Remember Rowlf the Dog from “The Muppet Show”? Sure, you have images of Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, and Fozzie Bear bouncing freely in your memory bank, but no Rowlf the Dog? He may not have been your most favorite Muppet, but now that I’ve mentioned him, you have to admit he was one heck of a piano player.

Why, when tickling the ivories prior to singing “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along” with Kermit in 1979’s The Muppet Movie, he humbly accepts the Frog’s praise by saying, “I’m no Heifetz, but I get by.”

Rowlf was referring to Jascha Heifetz, the Russian-born violin prodigy. This is not the same Heifetz as Ronald A., who in 1994 penned Leadership Without Easy Answers (Harvard University Press), but there’s a connection in here somewhere, I just know it, so stick with me.

In reading Ronald A.’s investigation into a definition of the term “leadership” that takes values into account, I came upon a reference he made to Sidney Hook’s 1943 The Hero in History, in which Hook claims “Some men [sic] are eventful, while others are event-making.”

History shines a light on event-makers. For some, it’s a spotlight, illuminating the great and wondrous innovations produced by a person of action. For others, it’s the single dangling 100-watt bulb of a damp interrogation room, demanding explanation for unwarranted deeds. Either way, event-makers make history — and, in the end, we’re all just history, aren’t we?

By the way, who invented the electric light bulb? That’s correct: Thomas Edison. And who didn’t invent the light bulb? Correct again: Every other unnamed person on the face of the earth. Who do you remember? Who does history favor, then? Thrice correct: The event-maker.

At the risk of inundating you with Cliff Clavinesque facts, wasn’t it Ferdinand Magellan who first circumnavigated the globe in 1519-1521? This Portuguese explorer had devised a plan, refused to accept “no” as an answer, and leapt forward to carry it out — he was an event-maker.

To relate this to leadership in today’s world, sometimes the best course of action is one that no one has ever taken before. Our teams’ new and varied needs scream out for a divergent approach. Sometimes it’s okay to shun the status quo — verily, there are times that it’s preferable to ignore what everyone else is doing, in the name of growth and progress. In fact, some moments appear before us, begging us to obliterate that old standby and to forge a new path. Into the mysterious unknown we go!

As CEOs, directors, managers, or whatever official capacity we hold, often where we lead is off the edge of the map. Captain Barbossa (from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean”) may warn us, “Here there be monsters,” but our quest for excellence must know no bounds. We cannot let fear determine our paths. We must be willing to excuse ourselves from the masses and serve as pioneers, breaking ground and cutting waves — this is where breakthroughs lie, this is where obstacles are overcome, this is where questions are answered, and this is where excellence awaits.

History will reward the event-makers, and as leaders we have a choice to make: Will we react to the events of yesterday, or will we make the events of tomorrow?

History will reward the event-makers, and as leaders we have a choice to make: Will we react to the events of yesterday, or will we create the events of tomorrow? Certainly, one might argue that this is a pursuit of glory, of achievement, and the garnishment of superlatives. But what argument for glory ever began with a reference to a floppy-eared, mild-mannered puppet?

No, this is an argument for turning over every stone — in fact, sailing far from the beaten path just to find additional stones to turn over — in order to discover what works for the context in which you find yourself, with the goals toward which you reach. In many businesses, the arcane status quo is often silently revered — we do as was done unto us, even if that original doing was done decades before.

New results require new action. New action demands new learning. New learning insists upon new thought. So go ahead — think off the map, weigh your options, and create a plan. (A plan, mind you, is not the same as shooting from the hip; a plan indicates a certain level of forethought and understanding.) Make it happen. History rewards the event-makers among us.

How can we engage in this off-the-map leadership in a safe, thoughtful, deliberate way? Here are three simple ideas to try:

1. Obtain unobfuscatable clarity of the goal that beckons to you. What is your ultimate objective? Obtaining new clients? Increasing sales? Generating more referrals? Creating breakthrough products? With a compelling and undeniable vision of success in mind, something that you fervently and desperately care about, you can free yourself from the ruts of prior actions by viewing the entire landscape between you and your ambition. If what you did before didn’t lead you to the goal, then you needn’t remain tethered to those unsuccessful plans. Allow yourself to scrap the strategies that didn’t yield success and orient your decision-making process to answer the question, “What can we do that will help us accomplish our goals?”
2. Bring the big brains together. Usually, the same type of thinking that got us into the mess is what we try to conjure in order to get us out of the mess. Nope, that won’t work. We need new ideas, different approaches, fresh perspectives – so bring the big brains in for a brainstorming session or two. And when I refer to big brains, I don’t mean the same collection of C-suiter execs who always gather around the table – y’all can still make the strategic decisions, of course, once you collect a robust assortment of options from the pool of talented, intelligent, divergent thinkers from throughout the organization. The best brainstorms don’t come from titled personnel, they come from a cross-section of the entire team.
3. Test the waters strategically. Before leaping headlong into a wild new idea, practice it first. Run it through a hypothetical trial. Conduct a SWOT analysis. What’s the best that could happen? What’s the worst that could happen? If the ideal, stars-aligned outcome is more extraordinarily positive than the failed, perfect-storm result is negative, then that’s a green light. Give it a shot. Track your progress, maintain vigilance, and keep an open mind to the opportunities to adapt and adjust as you go. Often, we discount uncharted strategies because we fear what might happen if they implode – and fear of something that may not ever happen, is an unreasonable basis for making decisions. Optimism, exuberance, tactical approaches, and objective data analysis are much more likely to result in outrageous success.

As for the Heifetz connection: Jascha, a violin virtuoso who wowed audiences for over 60 years, sought perfection at every turn. Ronald A. could have studied Jascha for lessons in leadership: Part of what compelled Jascha’s incessant desire for perfection was his self-admitted horror of mediocrity.

Rowlf the Dog, meanwhile, just got by.

*Author’s note: A version of this blog was originally published in EducationWorld’s Administrator’s Desk and can still be found in its archives.

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of Strive Success Solutions. You can reach him via email at Pete@StriveSS.com.

How many times in your career have you, as an employee, attended a company-mandated professional development session and, at some point during the day, muttered, “Gosh, this really doesn’t pertain to me or meet my needs right now,” or something similar? Then you stealthily scroll through your phone and attend to other business while a presenter drones on and on.

Or how many times in your career have you, as a leader, organized a company-mandated professional development session that you thought would meet the needs of your team members universally, only to have it generate lackluster engagement and dispirited feedback? Why, even your best employees are trying to be stealthy about scrolling through their phones while your expert guest presenter shares important information!

If your answer to either (or both) question(s) is more than zero, read on. There’s a solution.

It’s called an Unconference, and it’s a savvy approach to growing employees while letting them – the employees – be in charge of the topics, the discussions, the strategies, and the next-steps…without needing an extensive pre-planned agenda, expensive expert presenters, or even the sniff of a PowerPoint (otherwise, it’s missing all the hallmarks of a conference).

How does an Unconference work?

In a nutshell, an Unconference involves convening the team with the express intent to learn, grow, and collaborate. It could be a stand-alone event, such as an entire staff meeting, or an Unconference could occupy the last hour of a full day of professional development, allowing participants to finish on a high note. Function determines format, right? So the length of the session would be determined by your goals as a team.

As you can read in the attached protocol document, “the goal of an Unconference is to empower participants to suggest items of concern/interest to them, then discuss and brainstorm solutions/strategies together. An Unconference prioritizes conversation and collaboration over presentation. The beauty of an Unconference is that there are no pre-set agendas, no presentations, and no hierarchical structure – it’s truly a gathering that facilitates the development of professionals, by, with, and through those professionals.”

An Unconference prioritizes conversation and collaboration over presentation. It’s truly a gathering that facilitates the development of professionals by, with, and through those professionals.

The participants suggest topics to discuss, questions they’d like to answer, and/or problems-of-practice they have yet to solve. This ensures that the conversations are applicable, relevant, and timely. And because the professionals determine the topic options and, subsequently, which discussion to join, each individual has autonomy over the content and conversation in which s/he participates. There will be no need to stealthily (or not-so-stealthily) scroll through phones any more, not with real conversations to have!

The discussions themselves, comprised of employees who have chosen to engage in each topic to process information, dig into a tool or idea, brainstorm strategies, or coach each other in their thinking and approaches, typically last between 25-30 minutes. There’s no right or wrong way to participate in the discussions, as long as everyone participates. And, lest the leaders worry that the team members will take advantage of this time and it’ll end up being a free-for-all, there’s a structured debrief at the end: each team reports the topic, hits the big ideas touched upon, and shares a takeaway or two that the group identifies, followed by a robust individual reflection session in which all participants process the event and commit to their follow-up actions.

Again, this is all in the protocol, found here.

What topics will folks discuss?

Without putting too fine a tip on this: Anything. If it’s work-related, will improve employee effectiveness, might solve a problem, or needs to be put on the table, then it could be the topic of one of the discussions in an Unconference. Here are a couple examples of guiding questions from recent Unconferences I’ve co-hosted for organizations:

• What are some apps that will help me manage my time better?
• How do I link contacts with other departments using our new software?
• What do I say when someone is being negative about a co-worker?
• What are some of your go-to strategies for closing deals with prospective clients?
• How do I decide which task on my to-do list to tackle first?

The sky is truly the limit when it comes to suggesting and entertaining topics of discussion. The team will determine which topics are worthy of their time and energy – if no one joins a discussion, it becomes defunct and the facilitator moves to a different discussion. Ultimately, one overarching question will determine the topics in any given Unconference: What are folks wrestling with right now?

When do we host an Unconference?

Well, when do you gather as a team? What opportunities do you have to convene in a common location? Staff meetings, team huddles, leadership gatherings, designated team-building retreats, you name it. If you can bring the team together, you can host an Unconference.

What are the benefits of an Unconference?

Besides reducing the amount of time employees spend stealthily scrolling during expensive presentations, the primary benefits are the cultivation of a culture of continuous growth, the ownership of pressing concerns and needs, the development of a collaborative team atmosphere, and the expansion of autonomy, mastery, and purpose, the three lynchpins of motivation shared in Dan Pink’s “Drive.” In addition, backchannel communication, what we used to refer to as “water cooler chatter,” will more likely be focused on goals, solutions, strategies, and collaborative opportunities to grow.

Whether you’re a team member or a team leader, that’s a refreshing detour around top-down, mandatory professional development sessions. Try the Unconference for yourself and see how it goes.

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of Strive Success Solutions. You can reach him via email at Pete@StriveSS.com.

As the Forrest Gump-inspired bumper-sticker reminds us, “Shit happens.”

That’s just one of the many ways we can reframe a situation by turning an apparent negative into a powerful positive. Reframing, quite simply, is the process of shifting our perspective and finding the silver lining in every cloud. Since we tell ourselves a story about everything that’s happening all around us, we may as well tell ourselves a positive story, right?

Does reframing really matter? In a word, yes. Very much. Here are three benefits to engaging in reframing on a regular basis:

1. Resilience building: Reframing helps us develop resilience by training our minds to see difficulties as opportunities for growth. Instead of succumbing to adversity, we learn to adapt and thrive.
2. Stress reduction: Reframing can reduce stress levels by changing how we perceive stressful situations. When we see them as challenges to overcome rather than insurmountable problems, stress becomes more manageable.
3. Improved problem-solving: When faced with a problem, effective reframing allows us to view it from multiple angles, leading to better, more innovative solutions.

You may have heard advice like this before: “Instead of saying, I have to…, reframe it as, I get to…” If only it were that easy. I find it hard to believe anyone might say, “I get to have a root canal today!” There’s more to it than just painting it with rainbow paint and adorning it with unicorn glitter. So let’s examine a couple of keys that may help prepare us to engage in authentic, helpful reframing:

1. Mindfulness: Stay present and aware of your thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness helps you catch negative thinking patterns and replace them with positive ones.
2. Positive language: Use positive language to describe situations and challenges. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this,” tell yourself, “I will give it my best shot.”
3. Perspective shifting: Try to view the situation from another perspective. This can provide valuable insights and lead to a more positive outlook.

Before you start accusing reframers of practicing toxic positivity, let’s address the elephant in the room. Does reframing negatives into positives mean we are dismissing our authentic emotions?

Heavens, no.

What we’re really talking about here is shifting your perspective to see a situation from a different angle. We still acknowledge and validate our feelings. If “This sucks” pops into your mind, take the time you need to honor the suckiness of it, connect with your emotions, and, when you’re ready, look for an alternative viewpoint. This helps you manage and cope with your emotions by finding constructive ways to deal with them.

For example, if you’re feeling disappointed about not getting a job or promotion you wanted, reframing it as an opportunity for personal growth doesn’t mean you deny your initial disappointment. Instead, it allows you to channel that feeling into motivation for self-improvement, future endeavors, and another pathway to success.

Reframing allows you to channel your emotions into motivation for self-improvement. By taking another perspective, we can make better decisions.

Often, the source of our frustration, anger, or irritation is an event, a circumstance, or something out of our control. If that’s the case, when we listen for the story we’re telling ourselves, consider the Lurking Benefit. Ask yourself, “What’s the positive silver lining in this negative cloud?” Here are a few examples of how this might play out in your mind:

1. When you fail a test, reframe like this: “This is a chance to learn from my mistakes and improve for next time.”
2. When you experience a relationship breakup, reframe like this: “I can take this time to focus on my personal growth and self-discovery.”
3. When you have financial struggles, reframe like this: “This is an opportunity to investigate budgeting, financial management, and an appreciation of the simple things.”
4. When you are stuck in traffic, reframe like this: “I can pause my hurried life and practice patience and tolerance.”
5. When your computer crashes midway through a project, reframe like this: “Re-doing some of the work can help me with clarifying my thinking, and now I’m inspired to learn more about the Cloud.”

At times, it’s other people that grind our gears. Human behaviors can be really exasperating, and when they invade our minds, it can be hard to shift the story to be more positive. In these cases, it can be helpful to consider the *Noble Intent. Ask yourself, “Why would a reasonable, rational, kind person act like this?” This allows you to approach the situation with empathy and a more positive perspective, which can lead to better understanding and communication with the offending person. Check out these examples:

1. When another person seems over-critical, reframe like this: “Perhaps this is some thorough feedback I hadn’t considered.”
2. When another person acts bossy, reframe like this: “It appears this person has a need for control. Perhaps I can offer some choices to help out.”
3. When another person makes passive-aggressive comments, reframe like this: “It’s hard to express yourself sometimes. I might need to ask for clarity on what this person feels and needs.”
4. When another person interrupts often, reframe like this: “These stories are important to this person. Maybe it would help if I asked more questions.”
5. When another person yells at you for something, reframe like this: “Wow, this person is having a bad day. I’ve got to stay calm and help diffuse all this energy.”

Remember, reframing is a powerful tool that can help us navigate life’s challenges with a positive mindset. When shit happens, reframe it as an opportunity to honor our emotions, cleanse our thoughts, and find the silver lining. It might just become a bumper-sticker.

*Credit to Dr. James Alexander and the Functional Family Therapy model for the term “Noble Intent.”

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of Strive Success Solutions. You can reach him via email at Pete@StriveSS.com.

I was speaking at a leadership conference recently, and after my session I had the opportunity to sit down with a handful of executives and team leaders to chat. The topic? Coachability.

After the first animated 15 minutes or so, two realities struck us:

First, we needed to clearly define the term itself.

Second, we determined that for years, we’ve been asking the wrong question about coachability.

What is coachability? Here’s the definition we constructed right there in the conference center’s foyer: “Coachability is the willingness – even eagerness – to invite and accept support, feedback, guidance, prompts, and imperatives in order to grow, learn new things, increase your impact, and/or in some way improve in whatever you’re doing.”

This helped us to understand the desirable approach to growth that we – as leaders and learners – and our team members need to possess and display in order to work effectively with (or as) coaches.

*Side note: In a different blog, we’ll dig deeper into the ins and outs of our definition of coachability and its many nuanced applications.

Meanwhile…What’s the question we’d been getting wrong all these years? This one: “Are you coachable?”

It seems like a reasonable enough question, so why is it the wrong one? Because the answer is binary. It’s either “yes” or “no.”

As it turns out, there are many gradients of coachability. It’s not as clear-cut as it may sound. Describing an employee as coachable or uncoachable misses the mark, because one’s willingness – even eagerness – to partner with a coach can depend on a host of variables.

There are many gradients of coachability. One’s willingness – even eagerness – to partner with a coach can depend on a host of variables.

Not surprisingly, the variables can be addressed rather directly, by asking the 5 W’s and an H questions.

So, “How coachable are you?” is a better question, and to help determine likelihood of success in a coaching interaction for any given individual, we follow up by asking, “Would it matter…”

*…WHO is coaching you? Does it matter if your coach comes from within or outside your organization? Is an unknown, expert voice better for you than someone you may have worked with before? Do you do better with a coach with whom you’ve got a strong relationship established?

*…WHAT you’re being coached on? What’s the content of the coaching? Is it something you’re already expected to know and do, or is it a new skill? Are you being coached on a mindset, an attitude, a behavior, or a particular strategy? And do you have some say in the content, or is it determined by someone else (perhaps a supervisor)?

*…WHERE the coaching takes place? Do the coaching interactions occur in your workspace or setting, or are you called to someone’s office for them? Are the coaching sessions conducted in private, 1-on-1, or do some of them transpire in a team setting, in front of (or even including) others?

*…WHEN you’re being coached? Are you coached in advance of a specific event, after its conclusion, or some combination thereof? Are the coaching session scheduled in advance, or are they impromptu? This also includes frequency: are coaching interactions occurring daily, weekly, or quarterly? Do you only receive coaching support during (or following) your annual performance review?

*…WHY you’re being coached? What’s the purpose of the coaching? Your own growth? Fidelity to a company program? The acquisition of technical skills? Remediation of your weaknesses? Leadership development? The main purpose, and ultimate goal, really ought to be clear (and clearly communicated) in order to maximize our impact.

*…HOW the coaching transpires? What do the coaching sessions look like, feel like, and include? Are they one-directional, laden with targeted feedback, or are they conversational, a back-and-forth dialogue, full of reflective discussions? Do they include modeling, use of video, action research, or other strategies? Some may work better for you that others, and some may accomplish the ultimate goal better than others.

There are no right answers to these questions, only our individual and collective truth. As we ask, investigate, and explore our responses, we’re looking for are answers that lead to results. The outcomes are what matter.

What is included in the set of conditions that take you (and/or your team members) to greater heights? How can we put ourselves in positions to learn more, accomplish more, do better, and have a more profound impact?

Start by asking the right questions.

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of Strive Success Solutions. You can reach him via email at Pete@StriveSS.com.