Please don't become my ideal client

Just for a moment I'd like you to imagine this scenario:

Life seems good in your organization.

You've won a some?funding.?All the key positions. You've been growing. You're hitting all your markers.

But there's?a problem sneaking up from the shadows.

It starts small. One of the VPs or execs complains about another.

Two weeks later, someone's storming?out of executive meetings, never to return—at least not today.

They're at each other's throats.

They refuse to meet 1:1. Resentment simmers.?

You're up all night, wondering what happened to the good ol' days.

"Is this how our dreams go up in smoke? After all that we've been through to build this company, is this how we'll fall?"

This is the story of?the Barely Functioning Disaster, a name I made up for organizations where everything?seems?okay but, just beneath the surface, issues between people are festering, threatening the very life of the organization.

I call them "BFDs" for short.

I've seen BFDs?in the public sector, in health care, schools, not-for-profits, and Fortune 500 companies alike.

If BFDs go on without intervention, they won't go far.

How did we get here in the first place??

Hard work alone is unsustainable.?

BFDs are usually chock full of geniuses. They have brilliant minds and outstanding products. The people in BFDs usually work harder than anyone else. It's why they're so successful.

But?for any Barely Functioning Disaster to change course and achieve long-term, sustainable success, they need to change their focus.

You have to play all your cards if you want to relieve the pressure.

Working in a BFD can feel like you're always a millimeter?away from implosion.

It's the kind of place where your coffee sits, cold and untouched, on your desk.

Where your "free time" at home is spent processing and problem solving people problems. You wonder, why can't we just?do the work?

Here's the thing: those "people problems" that get in the way of your work?will not go away without direct attention and care.?

You have to play all your cards. It's hard, scary, and can feel vulnerable. Someone has to start.

To put it out there:

"I'm afraid we'll lose all that we've worked for. I'm frustrated that these issues are jeopardizing our work. My hope is that together we can find a way through this tension."

When vulnerability and courage are systematically distributed throughout an organization it becomes more creative, more resilient, and more productive (not to?mention more humane).

By learning to speak the hard truth about their personal conflicts I've seen countless teams shock themselves with their own amazing results.

When it feels better to go to work, people bring more of their energy.?They contribute richly and organizations thrive.

It doesn't have to be so hard, though.

You don't need to hire an expensive consultant.?

I know! I know! I am a consultant. It's been the bread and butter of my?successful career.

But hear me now:?consulting is like getting open heart surgery when you could've been eating less red meat.

It's invasive?and expensive last-ditch effort to desperate organizations.

Too many leaders wait until their situation is bad to invest in their people.

Don't let your organization become an ideal consulting client.?

The problem is systemic and inherent to our legacy of business culture. We're taught that results matter more than people. Deadlines matter more than heart-felt connection.

It's all a lie.?

The research is clear: better people make better organizations, and it all starts with leadership.

I once heard leadership defined as "the capacity of one individual to influence a large number of others."

This definition is backwards.

It assumes people are clueless and need to be shown the way. It's patronizing and ineffective. We don't live in a world populated by serfs and lords.

People are not machines. They won't just?do?whatever you tell them.?

True leadership, what we call People Leadership, is about bringing out the best in people.

People Leadership assumes people mean well and have the capacity to grow, adapt, and solve problems.

Over the next few days I want to tell you all about People Leadership

Some of the things I'll talk about include

• Why the best leaders are experts at saying "I don't know".
• The real reasons that gossip and cross-talk destroy healthy culture.
• How the best leaders work less while accomplishing more. (Hint: it's about having?more?conflict... counter-intuitive, right?)

I think you'll like what's coming.

You can avoid a BFD in the first place.

By the time you're in a BFD, it is hard to recover trust and rebuild vulnerability.

It's much easier to avoid a BFD entirely by building resilient, courageous, and diverse organizations from the beginning.

That work begins with leaders.

We define?a leader as anyone who sees a way things could be better and has the power to make that change.

I want to show you how leaders can turn their organizations into Smooth Sailing Successes.

I've seen hundreds of leaders do it.

Everything feels easier at a SSS:

• New talent flocks like flies.
• Traumatic HR lawsuits don't happen.
• Companies make more money for the same amount of work.
• Clients are delighted.

The list goes on.