I get by with a little help from my friends...

Tag Team, back again. Check it to wreck it, let's begin

There is a point to this article beyond the musical references in the title and the lyrics in the block quote. As usual, I come to you by way of inspiration from others. Karen Lord lit the spark and Tony Carr stoked the embers into a flame. so yes I do... "Get by with a little help from my friends". I also "tag" my friends and give due credit to the inspirations they provide. I ask that you please read their articles which I will embed here not to push people towards them but because it gives context to what I write here. The posts from Karen and Tony are embedded below. You can read them in any order.

Karen talks of perspectives, conflict, KPIs/metrics, and TIME. Tony talks to and links to a INC.com article about why people leave their jobs. How are these two related? I am glad you asked ??.

As I read articles and posts from others I relate them to things, people, and experiences I know or have had. I like to imagine that is what we all do. Karen challenges us to consider the perspectives of others. This is another thing I try to do. I hope it is what many if not most of us try to do. Why then did Karen need to write about this?

I have noticed a pattern: either the assertion of authority or a need to win. Perhaps a combination of both. The line of reasoning would go like this: If I adopt your perspective my authority/leadership is somehow compromised (this will play into the article from Tony). The second line of reasoning is: If I adopt your perspective then you win and I lose. This is where those KPI/metrics that Karen mentions are so important. If all we are judged on is a snapshot of wins and losses then what benefit is it to change our perspective even if WE KNOW ITS THE RIGHT THING TO DO? Especially if that means a tick in the imaginary loss column. This is all very surface and the motivations can and do run much deeper. Humans are complex after all. Diving into that a bit this is where the article from Tony and the INC.com article comes into play. Tony aptly surmises why most companies do not pick "strong leaders". Coupled with the article from Karen on KPIs for measuring people you get what we have today. Leaders who use TIME as an excuse for the inability to do better. TIME is the excuse for why KPIs/metrics. Time is always the excuse for everything because time is money. It is never however a problem for an ineffectual leader to misuse or waste time.

The block quote I have included below from the INC article gets to the root of the issues. It mentions "innate talents". These talents are much harder to quantify. To put a KPI/metric against. Call it measuring the unmeasurable. I diverge for a second. In the US there are three credit reporting agencies. Each one when asked will give you a different number regarding your creditworthiness. Depending on who is asking for what kind of credit the number will be different from the one given to you personally. Which one is correct? I commented recently on an article using Tom Brady as an example. I will include a part of the comment here but the point is - that by KPIs/metrics, Tom should not exist as who and what he is, that is if KPIs/metrics are correct and to be trusted. You could say he should never even have had a chance to show it. Tom got lucky. Sometimes it happens.

What then is the point of all of this?

First - you are not alone. Others think, feel, and "see" things in the same way as you do.

Second - Be willing to challenge yourself and change your perspective. It does not mean they win and/or you lose. It is not a zero-sum game.

Third - Allow yourself and others to make mistakes. Correct yours to the extent possible, then let them go and move on.

Fourth - If you are or end up in a position of authority. Look for those with abilities beyond the KPI/metrics. Those not yet in authority with an insight and passion for the work and people. The path to change for us and everything else is accomplished one step at a time.

I opened with lyrics and so I will end with lyrics.

Now I look at the years gone by and wonder at the powers that be I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free Maybe the time has drawn the faces I recall But things in this life change very slowly if they ever change at all No use in asking why, it just turned out that way So meet me at midnight baby inside the Sad Café - Eagles - "The Sad Café"

Mediocre college stats and as such for the time not at the top of the field for draft picks. The general consensus at the time was second or third round draft pick. Tom ends up getting picked by New England in the SIXTH ROUND. He would later admit to leaving the house at one point during the selections prior to being picked due to a feeling of shame. Looking back on what we know now.... ?? No one not even the Patriots and Belichick at the time of his being picked in the sixth had any idea what was about to happen. If he did he would have picked him first right?What did everyone miss? Toms work ethic? Yes there are some scandals and other things that haunt him. Think he or the Patriots are the only team doing those things or did they just get caught? Not really the point of this discussion. Point is everyone miss judged his ability. He lucked into a chance to show it and the rest is history. (partial of a comment of mine toa post here on LinkedIN)

Promote people on five talents - While experience is important, employees' innate talents, what Gallup calls "the naturally recurring patterns in the ways they think, feel, and behave," are the accurate predictors of their best performance. As a starting point to determine whom to promote or hire into your managerial roles, Gallup found five talents are necessary for success on the job. INC article

The?real?company?values,??as?opposed?to?the??nice‐sounding?values,??are?shown?by?who?gets??rewarded,?promoted,?or?let?go?- Netflix Culture Deck (see link at bottom of this article)

Netflix Culture Deck PDF

INC article

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