I’m a college hoops fan. I eagerly await selection Sunday even more than Christmast. I can’t wait to fill out my bracket. Over the last few years we have seen an unusual amount of upsets. Not just early round upsets low ranked teams going deep in the tourney. This week end an 11 seed will play an 8 seed in the national semi final which means that one of them will be in the national championship game. This seems so far fetched that on ESPN.com there is literally only one person who has the final four right on their bracket.

What has changed? Why are perennial favorites dropping to mid majors and school we hardly know of?

Blue chips and veterans

You know the schools; the ones with the hall of fame coach and the blue chip recruits. The schools that every kids grows up wanting to play for.

They have gotten comfortable with their game. They run the same offense year in and year out. It’s old and it’s stale.

Young, fresh and creative

You might know his name already, Skaka Smart. 33 years old. He’s creative and he sees the court in a different way than the crafty veterans that we have always known. And guess what…it’s working!

I’m 33. Most days I feel like I’m looked at as just a kid. It’s a bummer. I feel like I’m in my prime of creativity and I have to fight for a chance to use my gifts.

I was at SXSW a couple weeks ago and the thing that occurred to me is that the people with the vision, leadership and chops that are changing culture right now are not in their 40s or even 30s, they are in their twenties.

I hope that when it is my turn to pass the keys to the next great mind…that I do it…before it’s too late.

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• Managing vs. Leading
• Winning the little battles
• New Leadership Essentials Pt. 3 – Conclusion

I’d write a witty intro for this video if it wasn’t already full of so much #win.

Exclusive interview with Seth Godin from GiANT Impact on Vimeo.

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• Winning the little battles
• New Leadership Essentials Pt. 3 – Conclusion
• New Leadership Essentials | Pt. 2 – fresh skills

There are those little tasks and those little side projects that people ask you to ‘help’ with or even lead. They don’t completely fall into your job description but there is some overlap.

You’re probably maxed out as it is, most of us are. If I went around my office and asked everyone who they thought was the most overworked they would first think to themselves; “I’m the most over worked”…then they would give some other answer as to who I might agree is over worked.

So it happens; you’re asked by someone (most likely someone paid more than you or with more tenure) if you can ‘make a widget’ (for the sake of discussion).

The first thing to understand is why they are asking you because there is a reason buried somewhere, it’s not random. Here are the main reasons you get asked to do the little things:

Someone thinks it’s your job
Maybe you made a widget before or your team makes them. Maybe you have never made them and this person has no idea how widgets are made and their best guess is that you can do it…I’m sure you’ll be able to connect the dots. This situation is a good check point on what you think your job is versus what your colleagues think your job is. This is usually the main reason you get asked to do things you don’t really want to do and may not fall in your job description.

Someone is panicked
Take this as a compliment when someone is panicked and is looking for anyone who can make or help them make a widget and they look to you. This means they trust your wisdom and the relationship you have. They might not have much reason to believe you or your team can make widgets but they know you’ll understand their situation and are probably an asset.

Someone thinks you can rise to it
This is the most positive reason someone asks you to step outside your main path of responsibility. This is usually a leader that thinks you can grow into making widgets and wants to take a chance on you. You’ll know right away when this is the reason because you will be asked to do something you really want to do but it wasn’t your job until now. I’m not going to talk about this one anymore because it’s a no brainer…DO IT!

So now you have been asked to do something that doesn’t fall in your job description and that:

• You don’t have time to do
• You may not want to do (because it’s a lame task)
• Doesn’t fall in your job description

So what are you to do? What are the options in this situation?

I think you have three main options in this situation and I base all of them on not just being an answer for this one time but rather something that sets you up to better handle the next one.

Selective incompetence

You can give the task a try and do a poor job and in the future you won’t be asked to do it again. Remember when you did this as a kid with your chores? Not the most mature path to take but it will solve this issue for you.

Clarify your job description

In some instances it may be better for you and your organization to understand what it is you do and are good at and to make sure you stay in that zone. At the time of the ask is a great time to gain clarity on your role. We all want to stay in our sweet spot as much as we can and likewise we want our teams to function in their sweet spots. This is usually most people’s instinctual response but not always the right one. If you keep getting similar requests from people maybe it’s not them that misunderstand what your job description is.

Hit a home run

This may come as a surprise to you but a viable response to the ask is to take it and knock it out of the park. Yes, take the ‘opportunity’ to blow some minds.This puts the control of this situation in your hands next time it happens. This means that you will have the credibility to say no because you now have the track record to say things like: “we don’t have time/budget to make this widget” and everyone will believe you because you are now the expert. This is my first thought when I’m asked if I can do something outside my realm; How can I use this to increase my credibility and influence and in turn free myself up to focus on my sweet spot?

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• March Madness and Leadership
• Managing vs. Leading
• New Leadership Essentials Pt. 3 – Conclusion

I have been reinventing leadership in my mind for the last couple years. I’d like to think I’m changing the way leaders think all over the world but I’m pretty sure I’m not.

The way leaders communicate has changed from one way platforms to dialogue, conversation and story. I watched the film Art & Copy a few months ago and it really impacted me on a couple thoughts, but one in particular that anyone who desires to move people into action can learn from:

If your story can add value to someone’s life without them ‘buying’ what you’re selling then you’ve nailed it.

This is the new standard. The reality is that the current generation is very good at ignoring you and is overwhelmed by stimuli.

So for you, a communicator, the point is to keep the conversation going so that you earn the right to make the ask (again). If you try to close too fast you’re just going to get ignored.

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• New Leadership Essentials Pt. 3 – Conclusion
• March Madness and Leadership
• Managing vs. Leading

In parts one and two of this little brain dump I contrasted what I think are dying leadership skills with vital emerging leadership skills. This begs the question; I’m a leader, what about me? Where do these thoughts hit the ground?

Management is dead

I see management based leadership roles going away… and they already are. It took this recession to kick start the process. In a strapped economy a person who doesn’t produce won’t have a lot of value to an organization. Let’s face it, management positions haven’t been about producing. If the first words out of your mouth when you describe your job are: “I lead a team that…”, you may need to take an inventory of what it is that you do and what you produce.

If and when we recover from this recession, organizations will have learned that carrying dead wood on their team like they did when things we’re booming in the nineties won’t cut it anymore. Everyone on your team needs to carry weight when it comes to producing what ever it is you produce, not just go to meetings…even at the top.

This is happening because of the reality that anyone can have great ideas and platforms to communicate them, but not all have the skills and gifts to make these dreams reality.

Your Whole Team is the Customer Service Department

And your customer service department is open 24 hours. In the past organizations had a customer service department and a communications department and the ‘voice’ of your organization was crafted and delivered to the public and your clients via these people/teams. Everyone else was internally focused.

Real time communication and marketing is quickly becoming the norm and your brand must keep up. This reality doesn’t make room for customer service to address the issue and the communications/PR people to draft a statement. Your organization is being represented publicly by every person in it; top to bottom. This means every person on your team needs to understand the ‘voice’ to which your brand speaks…and execute it well.

Are you and your team ready to face this reality?

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• March Madness and Leadership
• Managing vs. Leading
• Winning the little battles

Yesterday I laid out the three main skills that leaders have leaned on since more or less the industrial revolution. I said that I think they are dying. So what replaces them?

Design
As we move to a global village culture and the world becomes more connected, it will become more class-less and it is already happening in the more technologically advanced countries.  This is especially true in intellectual space. The ‘expert class’ is not what it used to be, no longer can you simply contribute knowledge but you must also be a part of the design process of what ever it is your organization is looking to accomplish.

It’s no longer enough to have a great idea you must also be willing and able to put your boots on and get some things done and make something. The smallness of the world allows us all to see that anyone can have a great vision and even a strategy to accomplish it…but you have to be able to design it and craft it to be a leader.

Story
Can you take people on journey across multiplatforms and mediums and spark a movement? Not just the simple oration of a story over 30 minutes. Some stories take years to play out before the people on the journey come to the final climactic scene and take the action that the leader intended. Some stories are 140 characters long and last a few minutes…even a few seconds in the life of one individual.

Pure communication skills just don’t cut it, one must understand and relate to the reality of those you wish to communicate to and the various mediums by which the story is told. I don’t believe this can be faked; leaders must have a firm grasp of this because this ever shrinking global culture can spot a fake infinitely better than generations past.

Caring
You first need to truly care about those you wish to lead and those you wish to impact through your organization and then you must clearly communicate that you care.  Leaders who can put on a good show are a dime a dozen, but leaders who can truly and genuinely care…and prove it will create powerful movements.

Being a a captivating personality will only get you so far, you must care and you must be able to scale your caring to an ever growing movement if you wish to grow your organization.

If you read part one you may be thinking that these three skills are basically the same…maybe, maybe not?

Am I hitting something here or am I way off?

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• March Madness and Leadership
• Managing vs. Leading
• Winning the little battles

Leadership skills matter. I don’t think the personality of a what makes a great leader has changed much in the last 50 years, but I think the core skill set has.

In the past the core three skills have been:

Vision
The ability to articulate with passion and conviction a plan to move your organization from point A to point B.

It’s dying because: We think more globally and collectively so our culture has it’s mind (and heart) on much bigger things than your little organization.

Communication
Stand in front of a room full of people or a camera and captivate them with your chops. Just the ability to talk went a long way in the past.

It’s dying because: Content creation has become so easy that your mom and the 11 year old kid in their room can publish ‘movies’ and other content for the entire world to see. Your platform doesn’t matter anymore.

Charisma
A powerful person can own an entire room full of people. It’s that simple. I’m not talking about your core personality, but your learned interaction skills.

It’s dying because: The majority of the people you are communicating too rarely, if ever, are in the same room with you.

A great leader in the past had this three skills wired and could combine them to accomplish great things with their organizations.

So what are these three skills being replaced with? I’ll take a stab at it tomorrow, but in until then…what do you think?

Read Part 2

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• March Madness and Leadership
• Managing vs. Leading
• Winning the little battles

I have a tree that isn’t bearing fruit. So I tried some tactics to push it along

Reason
I reasoned with my tree. I used really detailed graphs loaded with facts that would make Ross Perot proud. This didn’t work. My tree had a counter to every fact and piece of evidence I offered. He had done his homework.

Threats
I threatened my tree thinking that a little fear would get it to give me some tasty fruit. I told it all the things I was capable of doing to it. My tree didn’t seem to care, he just shrugged and said; “Do what you will.”

Protest
I put up a blog and rallied a bunch of people who where angry about trees not bearing fruit. We made big signs and banners and even a miniature replica of my tree that we burned. My tree didn’t come any closer to giving me fruit.

I guess I will have to keep watering it and treating it like fruit trees should be treated. When the time is right, who knows?

How have you tried to force your tree to grow?

If you liked what you just read you may like:

• March Madness and Leadership
• Managing vs. Leading
• Winning the little battles