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Posts from the ‘Coffee’ Category

May 26

Revelations about change, instant coffee and parenting

Effectively leading change is integral to an organisation’s ability to engage, empower and excite their people, and deliver good outcomes. This is true for all sectors. No surprises there.

But wait, there’s more….

Effectively leading change is also an important aspect of family.

This is NOT a ‘how to’ article about family. I’m not a fan of the parenting/family/raise-your-kid-right genre. I understand that people enjoy and find value there. I’m just not one of those people. There is far more to me than the fact that I’m someone’s mother, and I don’t get excited at the idea of reading about how to be a fabulous parent.

I do, however, get excited about being a the best leader I can be…because effective, ethical leadership skills are applicable whatever my roles in life, whatever context I am in.

I recently came across this fantastic article about dealing with change. As I read, I had a revelation. The revelation was almost – but not quite – as life-changing as the one I had ten years ago that instant coffee would never darken my doorstep again.

I realised this: For the last six or seven years, we’ve been applying the same principles that facilitate effective, positive change and (if necessary) mitigate the impact of negative change in my professional life, to our home.

As a result, we’ve given our son the skills and processes to manage his experience of change; rather that it be something that happens ‘to’ him, he is able to participate in it, engage, and own the outcome.

Whatever your workplace, effective change management processes can be integrated. Instant coffee can’t.

Both revelations matter.

Apr 7

Partnerships and Coffee

To achieve a satisfying, meaningful coffee experience, you need all the components to work together. A good result doesn’t happen in isolation.

Getting a good coffee requires more than just me wanting to do so. At the very least, I need the ingredients.

Mostly though, I need other people; the people to grow the beans, roast the beans, package the beans, sell the beans etc etc and so forth. I have a deep and abiding interest in drinking good coffee. The people who sell it have an interest in me returning to their business. Although we have slightly different end-goals, neither can achieve without the involvement of the other.

In all things, we need partners. We need people and organisations who share our vision, or have a vested interest in being involved in our journey.

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Building relationships means knowing when to lead and when to follow. It means:
1. Listening to what your partners’ needs are;
2. Being clear about expectations;
3. Listening to suggestions for improvement;
4. Developing and implementing strategies together;
5. Drinking coffee.

I include Point # 5 with a straight face; not just because I’m clearly bias toward coffee in all situations.

Developing meaningful professional relationships requires learning a bit about people beyond ‘what’s in it for me’. If it’s not coffee, then something else which provides appropriate opportunities to connect along the journey.

Although if it’s not coffee, I think the first point of connection is offering them help.

Mar 29

Preparing for leading where you are

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Proper preparation and quality input usually produces high quality output. This is true for my three favourite subjects: leading self, leading others, and coffee.

The more you do it, the easier it is and the better you get at it. Wherever you are.

I had this revelation today as I was searching online for an all-in-one-French-press-travel-mug. I like to be prepared for good coffee wherever I am. I don’t want sub-standard instant coffee in my system. It doesn’t inspire me.

I don’t want to be a sub-standard leader because that’s not inspiring either.

Thankfully, we live in an age with high quality resources readily available to prepare us for leading. Wherever we are. Whatever we do.

I prepare by learning from leader development specialists and literature, and from my experience. I also learn from people I know.

Until recently my sister-in-law’s primary occupation has been as a stay-at-home mum, and my husband’s as a stay-at-home dad. They have both, quite unintentionally, helped prepare me to be a better leader.

They are compassionate, clear about expected outcomes, and flexible in their approach. They provide options and pathways which are individualised for each child but which meet the common good. They demonstrate justice and grace. They have fun. Through preparation, practice and experience, they are strong leaders.

I’m a better leader – wherever I am – than I was ten years ago, for five reasons:
1. I no longer think I know everything;
2. I learn from other people;
3. I’m better at being led;
4. I prepare well;
5. I practice more.

I also make better coffee – wherever I am – for the same reasons.

Mar 19

Letting your team circle the wagons

In a perfect world, leadership is to people as coffee is to me…Coffee entices me and motivates me to participate in the satisfaction it promises.

Leaders motivate participation. Good leaders engage – and are engaged by – others to influence positive individual, organisational, and hopefully societal outcomes.

It sometimes comes at a price though.

Whatever your context, when you’re a leader you are open to attack.

There are times when I’ve been hit by an arrow in the back. I’ve turned back, seen no-one and while I was looking backward I’ve tripped over barbed wire in front of me.

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Early in my career I thought ‘resilience’ meant not letting people see the impact of such arrows or falls. I thought ‘strong leadership’ meant not needing help. I thought ‘high-functioning team’ meant not having obstacles to overcome on our road to success.

(I also once thought instant coffee was tasty and acceptable if prepared with hot milk. I like to think I’ve grown as a person since then).

I’m beginning to understand the value of a high-functioning team extends beyond their ability to achieve organisational goals.

Pioneers circled wagons around their people or their camp as protection from attack. A strong team is a community. It circles the wagons when one of the members has taken a hit and needs protection while recovering.

If you’re a strong leader you’ll let them.

Even if the person they’re circling is you.

Feb 23

Leading like Macgyver

I read a great post today about the importance of storing coffee correctly.

As I pondered coffee storage and MacGyver, I pondered leadership. Coffee and leadership always hang out together in my head. MacGyver was an unexpected addition to the party.

Coffee storage has clearly defined parameters. If the desired outcome is a fresh, aromatic, delicious brew there is a right way and a wrong way to store the coffee. In the middle, there’s a way that’s ‘MacGyver-ed’.

The Online dictionary defines MacGyver-the-adjective as ‘to solve a problem in a creative, resourceful…fashion’. It’s effective in the short-term, but not sustainable. Clearly you won’t find this definition in the Oxford Dictionary (I checked), but it’s a cracker of an adjective to describe – well, what it describes.

The desired outcome for most leaders I know is to achieve their organisation’s goals, create opportunities for people to achieve personal and professional goals, and enjoy the working environment while they’re doing it.

I recently blogged that there is no perfect coffee and there is also no perfect leadership. I still – and probably always will – believe that. There are no clearly defined parameters or equations which result in perfection in leadership.

That being said, I think there is a way to approach leadership which results in positive organisational and individual outcomes.

To throw in an exercise metaphor (because I can’t think of a coffee one which makes the point quite as well): my latest current exercise phase is pilates. I live in the country with no access to an actual class, so I’m accessing workouts via Blogilates. I’m six months into it and I’m fitter, more flexible and more toned than I’ve ever been. My body is more effective because I’m strengthening it regularly. I’m able to stay disciplined because the workouts are challenging, interesting, and I like the outcome.

My approach to leadership needs to be as disciplined. Management practices and leadership influence need to be strengthened through regular practice. They need to be underpinned by the intent to create the best possible outcome for everyone involved. I need to balance outcome and process. And I need to have fun.

When we’re leadership-fit, if needs arise we can MacGyver solutions (using gum, a toothbrush and an old broom to save the world with five seconds to spare) because we have the flexibility to adapt. Once the crisis has passed and the show is over we’re able to return to leading with strategy, intent and focus.

We can then also stop using the day-old coffee and return to the freshly ground, smooth caffeine elixir that makes the world a better place.
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Jan 20

2 Comments

Perfect Coffee, Perfect Leadership?

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Before I realised Real Coffee (as opposed to instant coffee) was the Only Acceptable Coffee to Drink, my life was simpler.  I had lower standards, yes, but when you drink instant coffee preparing it is a simple process.  Pour hot water on instant coffee.

Preparing real coffee is much more complex.  The factors contributing to an Excellent Coffee Experience are many:  what type of beans, from where, what strength, how fine to grind them, what grinder to use, once ground do I want to make it with a French press, percolator, drip filter, espresso machine, what brand, what type of water, what type of cup, what do I want to be doing while drinking coffee, where will I sit…

The complexities, however, are what make coffee an experience, not just a drink.  I’m a novice really, when it comes to the answers to all the factors I’ve listed.  There are those who know a whole lot more than me, and I learn from them.   I integrate their wisdom with my practices to increase the quality of my experience.

Such as it is with leadership.

Before I realised we all lead regardless of our actual profession, my life was simpler.  I had lower standards, yes, but when ‘leadership’ was something done by Other People (usually a vague, nebulous ’them’ as in ‘they should do it differently’ or ‘they should fix it’), no responsibility was mine, so it was simpler.  It’s the equivalent of ‘pour water on instant coffee’.  There’s no involvement so it’s quick and easy.

Leading well is much more complex.  It requires a level of personal accountability and authenticity (over-used words, I know, but when they’re lived rather than just said, they are powerful) which is sometimes uncomfortable.  Leading well requires boundaries, flexibility, creativity and humour.  To lead well, we need to integrate the wisdom of others with our practices.  Leading well is not a destination.  It’s a journey.

There is no perfect coffee.  There is no perfect leadership.  The input does, however, affect the overall experience.

For future reference (and this is important, so listen closely) Good Coffee makes all experiences Better.

Dec 8

Perfect imperfection in Marseille

I used to dream of being perfect. This was, I thought, an acceptable and attainable goal. Possibly if my definition of perfect hadn’t changed quite so much over the years, I might be perfect now…unlikely, but you never know.

I’ve just spent four days in Marseille – a city which is perfectly imperfect, and I have decided that is the best kind of perfect there is.

Marseille is a study in contrasts.

It has narrow alley ways of cobbled stone worn down by millions of footsteps over centuries, which intersect roads packed with cars, motorcycles and buses.

It has exquisite buildings next to graffitied walls and rubbish-filled gutters.

It has visible ‘in your face’ homelessness, alongside expensive boutiques.

It is nestled in a magnificent harbour on the pristine Mediterranean Sea, and in the right conditions if you look back at the city you will see a film of smog covering it.

It is a bustling tourist destination that hasn’t lost it’s identity in tourism.

It is unashamed and unpretentious.

I realise what I love about Marseille are the same qualities I am drawn to in the high-quality leaders I’ve worked with, those I have studied, and those I have learnt from online.

Marseille – like all good things – doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not.

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My experience of leaders who are authentic is that they are:
1. Honest about their own strengths and weaknesses;
2. Willing to say, ‘I was wrong’;
3. Happy to take people along a journey of improvement and development;
4. Honour those who have gone before them;
5. Enthusiastic and confident about future opportunities and challenges;
6. Comfortable in their own skin.

I don’t want to be perfect anymore. I want to be authentic.

Like Marseille.

 

 

 

Dec 1

Delayed flights – A lesson in self-leadership from 30,000 feet

One of my primary motivators is a core value that all people matter. Therefore I want to do whatever I am able to add value to people’s lives.

This week in the most unlikely of places I was reminded If I don’t lead myself well, I am counter-productive to that goal of adding value. In fact, I become counter-productive to achieving much at all.

The unlikely place was a plane, somewhere between Singapore and London.

My goal in this instance was to begin my holiday energetic and ready to explore Paris…or as energetic as one can be after a 20 hour journey. Delayed flight, missed connections, and 20 hours became 36 hours.

I caught myself inwardly complaining at the consequences of the delays and feeling anxious every time the engine noise changed (I’m not a fan of flying). My imagination behaved like an overly dramatic teenager torn between tantrum-inducing frustration and paralysing fear.

At that point I decided to use my powers for good instead of evil, and I started thinking about the importance of leading myself better. I told myself to stop being quite so precious about the whole situation. In such cases – much like when I’m working out – I respond better to pep talks which tell me to toughen up, than those with a gentle approach.

I had no influence on the delay, the re-routing, or the flying of the plane. I did, however, have influence over how I experienced things. And my attitude would influence the experience my family had.

So toughen up I did.

I began writing this blog. I read my Kindle. I chatted with my son and my husband. I slept. I focussed on the positive outcomes of the delay, rather than on the delay itself.

Leading myself well means:
1. Choosing the right attitude;
2. Seek out the positives in any situation (there is always at least one);
3. Talk about the positives with my team;
4. Don’t ignore the problems, but be pro-active in finding solutions;
5. Celebrate the journey as well as the achievement.

One of the positives we experienced due to the delay (which had added an unplanned detour via Heathrow) was that we saw the White Cliffs of Dover on our London – Paris flight.

That was cool.

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Nov 11

Passion, Purpose and Coffee

In Australia every year on November 11 we celebrate Remembrance Day.  It marked the end of hostilities on the Western Front in World War I and now serves as a day to honour all who have gone into battle.  Across the country thousands of people gather to pay tribute, remember, honour.

Delusions of intelligence
In my late teens and early twenties I often declared ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day did nothing more than glorify war.  I had aspirations of being revolutionary and counter-cultural so I drank coffee, smoked cigarettes and had (what at the time I thought were) intellectual discussions about the ‘pointlessness of it all’. 

I was right to have my discussions over coffee.  I was, however, wrong about my perception of ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day.  Wrong to dismiss the contribution of past and present service men and women.   Wrong to assume I knew anything about war.

(I was also wrong about what being revolutionary and counter-cultural actually meant, having based my opinions on movies, adolescent imaginings, and a brief liaison with a passionately anti-government/anti-establishment/anti-everything university student).

The beginning of wisdom
Both my grandfathers served in New Guinea during World War II.  They believed they were fighting ‘for King and Country’, and for their families.  They were confronted with difficulties and situations I will (hopefully) never face, and they believed they were fulfilling a purpose.

My brother walked the Kokoda Trail in 2011.  Our paternal grandfather’s poetry written during the war, and my brother’s journal of his own experience, record the legacy of serving others and commitment to a mission which our grandfathers gave us.

Passion and purpose
Being part of a cause bigger than ourselves is what connects us as strangers, drives us to overcome our differences, and enables us to achieve things for an elusive but worthwhile Greater Good.

When we’re not involved in a purpose we are passionate about, we run the risk of being disengaged, disillusioned and dysfunctional.  

In my early twenties, I was merely passionate about being passionate.  I hadn’t connected passion with purpose.  In addition to being bored, I judged those who had gone before me personally and professionally.  I was critical of their choices.  I didn’t try to understand their strategies, the scars they carried or their reasons for engaging in battles. 

I drank instant coffee, pontificated a lot, and did just enough to glide by. 

I was 28 when I had 6 hand-smacking-forehead-I-can’t-believe-I-didn’t-know-this-already moments. 
These moments made me realise how much I’d wanted a purpose like that of my grandfathers…not that I wanted to fight in a real war, but I wanted to believe in something enough to fight for it. 

Here’s what I realised:

  1. People matter. This was my game-changer;
  2. Having a purpose beyond ‘me’ is important;
  3. Passion without connection to purpose is pointless (apologies for the alliteration);
  4. Sometimes strategic battles are required;
  5. Leading well requires a willingness to put aside ego;
  6. I don’t know everything and I’m not always right.

Those head-smacking moments - while not history-making or world-changing - changed me.  They made me a better person and a better leader. 

Incidentally, the other Very Important Revelation I had was that drinking instant coffee is never an acceptable option.

That changed my life too.

Nov 4

Cake and Coffee

High on the list of Things I Don’t Understand (just below People Who Drink Instant Coffee and slightly above People Who Don’t Like U2) is the fact that my mother doesn’t really like coffee. She drinks cappuccino for the froth.

I’m a black coffee girl. Years ago I was taught (read: brainwashed) by a Croatian barista that coffee should be black. Good coffee, he said, is never bitter so does not need milk, sugar or syrups to make it palatable.

My mother’s approach to coffee is a little bit like my relationship with cake. I don’t eat wheat, so I’m not much of a cake eater. I do, however, have a passionate commitment to eating icing. As far as I can tell, the only reason a cake exists is as a foundation for the icing. The cake is necessary and I expect it to be high quality, but I don’t pay any attention to it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that good leadership is like good coffee; if it’s made well, it doesn’t need any additives. The leaders who brought out the best in me were satisfying to work with, and even when the work was difficult the experience was not. They cast vision, inspired me, and challenged me. They gave clear direction and strategy, provided their teams with development opportunities, and produced the necessary organisational outcomes. There was no bitterness, no need for sweetening the deal.

Those leaders prepared me well, and my goal is that the teams I work with have the same satisfying experience.

The nature of our work sees us travelling throughout the region (which covers 155,000 square kilometres), or working from another location. When we meet – either in person, email or on the phone – it’s like my family’s Christmas gatherings. There’s jostling for somewhere to sit, people talking over each other, occasional raucous laughter, Dad-jokes (the ones which are corny, not funny), heated debates about things that can’t be changed or things that don’t matter, in-depth problem solving conversations, encouragement and celebration, and general de-stressing. There’s also always food (and coffee of course).

We’ve created a team culture which provides an important diversion from the intensity of our work. Everyone is clear on the expectations on their respective roles, everyone produces outstanding results, but – most importantly – we enjoy the experience.

It’s the icing.

Without it the work would still get done, but it wouldn’t be quite so sweet.

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