A LEADERSHIP LESSON FROM MARS

I saw the movie, The Martian, shortly after its 2015 release. At the time, I thought that it was a good but not great movie. Matt Damon stars as astronaut Mark Watney on a mission to Mars. (I feel obliged to call a Spoiler Alert here. I’m about to reveal important details of the plot). He’s stranded on Mars alone when his team mates leave for the return trip to earth. He’s rescued and returns heroically to earth. And he continues his career on earth as an instructor in the Astronaut Candidate Program.

I saw the movie again recently and I still don’t think it’s going to win any awards. But… what did catch my attention was both the quantity and quality of memorable leadership moments that are tucked into this two hour film. There are the obvious ones about perseverance, resilience and MacGyver-esque innovation. All worthy topics.

But my favorite leadership lesson came at the very end of the movie, when Mark Watney gave the new class of astronaut candidates a dose of reality based leadership as he described the most important take-away from his experience on Mars. Here’s what he said: “This is space; it does not cooperate. At some point, everything’s going to go south on you – everything! And you’re going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now, you can either accept that or you can get to work. That’s all it is. You just begin. You solve one problem; one challenge; then you solve the next one. If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.” Simple. Powerful. Brilliant.

I think this leadership lesson applies directly to you and me as we face daily challenges in our work. Ditch the drama. Stop catastrophizing. Lighten up. Be a serial solution seeker. Repeat the next day.

The Power of One Liners

Comedians deliver them artfully and get big laughs. Singles use them to start a conversation and maybe a relationship. Advertisers use them to get you to buy stuff. And politicians rely on them to win your vote.

When it comes to coaching and teaching, one liners can also promote growth and learning; help us to sustain awareness and new habits and, perhaps most importantly, provide a simple way to pass along ideas and share knowledge (maybe even wisdom) with our colleagues. One of Vantage International’s clients fondly coined the phrase ‘Leta-isms’ to describe her favorite one liners from my own conversations and educational programs!!  

“We love to have you work with us.  We call your one liners "Leta-isms" in Library Land.”     Kathy

One liners are effective because they are:

• Easy to remember and repeat
• Memorable in some way – a unique way of thinking about something; humorous or entertaining; or just plain clever
• Worth remembering – they make a point 

  

Be aware that not all of my one liners are my original material. I’ve collected powerful phrases that have helped me to grow and achieve success over a decade on two; and I generously sprinkle them throughout my coaching conversations, public and private because they do the same for others.

Here is a list of the Vantage International team’s favorite ‘Leta-isms’:

• Own the moment!
• Be the best version of yourself each day!
• Big doors swing on small hinges.
• Know yourself to grow yourself.
• Lead from your seat.
• Be memorable in a good way each day.
• Don’t let anyone or anything dull your sparkle.
• Be better and different. 
• Reach for the stars and settle for the moon.
• Good is the enemy of great. (From Jim Collins)
• Practice leadership & followership every day.
• What you permit, you promote.
• Manage things…Coach people.

Now it’s your turn! What’s that one thought, one quote, one word or phrase that made a huge difference for your leadership trajectory? What’s your favorite one liner?

Re-member Your Team

EXPRESS COACHING MOMENT

‘Re-member’ Your Team

For those of us who lead teams, one of our most urgent and important priorities is to attract, cultivate and keep world class talent. Having a team filled with exceptional performers doesn’t just give you bragging rights; it’s one of the few remaining ways to distinguish yourself and your work from the competition. It’s one of your best competitive edges! And it doesn’t just happen on its own either.

That means that we must intentionally set aside time from our often insanely busy schedules to aim ourselves at this work. And when we’re really tight on time, which is almost always, we tend to focus far more on the first two elements of the talent equation – recruiting the best (attract) and growing and building our bench strength (cultivate). It’s hard for me to argue with this approach; we can’t live without them.

But let’s not forget that third element – retention. Keeping top performers once they’ve joined us. What are we doing to ‘re-member’ our longer tenured stars & superstars?  To once again, emphasize how proud and appreciative we are to have on our team? To sing their praises? To give them our undivided attention? To re-ignite their passion and enthusiasm? To refresh their energy?

It’s time to stop taking our strongest & longest performers for granted. One best practice to consider is conducting ‘stay’ interviews. Of course, we make time for interviewing recruits. And we find time for exit interviews, often asking what we could have done differently to keep the person. Stay interviews give us an opportunity to answer that powerful question before it’s too late to make a difference.

Leadership Dare – Pick two tenured top performers and schedule an hour with each. Tell them what you’re up to and ask them to think about ways that you can help them to be happier and more fulfilled. Thank them for their leadership and tell them what their contribution means to you and the team.

Don’t think you have the time? Think of this as an investment….a trade-off. There just might be one less exit interview in your future!!