UPwords Inc

Developing People. Growing Business.

616-464-4100 | info@upwordsinc.com

  • ABOUT
    • What We Do
    • Our Team
    • Our Clients
    • Client Testimonials
    • Recommended Resources
    • Contact
  • SPEAKING
  • LEADERSHIP COACHING
  • PROGRAMS
    • Customized Workshops
    • Team Development Program
    • The Raw Leadership Experience™
    • Open 360 Feedback Process™
    • Enterprise Executive Chef™
    • Organizational Macro-Mindset™
    • Sales Success Program
  • PHILOSOPHY
    • Raw Leadership™ Concept
    • Macro-Mindset™ Principles
    • Raw Leadership™ Process
    • Macro Leaders™
  • BLOG
  • AUTHOR

Leadership: The Cost Of Doing vs. Thinking

September 10, 2015 by Heidi Frye

leadership cost of thinking versus doing

Every September, right after the 3-day Labor Day Weekend, the kids head back in school (yeah!!) and for many, summer is in the rear-view mirror! Change is in the air! So many people I know, personally and professionally, are busy “getting organized”, busy getting back in the swing of things, busy getting things done. My phone has been ringing off the hook – everybody is getting busy! So here is the Million Dollar Question: Are you planning to succeed, or are you just planning to be busy? Are you busy for the sake of being busy, or are you productively busy? Being busy is SUCH A TRAP!  We get so caught up in the activity of “doing” that we miss the important stuff, like “thinking” and being creative.  I have seen this topic/issue raise its ugly head over and over again in workshops and leadership coaching sessions. Many (unfortunately) executives teams admit they don’t have time to be creative, strategic, or take advantage of opportunities, because they are too busy doing… “managing” tasks.

Being busy is the LEADERSHIP death sentence! (Of course I realize great leaders are busy, but you know what I mean…) The #1 most common reason leaders opt to “do it themselves” is:“I don’t have time…(fill in the blank)”  – I don’t have time to train anyone else how to do it; I don’t have time to delegate it, the deadline is up; I don’t have time to think; I don’t have time to …you get the picture, right?  Our inability (I say “our” because I get caught in this trap too – it takes real discipline to get yourself out of it) to stop doing in favor of leading is a detriment to our success. Take a minute, breathe, and ask yourself, how can I break this cycle. The top three reasons we “spin” are:

  1. 1. I don’t have time to ______.
  2. 2. I’ve done this before.  (which translates into “I can do it faster than anyone else”)
  3. 3. I already know how to do this, so…. (in my mind, related to #2)

I bet you can think of multiple time-robbing tasks you should probably delegate to someone else, but 1. you don’t have time to train anyone, and 2. you’ve been doing it, so you must be faster and better than anyone else.  Ask yourself: “What is this ‘strategy’ costing you?” In dealing with business leaders and executives, I promise you – it is a hefty price:

  • missed opportunities ($$$$);
  • lack of strategic thinking ($$$);
  • chaotic time management ($$);
  • team loses respect for leader ($$$$);
  • not seen as a player, only as a doer ($$$)

If  this too expensive a price to pay, take a minute to stop doing, get out of the way, and start thinking!

If you are interested in moving forward in your career, advancing your business, or growing your people, stop managing the tasks and start leading your people. Stop being busy, and start being strategic.

Stop doing, start thinking.

Filed Under: Leadership, Uncategorized Tagged With: busy, creative, deliberate, lead, leadership, leading, opportunity, planning, strategic, succeed, success, time, time management

Leadership: Strengths-Based, Not Perfection-Based

April 17, 2015 by Heidi Frye

strengths based leadership

Back in my Xerox days, I remember one of our high-ranking leaders telling us we wouldn’t be able to score A’s in all categories of our lives. “You can get 2 A’s and a C, or all B’s, but you can’t get A’s across the board.” This was especially disheartening given we were a group of self-motivated, high achievers. Of course, we were ambitious and idealistic and thought “Well, maybe she can’t, but we can.” Little did we know….

The Gallup guys agree. In “Strengths Based Leadership”, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie (the same guys who wrote StrengthsFinder 2.0), talk about how, based on their studies, they have not found a single leader, not one, who has “world class strength” in all categories. Matter-of-fact, “…those who strive to be competent in all areas become the least effective leaders overall.” Ouch! So much for our idealistic thinking that we could do it all – well, we could, just not successfully!! The strongest leaders have an acute sense of who they are – strengths and limitations. It is the strong leader who has the courage to be true to themselves and strive for excellence in a select number of categories versus all categories.

The updated message: know and leverage your strengths, build teams to be well-rounded, and know who you are – weaknesses and all. [I was relieved – their first book focused on strengths and all but ignored weaknesses.  Understanding your weaknesses and how your team compensates is as critical as knowing and leveraging strengths.  Awareness and competency, not necessarily proficiency, are must-have goals.]

“‘Leaders do not need to be well-rounded, but teams do’ is a concept supported by research indicating strong leaders who know who they are, and how to use their strengths, did a better job engaging their people.”

That’s big! Leaders who leveraged their strengths were better able to drive organizational growth – albeit different strengths and different styles of getting it done, but getting it done none-the-less. If you’ve taken the Strengths Finder, you know your “Top 5″. They are categorized  into: Executing; Influencing; Relationship Building; and Strategic Thinking. The most successful leaders build high performance teams by drawing on these four categories, and complementing their own strengths. Not a unique concept but a good one. Healthy teams are diverse, they appreciate “candid conversations” and “different perspectives” – resulting in robust dialogue. Healthy teams are “high performance” because they understand how to productively leverage their individual contributions.

After many years and lessons learned, I now understand where our Xerox leader was coming from. (isn’t “wisdom” a beautiful thing??)  I work with leaders who frustratingly try to be everything to everyone….or leaders who feel like failures for not being perfect. Sometimes the leader who figures out what their good at and how to use it, brings out the best in their people.   Getting clarity and perspective about yourself and the impact you have on others is one of the best things you can do for your career…and for those who chose to follow you. She was right, I haven’t gotten straight A’s – but I have gotten A’s in my categories-of-choice…by leveraging my strengths, “knowing who I am”, and having the courage to not be perfect!

What are your strengths? How do you leverage them in your career?  Let me know!

Filed Under: Leadership, Motivation Tagged With: career, courage, Gallup, leadership, leading, leverage your strengths, motivation, perfection, perspective, strengths based leadership, strengths finder, team, well-rounded, xerox

SUBSCRIBE TO UPWORDS!


LATEST BLOG POST

Positively impacting many through development

HOTTEST TRENDS

Authenticity authentic leader autonomy business coaching college students communication communication style culture Daniel Pink disengagement Drive ego engage engagement Gallup goals growth interview job search Lake Michigan lead leader leaders leadership leading life mastery Michigan motivate motivation perfection personality perspective purpose rally cry recruiting recruitment resistance strategic team teams teamwork The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us trust

REQUEST CONSULTATION

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FROM THE BLOG

  • Positively impacting many through development
  • West Michigan Woman Magazine – I Am Not Invisible
  • Transformation
  • Engagement.
  • What does your leadership say about you?

BLOG CATEGORIES

  • Communication
  • Culture
  • Development
  • Job Search
  • Leadership
  • Life
  • Motivation
  • Networking
  • Personality
  • Recruiting
  • Teamwork
  • Uncategorized
Leadership Macro-Mindset Principles

What We Do

We break it down so you get it. Period. There’s a difference between understanding it and “getting it”. Ever try explaining what it’s like to be married to a friend who isn’t? Or having kids to a friend who doesn’t? Maybe the love for a pet to a non-pet-owner? They understand but they don’t get it, and you can’t … READ MORE

ACCREDITATION/MEMBERSHIP

Integrative Enneagram

Testimonials

Linda M. Peasley, Ph.D. & Sally A. Camper

“The Department of Human Genetics would like to thank you for presenting the ‘Dealing with Conflicts’ workshop last weekend at our annual retreat…Our graduate students certainly appreciated the various exercises and, most of all, the role playing…The interactions with faculty,… Read more “Linda M. Peasley, Ph.D. & Sally A. Camper”

Linda M. Peasley, Ph.D. & Sally A. Camper
Department Administrator Prof. and Chair,The University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Human Genetics
Read more testimonials

Julie L. Novak

“I started working with Heidi about 18 months into my tenure as CEO, and …I soon realized it was essential to my growth as a leader. In the early days, she put a variety of concepts and tools in my… Read more “Julie L. Novak”

Julie L. Novak
Chief Executive Officer, Michigan State Medical Society
Read more testimonials

Melvin Gottschalk, Jr.

“Pat Riley said ‘Great effort springs naturally from great attitude.’ Heidi Frye’s executive coaching enlightened me to the truth behind these words…I would not be where I am today without Heidi and highly recommend her leadership coaching to anyone focused on… Read more “Melvin Gottschalk, Jr.”

Melvin Gottschalk, Jr.
Read more testimonials

Stephan W. Waltman

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for the service that you have provided Stiles Machinery for the last 15 years. Your contributions…have been immeasurable…Personally, I feel privileged to have had access to your advice and counsel. We… Read more “Stephan W. Waltman”

Stephan W. Waltman
Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Stiles Machinery, Inc.
Read more testimonials

David Purpura

“I wanted to share this and tell you how much you have helped me in my career in so many ways.  Your knowledge of the industry and mentoring is among the best and I hope that we remain professional contacts!!!!!! … Read more “David Purpura”

David Purpura
Director of U.S. Business Development
Read more testimonials

Spectrum Health Physician

“I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I first learned that we were to have this type of team meeting [Open 360 Feedback Process], but it definitely exceeded my expectations…You did a fabulous job with us and… Read more “Spectrum Health Physician”

Physician
Spectrum Health
Read more testimonials

Suzette Jaskie

“What a great asset Heidi has been to our team…Heidi in essence became part of our team and was able to assist key leaders in advancing their leadership approach and in turn – able to produce better results for the… Read more “Suzette Jaskie”

Suzette Jaskie
President and CEO of MedAxiom Consulting (Former CEO at West Michigan Heart)
Read more testimonials

J.C.

“In one sentence:  Heidi made me a better leader, employee, spouse and friend…Heidi is an outstanding coach that helped me achieve more than I thought I could, in a short period of time.”

J.C.
Director of Marketing, Meijer
Read more testimonials

Larry Gibbons

“I have worked with many executive search firms across the USA and Canada. Upwords Inc. has proven to be among the best, coming through where others have failed to meet our needs…Heidi Frye has demonstrated her ability to understand our… Read more “Larry Gibbons”

Larry Gibbons
VP HR, Kinectrics Inc.
Read more testimonials

Matt Schad

“…Nucraft has worked with Heidi to create internal peer groups to improve our internal communications and teamwork skills…Heidi facilitates these groups and the feedback has been uniformly positive from the participants…Heidi and UPwords Inc. have become a trusted Nucraft advisor.”

Matt Schad
CEO, Nucraft Furniture
Read more testimonials

Juli B.

“Working with Heidi was one of the most rewarding experiences in my career.  I am a better leader, co-worker and person…She has been one of the most influential people in my life.  I would recommend her expertise to anyone inspired to invest in advancing their career… Read more “Juli B.”

Juli B.
C.F.O.
Read more testimonials

Lori Stokes

“I have reached out to Heidi during the many phases of my management career for leadership coaching.  Her advice and wisdom has helped me identify ways to grow professionally as a individual and leader.  She is  honest, professional, and highly… Read more “Lori Stokes”

Lori Stokes
Materials Manager
Read more testimonials

UPWORDS INC.

cropped-UpWords_Logo_New2.png

4519 Cascade Road
Building 1 - Suite 4
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
info@upwordsinc.com
616.464.4100
616.464.0105 FAX

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2022 · UPwords Inc. · Log in