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Transformation

October 21, 2018 by Heidi Frye

I was viewing a Performance Art installation at the museum. The artist/poet was sitting amidst hundreds of loose torn-from-dictionary-black-and-white pages strewn across the floor and posted to the walls. He was nestled in a large padded Victorian-inspired chair, sitting a bit askew with legs draped across the chair’s arm. As each person approached, he gave them a side-glance and a nod, waiting for the single uttered word which would initiate his brief inward stillness, inspiring a spontaneous poem to be written on one of the pages strewn about. Initially I was exasperated at the length of the line (thank-you to my daughter for coaxing me to stay!) – those who had made it through were audibly amazed at the perfection of the messages they received, motivating us to wait.  My exasperation turned into curiosity and then angst as I realized “Oh! I’m next…what is my word??!”

 

Transformation. I love transformation. Transformation is why I secretly enjoy washing a dirty floor. Why I bought two fixer-uppers in my twenties. And why I love being a coach. Nothing better than observing the growth, the movement, the aha’s, the change, the before & after, the betterment that has taken place! So subtle – barely recognizable mid-process really. And then, suddenly, “Wow, what happened?” – polished, clean, transformed! Transformation is exhilarating (to me anyway!).

 

He was right. The poet, that is. He handed me my poem, simply put, “the transformation happens regardless of what you call it”. The kind of transformation clients hire me for is directional (upward!), and in alignment with their goals. AND, it is intentional.  What about when it’s not? Because that happens too…

 

The point is, transformation does happen, regardless. We are never really static. Shifting, ever so subtly in one direction or another – not even realizing it is happening. Sometimes if not intentionally forward moving, transformation can be negative. Before you realize it, before you can stop the momentum, you’re there. In this place where you don’t recognize yourself anymore. Disengaged. Complacent. Withdrawn. Underutilized. Negative. Unhappy. This isn’t me…

 

I find, close to 100% of the time, in retrospect, clients know they knew when the shifted happened. The shift in the wrong direction. Let me say that again. On some sub-conscious level, they knew! They (now) know they knew (back then), instinctively, they were heading in the wrong direction. And didn’t pay attention to the warning signs. The dishonoring of self. Sometimes it seems so much easier to ignore your intuition. In the short run! In addition to the presence-of-mind to be able hear, and listen, to your intuition, courage is required. Courage, a.k.a. your voice, moxie, energy, the strength to course-correct, and head back in a positive direction.

 

You are in control. If you want to be. Transformation is going to happen regardless of what you call it…get mindful and intentional about yours, and set your trajectory in a positive direction.

Filed Under: Development, Leadership, Life, Personality Tagged With: aha, alignment, before & after, betterment, change, goals, growth, intentional, movement, sub-conscious, transformation

Customer Service Leadership – unexpected and inspiring LITER-ship

January 10, 2018 by Heidi Frye

I walk into Rishi’s International Beverage to purchase my annual “alcohol inspired” client gifts. Within seconds of walking in the door, the owner Rishi, who is finishing up with another customer, locks eyes with me, comes over and gives me a hearty hug and a warm hello! He knows exactly who I am, yet I only visit his store once a year for approximately 10 minutes (admittedly, I do spend hundreds of dollars in that span of time :)). He springs into action – knowing my intention for locating specialty, high-end, totally indulgent selections. He escorts me around the store, inquiring about my executive clients, one by one. “So tell me about this guy – what’s he like, what’s his personality, what’s your price point, what type of alcohol?” Trusting him implicitly with the task of making the perfect selection (he hasn’t failed me yet!), I respond, “Well…he’s grounded, salt-of-the-earth, classy, manscaped (yes, I actually said that), he likes to drink X, and I want to spend about….” “I have just the perfect thing.” Done. He gives me a brief description and rationale about the choice – we’re on to the next one. One of my responses sends him into the back room to grab a special one-of-ten-from-the-private-inventory bottles of Bourbon. Buying from Rishi is fun. Plain and simple. This is not a liquor store, it is an Alcohol Emporium! He leads by example – his team is engaged, conversational, and professional. As I was paying, I thought, Hmmm…who would have thought, inspiring leadership at a liquor store…no, correction, inspiring LITER-SHIP at a liquor store! Ha!!

In Inc. Magazine’s article, “10 Things Every Customer Wants” author Geoffrey James, teases the reader with the the tagline: “Surprisingly, the best price and best value is at the bottom of the customer’s priority list.” The Top 10:

  1. Bring New Perspectives and Ideas (help the customer come up with workable solutions)
  2. Be Willing to Collaborate (customers do not want to be sold, they want you to work with them!)
  3. Have Confidence in Your Ability to Achieve Results (your confidence is contagious and knowledge in your product greatly impacts the customers’ belief in your solution)
  4. Listen, Really Listen, to the Customer (It’s about the customer not you – as much as you want to interject with the perceived product offering, let them finish)
  5. Understand ALL the Customer’s Needs (how will buying from you satisfy their product needs AND their personal needs?)
  6. Help the Customer Avoid Potential Pitfalls (customers what your help minimizing risk with the purchase…they are relying on you to help them)
  7. Craft a Compelling Solution (customers expect solution selling – defining and promoting a workable solution)
  8. Communicate the Purchasing Process (the expectation is no surprises, no last minute up-selling, plain and simple language about price)
  9. Connect Personally With the Customer (“ultimately every selling situation involves making a connection between two individuals who like and trust each other”)
  10. Provide Value that’s Superior to Other Options (#10, the first time price is mentioned…if you can’t meet the above 9, and the price is lower somewhere else, your customers should go buy from someone else!)

Amazingly, I could check of every one of these Top 10 in my 10-15 minute encounter with Rishi! It is no wonder he’s growing!

In the Harvard Business Review article “The State of Customer Service Leadership”, Leonard A. Schlesinger states,

Many of the essential skills that great service leaders must have are similar to those that are important for all general managers—effective communication, the analytic ability to size up a situation quickly, skills of reflection and concentration, and the ability to inspire others//The basic relationships between employees, customers, and financial results, in that order, that we set forth in the original service profit chain formulation still hold true. But a great deal of research over the past 20 years or so have put a lot of meat on those bones. As one example, we’ve come to learn more about creating the high-trust environment that leads to engaged employees who provide exceptional service that makes customers coming back for more—a combination that results in higher revenues and profits.

When I dropped off one of those special bottles of Bourbon to a CEO client, he said, “Oh wow, I can’t wait to try this, I’m going to enjoy this!” I assured him, “I’m sure you will too, Rishi always takes care of me!”. His eye got wide, his head tilted to one side, and he said “That’s funny, somebody else said the exact same thing just the other day!”

A reputation for LITER-ship! Cheers!!

Filed Under: Communication, Culture, Leadership, Life, Personality, Teamwork Tagged With: 10 Things Every Customer Wants, customer service, engagement, lead by example, leaders, leadership, liter-ship, reputation, Rishi's International Beverage, team, The State of Customer Service Leadership

Morals taken from a creepy and gross experience!

October 31, 2017 by Heidi Frye

Given today is Halloween, a day of all things creepy and gross, it seems a perfect time to share a recent incident I experienced…

I returned to my office building after an offsite appointment to find a package propped against my door. Cool. I knew what it was. My dear friend Robert from Texas had sent me a book he was insistent I would enjoy (that I had not yet purchased despite his insistence!)…this must be it. I quickly ripped open the packaging and set the book on my desk. I had forgotten something in my car, and when I returned, I froze in the doorway. My mind is obviously playing tricks on me…how can they make a cover like that??! My newly unpackaged book was sitting in the center of my desk, and because it was titled “The Dragonfly Effect”, I thought maybe (just maybe) there was some super-cool-super-strange-“insecty” optical effect/illusion. It looked like there were ants crawling on the cover. Weird, I didn’t see this when I opened the package. Wait. No!!! This isn’t an optical illusion, those are real ants. Grosssssss! Ants literally poured from the book and were spilling onto my desk!!!!!!! Ewwwwwwww……oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh…so gross!

I quickly grabbed the book and hightailed it out of my office, walking briskly down the hallway, attempting to maintain some sense of professional decorum, tentatively holding the book by its edges…gross, was there something sweet on my desk that attracted the ants? No, it couldn’t have happened that fast. As I was scurrying down the hallway, the book-cover jacket separated from the actual hardcover book. I looked at the space in-between. OMGosh!!!! There it was. Hundreds of ants! Hundreds!!!! I could see discoloration on the binding…this must be Ground Zero. My brisk walking turned into a run. I dropped the book on the walkway, ripping the jacket off, watching hundreds of ants scatter in the process. I just stood there in (super grossed out) amazement. After what seemed like a couple of minutes (maybe really only 10 seconds) I ran back to my office and took the pictures you see here…only a small representation of my reality…so gross!!

Ha! Morals of the story:

  • It only takes one negative interaction to make you feel “guarded”. Leadership is the same. My trust in the retailer has been compromised and thus, my behavior has changed. I just don’t open packages the same anymore 😉
  • No matter how great something/someone looks on the outside, you just don’t know what version of “ewwww” is underneath. Sometimes you need to look beyond the surface to see what’s really going on.
  • I just heard a podcast today that defined great leadership as the ability to “read the situation” and adapt. Identify anyone/anything that compromises you/your offering/your team/your organization, and get it, metaphorically, off your desk/out of your organization.
  • Root cause is important. (I  am thankful this was not an UPwords Inc. problem, and from what I can discern, not the shipper…seems to be at the retailer level – customer service has been notified and they are relaying the info to the warehouse)
  • It’s easy to freeze in a crisis, thinking a lot of time has passed. Get your bearings, know it has really only been a blink, assess, and go into action.
  • As a leader, if there is something super attractive about you, people will swarm to you. (LOL!) 🙂 🙂

Happy Halloween everyone!

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Personality, Uncategorized Tagged With: Halloween, leader, leadership, morals, morals of the story, personality, trust, under the cover

Courage to be YOU

December 31, 2016 by Heidi Frye

Amidst the seasonal hubbub, a dear friend invited me to a holiday concert featuring soprano soloist  and new acquaintance Diane Penning, as well as a local choir group. Wanting to experience Diane’s music, I surrendered to the commitment – it was certainly a “plop” in the middle of my last-weekend-before-Christmas-to-get-things-done stress – and said “yes”. The venue, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, was beautiful. We settled into our fourth row seats for an hour of Christmas music (after all…how many school concerts had I endured? I could do one more…). As the choir began, I was surprised and moved by how incredibly beautiful they sounded (jaded by too many school concerts??). And, they were interesting to watch! One woman in particular stood out to me, singing v-e-r-y enthusiastically – swaying, gyrating, head bobbing to the beat. I chuckled at how out-of-place and silly she looked. My gaze left her and surveyed the rest of the choir. But there was something that drew me back to her. I was fascinated. And then the oddest thing happened. A tear slide down my face. And then another. And another. Had the music broken through my holiday-stress armor? …what else could it be? No, It was something about that woman. I suddenly saw her beauty! Oh my gosh, it is her unbridled, unabashed, unapologetic sense of who she was! She was joyfully, confidently, proudly, sharing her joy. She had the courage to be authentically herself!

Countless leadership annals point to the link between courage and authenticity. The Grossman Group refers to it as quiet courage versus Rambo Courage – “a courage that comes from deep inside”. Forbes contributor Tardanico sites how “courageous leaders” are in short supply, and how necessary they are in modern-time work-place stress. John Terry’s book title alone points to the correlation, Authentic Leadership – Courage in Action. Harvard Business Review’s author, Bill George, in his article Discovering Your Authentic Leadership, gives us good news…anyone can learn to be an authentic leader.  “Authentic leaders…work hard at developing self-awareness through persistent and often courageous self-exploration.”

In the same HBR article the author makes a case that authentic leadership is the reason behind sustained long-term results(!).  Even if short-term gains are achieved, minus authenticity, sustained long-term success is not possible. So my question to you is: Do you have the courage to be you?! Do you have the courage to lead authentically from that quiet place within…leading confidently, joyfully, proudly, and maybe even sharing your joy. I am grateful to the out-of-place, silly looking, beautiful woman who had the courage to be her authentic self…inspiring me to do the same. To be me.

 

 

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Personality Tagged With: authentic leader, Authenticity, courage, Diane Penning, holiday concert, leadership, long-term results, soprano, St. Andrew's Cathedral

Leadership Attribute: Authenticity over Perfection

September 26, 2016 by Heidi Frye

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In an attempt to capitalize on a gorgeous end-of-summer day, I spent a recent afternoon on a Lake Michigan beach. Taking a break from my computer work, closing my eyes to breathe in the gorgeous sunshine and the (salt-free!) water, I felt something hit my leg…almost like a crumpled piece of paper. I looked up and there was a butterfly! Sitting on my leg!! I was stunned (seriously, when was the last time a butterfly came and sat on your leg??!). I inched my way up to grab my phone/camera a foot away, and took a few pics, amazed that it was still on my leg – this phenomena lasted for a full 5 minutes! After the shock of “there’s a butterfly on my leg!!!!” I noticed it had a torn wing, almost half the size of the “good wing”. Maybe that was the reason it was hanging around…maybe it couldn’t fly? But alas, with a bit less grace than a typical (perfect) butterfly, it flew away and was beautifully (authentically) still a butterfly…providing me with more joy than any other butterfly had.

Many leadership clients resist flying until they are “perfect”…not wanting to show their imperfections, not wanting to risk exposing their metaphorical torn wing. Not wanting to be vulnerable. Leadership requires courage and risk. Leadership gives leaders a great opportunity, and responsibility, to touch others with their greatness (and instilling joy!). That greatness requires a little vulnerability, courage, and risk. Ask best-selling author Brene Brown, who put “vulnerability” in her Leadership Manifesto! And, as stated by Anderson/Adams in Mastering Leadership, “There is no safe way to be great…Transformation requires courage…Authenticity is highly correlated to Leadership Effectiveness (.80), to Purposeful Visionary (.82), to Teamwork (.68) and to Business Performance (.50).” Yes, the research supports a business case for cultivating and leveraging authenticity. In The Truth About Leadership, Kouzes & Posner rank authenticity attributes like belief in self; credibility, values; trust; commitment; grittiness; and passion (they call it love – seeing the greatness in others) in their Top Ten.

What gets in the way is our ego. Measuring ourselves against a perceived yardstick. Fear. Fear of being “less than”. I’ll clue you in on something…the number of leaders who are afraid they’ll be “found out” is staggering. Your people aren’t expecting perfection. They are craving (and expecting) authenticity. They are craving your inner torn-winged butterfly, who is still fully, authentically a butterfly.

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Personality, Uncategorized Tagged With: Authenticity, Brene Brown, butterfly, commitment, credibility, grittiness, Lake Michigan, leadership, Leadership Manifesto, passion, perfection, The Truth About Leadership, trust, values, vulnerability

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