does that fit right when it comes to this and 119 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:38.839 that and then the thing that you've got, where does that fit in your 120 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.920 mind? Because I want to understand the level of urgency that you're looking for 121 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:45.399 versus the things that I've got going on. So let's talk through this, 122 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:50.560 and I think in that type of conversation and then that type of engagement is 123 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:56.240 very helpful in us finding a place where we can kind of negotiate down to 124 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:00.600 like, what is this thing and maybe there's something in there that you just 125 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:03.199 need. I've seen that a lot of time. Sometimes we have people that 126 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.639 not only want to tell you what is important, but they want to tell 127 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:09.560 you how to do it. And I think that's where it's like, well, 128 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:11.399 look, look, if that's what you're telling me it is important if 129 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:13.160 I if I can get you that, if that's the thing that you want 130 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.560 solved, and that's the thing that you want to have positive growth in, 131 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:20.160 if I can get you that, then do you really care how I get 132 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:22.279 it done? And if the answers like, well, no, I don't 133 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.120 that okay, great like, then let me focus on getting you what you're 134 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:28.600 looking for, but let me do it the way that it makes more sense 135 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:31.480 for me in the context of the work that I'm doing with the team that 136 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.080 I have focused on, so that I can, as you said earlier, 137 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:37.519 like land air support, I can get rid of some of this extra noise 138 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:41.000 and stop changing things so quickly when it comes to behavioral expectations, right, 139 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.200 that should be the default if you're a leader, and you are if a 140 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:48.399 person is saying to you, I can get this done, you know ethically 141 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.559 and within the guidelines of what the organization is, does it really have to 142 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:56.320 be done the way you want it to be done. Oftentimes that that kind 143 00:08:56.360 --> 00:09:01.799 of procedure, that way that they want it to be done is rooted in 144 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:07.879 a worst case scenario. It's it's it's the prescription to do for leaders who 145 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:09.919 don't have the ability to get it done. It's the it's the prescription. 146 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.519 It's it's like if you if you have no ability to get something done, 147 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.159 you got to start somewhere. Well, I don't know how to do it, 148 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.000 so you're going to tell me how to do it, and then I 149 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.559 can do it that way. That works. But if you are saying you're 150 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:24.600 telling you want this done, I know how to get this done. It's 151 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:26.960 not the way you want it done, but I can still get it done. 152 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.000 If that's a problem for you, that implies that you that you're kind 153 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:35.159 of um, your kind of devotion is not to the actual thing you're saying 154 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:39.120 it is, but whether it's to the process, and then it's a different 155 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:39.919 conversation. So if you want to talk about that, we can have that 156 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:45.919 conversation. But this kind of like a one size fits all doesn't really work. 157 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:50.519 It's it's good to have that procedure in place for people who don't have 158 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:52.039 the ability to do it. But if you, as a leader are saying 159 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.679 I can get this done, you should be allowed to at least make the 160 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.080 attempt. You should be allowed to say I can deliver on this um if 161 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:03.240 if it's a prior and if I can show you the movement in this area, 162 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.320 then leave me alone. You know, then I should be able to 163 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:07.399 say, you know, I did this the way I wanted to do it. 164 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:11.360 I think a lot of the reasons people have a problem with people pushing 165 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:18.320 back on that is because they don't want to feel like they weren't part of 166 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:22.559 the solution. That if if it's if they can get the delivery on the 167 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:26.240 number, but it wasn't the way they wanted it done, then then they 168 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:30.159 didn't have any influence over it getting done. They can't own that success at 169 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:31.799 all on their own. I wrote the process to get this done. Look, 170 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.240 they were able to get it done. It's like, no, you 171 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:37.720 just conveyed to them what the priority was. They got it done in a 172 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:41.480 way that's completely different than you. Now you feel kind of removed from that 173 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:45.440 conversation. That's really tough for a lot of people to do. But it's 174 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.600 all rooted an ego and and and so if you're having a conversation with somebody, 175 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:54.960 it's important to have the conversation in the context of what is this definition? 176 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:56.960 Are you? Are we? What's important? Is the result important? 177 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.559 Or is the how important? Let's come to an agreement on that first, 178 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.919 then we can have the conversation about how to move forward. Absolutely and well 179 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.919 that it brings us to the end of this episode. This is hacking leadership. 180 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:11.200 I'm Lorenzo and I'm Chris, and have a great day.