What colour is a zebra -  black or white?
 
I have just returned from the US where I was running two leadership courses at Wisconsin University. I left on the day Donald J Trump was declared the 45th President of the United States. Many of the people I met were in shock. All predictions were that he didn't really have a chance. It was assumed that he had alienated too large a percentage of the electorate - women, Hispanics and even Republicans.

So why did the forecasters get it so wrong? The error in our thinking is to frame a complex situation in black and white terms. If we apply logical, but binary thinking, we would conclude that none of those people in the groups he had insulted, would vote for him. Similar errors in prediction were made in the United Kingdom with Brexit.

So what lessons can we learn to apply to our own leadership, to avoid the flawed cognitive reasoning distortion of black and white thinking?

1. Stop looking for right and wrong decisions. In mathematical equations there is a right answer. In management, complex business problems seldom have a right answer - there are just less-wrong options. A good decision often has more positives, and less negatives when judged in the light of a successful outcome, but it doesn't make the rejected option wrong. The harsh reality is a so-called right decision may have achieved the desired outcome through luck. Decisions can only be judged as right and wrong in hindsight, therefore at the time they are made it's more helpful to consider them viable working options than the right decision. Scott McNealy, co-founder of SUN Microsystems said " I am less worried about “making the right decision” and spend much more time and energy ensuring that any decision I make turns out right".
2, Bosses are not good or bad. They are complex human beings who have strengths and weaknesses and many of these traits impact a far wider audience than just us, or our team. The problem is once we apply black and white filters to people we selectively pick data points that support our polarised belief. By thinking in shades of grey we can more objectively evaluate our boss's behaviour and work together more effectively towards good business outcomes.

3. If we are not right about something it is really, really OK. In other words let's stop trying to justify how right we are and welcome insights that we might be wrong. Engineers or other analytical thinkers such as accountants, really struggle with accepting this fact and therefore are often very defensive and closed to constructive feedback. It is hard to logically accept you may be wrong as the moment you do it, you become right about the fact you were previously wrong. A better alternative is to become very comfortable accepting that the current belief and set of opinions you have may well be wrong. This allows you to be open to any new insights or information that may lead to you changing your mind about something. Being more open minded will make you a more effective leader as you will continually learn and grow.

As I conclude, I have to admit to having fallen prey to black and white thinking in my pessimistic opinions expressed to friends and family about recent world events, and I promise to do more to keep an open mind and not judge a zebra as black or white.
 

I went for an early morning beach run today.  

When I turned around to make my return journey, I could clearly see the path I had taken, as  no-one else was there.  Without me knowing it, my footsteps had left a clear demarcation of my journey in the hard, wet sand.
 
Three observations came to mind:
 

1. As we go through our day we leave a foot print behind, without even being aware of it. I committed to make sure that my footprint left with whoever I met today. would be a positive one.  Leadership is all about making a positive difference, as Marshall Goldsmith would say.
2. I also noticed that my footprints were washed away in some places. Obviously I had misjudged the maximum tide line that I needed to run in order to keep my Nike shoes dry! Yet because the tide didn't rush up that far at the specific time I had passed that point, I was blissfully unaware of my error. I wondered how often we are actually making errors in judgement without being aware of it. We might be wrong more often than we realise, as associated consequences do not always show up simultaneously to warn us.
3. Lastly, related to the observation above, it also occurred to me that the main benefit in observing my error in judgement was to adjust my path higher up the beach for the return journey. I could do nothing about the steps I had already taken. This learning, rather than judging mindset, where mistakes are seen as useful feedback, rather than signs of failure, is critical to being an effective leader. 

As I ran home I challenged myself to live the lessons of the footprints in the sand!

​Observe people in most businesses these days and you are likely to see them looking very busy tapping away furiously on their laptops or smart phones.  Often what they are doing is writing emails to all and sundry on any number of unrelated topics.  This hard work can often take up a significant percentage of the working day, sometimes extending late into the night. 
 
Yet when I talk to people in my business coaching role, most confess that this investment in time yields very poor business results.  So why do we still do it? 
 
Advances in brain research give us a clue.  Scientists tell us that our brains release a feel-good hormone called dopamine, when we achieve something – our self-reward mechanism for encouraging good behaviour!  Neuroscientist Charles Gerfen has found that some neurons in the nucleus accumbens produce opiods – so we can literally get a high from thinking!  The problem is it is short lived, and so in order to maintain that feel good feeling we need to keep having these “successes” to continue to feel good.  Our brain rewards us with feel-good chemicals when we appear to be busy achieving something – for example, when , ticking things off a ToDo list or emptying our email inboxes.  To be really effective we have to ignore our own internal reward system , and ask ourselves if what we are currently doing is actually adding true value to the business. 
 
Here are some email tips to stop feeding our drug addiction:
 

1. Determine set times to read and action emails.Outside those times work on value creating activities.Email is not synchronous, or real-time, and by stopping acting like it is, we break the cycle and reduce the drug supply.
2. Make decisions based on relative, not absolute, importance and urgency...Everything seems important and urgent in isolation.Prioritise the most important, most urgent things and do those first.This will provide a much more rewarding high, when we see real business results achieved.
3. Do not use your inbox as a ToDo list.Delete, delegate or deal with them.To deal with emails and get them out your inbox, either respond immediately or diarise when you will respond.This way your inbox will be empty and temptations for short-lived and distracting dopamine highs are removed.

Trevor Manning runs regular lecturers on management and is available for In-House leadership programs. The next scheduled management courses on “Leading technical teams” and “Leading up and across the business”, are in March, June and November 2016 (University of Wisconsin (Madison)). 
www.epd.engr.wisc.edu/
@LinkedInPulse
http://www.tmcglobal.com.au/blog
 

My alarm went off and the battle began.  Trevor-the-Manager had decided that I should go for a run and Trevor-the-worker was not having any of it.  “Get out of bed and go for your run as we agreed yesterday”, barked the manager.  “No its cold and dark. I don’t want to.” 

“Listen, we agreed it was good for your health and it’s a matter of discipline. Get up and do it now!.”  At this point the worker in me realized they would have to come up with a cunning response or he would be pounding the pavement.  “Listen, it is still dark and if I trip and fall I won’t be able to run for weeks. It’s actually a health risk to go running now. I will do it later!.”  The manager in me was stumped.  How do you argue with such a great excuse?   The worker had a point and was not being defiant, as he did say he would go later.  To be reasonable and fair the manager had to compromise.  “OK, but I don’t want to hear any excuses later on that you were too busy or that the weather is bad.”  The worker in me tucked back into bed and smiled knowingly; “We’ll see.  I have another 8 hours to come up with my next killer excuse.” 

For anyone trying to achieve a goal there is an internal battle between the planner and the doer.  Understanding this manager –worker relationship can teach us a lot about how to manage others.  Achieving a goal requires a balance between two motivators:  Extrinsic drivers that force us to do things we don’t want to do; and intrinsic drivers that lead us to a new personal best, just because we really want to. 

 

Here is a 3 step approach to consider:

 

Step 1 is to create a plan which includes both a minimum measurable standard and a vision of the utopia outcome.  The minimum standard is not subject to compromises and debates.  It is a non-negotiable standard that we must meet.  When my worker-self argues that I will run tomorrow, and gets away with it, it’s because I have not set a minimum standard for myself. 

Step 2 is to create external pressure to meet this minimum standard by sharing it with others and even defining some consequences or rewards.  This ensures that you at least get compliance to the basics of the plan through discipline, until it has become a habit -  Skipping my run today is not an option because I have to run at least three times a week, and today is Sunday and I have only run twice -  The worker in me has nowhere to go, as the manager in me is not going to listen to any arguments or excuses, come rain or shine. 

Step 3 is to visualise the utopia scenario and define some stretch goals that are more about the end result, than the discipline of getting there.  What you want is for the motivation to be internalised.  Identify what the true internal, personal driver is.  External motivators can achieve compliance, but often not more.  Internal motivation will encourage innovation, drive and determined commitment to achieve a personal best.  While I am running instead of finding an excuse, I am visualising how fit and healthy I will be and push myself harder. 

Motivating staff is a balance between defining the minimum compliance line and sharing the vision for excellence.  Define and externally motivate for the minimum Key Performance Indicators  to be met, and also share the inspirational goals of your team, to get buy-in and commitment to excellence. 

Balancing external motivation techniques while nurturing intrinsic motivators is a key leadership skill.

The student approached his professor and asked, “What is the difference between leadership and management?” The professor smiled broadly and said, “I am going fishing on Saturday morning – come down to the lake and I will teach you the difference.”

Early the next morning, with the sun yet to break through over the horizon, the student met the professor, but he sat there saying nothing. Confused and bemused, it suddenly occurred to him that the last lecture on leadership had been all about proactivity. Seeing how little success his teacher was having with catching anything, he had a brainwave. Without saying a word he rushed down to the supermarket and came back with some beautifully shiny, newly cleaned fish fillets - ready to eat. “Here we go”, he beamed. “No need to carry on fishing, I anticipated your needs and solved the problem for you  - Isn’t that leadership?”

The professor stretched his arms back in an expansive, relaxed manner and pointed to the surreal setting of water glistening in the early morning sun, and commented. “Do you really think my primary purpose of coming here is to catch fish? Proactivity in leadership is only helpful if you first understand the real purpose of those you report to.” Catching on fast, and recalling the lesson on asking more than telling, the student responded with a question. “What can I do to help?”

“Well my fishing boxes haven’t been tidied up in years. I am also getting old and if I do happen to hook a big one, I will need your help to bring it in. But you will have to anticipate that one, as I won’t have time to ask for help.”

The student immediately got to work, even roping in some passers-by to help with the challenge. Keeping half an eye out in anticipation of his teacher landing the Big One, he busied himself organising 20 years of hooks, line, sinkers and fancy novelty fishing gifts he has been given over the years, all tangled together  in the boxes. Encouraging the volunteers to keep going, he suddenly realised he had answered his own question. “Professor, I think I get it!  

Leadership is about understanding the purpose and inspiring others to help achieve it. Management is about organising  the people and resources you need to achieve it, and then ensuring the work actually gets done. You can’t really be successful unless you have both!”

At that exact moment, the rod bent in half and the student jumped up to help the professor land the biggest catch of the day! No further words were spoken, the lesson was learnt!