The Advisor’s Corner

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

June 22, 2015/in Ideas to help you build a solid team/by Tom Doescher

Adam Grant is the youngest full professor and a top-rated teacher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. I found his book, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, to be very inspiring and somewhat counterintuitive. Here are my takeaways:

Givers prefer to give more than they get; Takers like to get more than they give; and Matchers effectively give to get.
Givers get lucky.
Givers show respect for the people who speak up, rather than belittling them.
When star performers move to a different firm without the rest of their team, their performance drops.
When Givers put the group’s interests ahead of their own, they signal that their primary goal is to benefit the group.
Show up, work hard, be kind, and take the high road.
Even well-intentioned people tend to overvalue their own contributions and undervalue those of others.
Students (people) perform better when their teacher (leader) believes in them and expresses that they have really high potential.
Givers will avoid the escalation of commitment to a losing course of action (sunk cost fallacy) to protect their image of looking good.

How are Givers, Takers, and Matchers affecting your team?

Stepping It Up In Your Next Third

June 8, 2015/in Sharpening Your Personal Leadership Skills/by Barbara Doescher

As a baby boomer, I was saddened to read a Gallop research study indicating that boomers are no more likely to use their unique strengths than generation X’ers and millennials. After decades of work and life experiences in which we’ve honed our skills, talents, and expertise, I would have hoped more of us would love what we do.

I am encouraging my fellow boomers to first find and then live out your passions. According to the actuaries, many of us in our 60s will live for another 30 years — that’s a long time, and we can still make plenty of significant contributions to the world.

Whether you plan to stay in the marketplace or serve in other ways, I would suggest you find an enriching way to utilize your strengths — or, if you’ve never thought about it before, I would suggest you read my November 24, 2014, blog: Please let’s focus on people’s strengths.

If you’re looking for ideas, you may want to read our Thoughts for the Next Season.

We all have something special to offer. Please don’t just sit in the bleachers. Get into the game, and I guarantee you’ll experience fun and fulfillment along the way.

Simplify. (Replenishing Your Energy Reserves.)

May 25, 2015/in Sharpening Your Personal Leadership Skills/by Tom Doescher

As you know from reading my blogs, I’m a huge fan of being focused as a leader. It’s one of the “Big 4” traits of world-class leaders. Bill Hybels’ recent book, simplify., provides some fresh, clear advice to us super-busy leaders who often feel overwhelmed, over-scheduled, and exhausted, and who become irritated by small things and often feel resentful.

I would recommend the book and, to whet your appetite, the following is a brief summary of the main topics Hybels explores:

Assess your energy level — have you snapped at someone close to you for no apparent reason?
Are you in control of your schedule? Does your calendar reflect your stated life priorities?
Do you have mastery over your finances or are you overextended? (Editorial comment: I think financial independence is more a function of spending than of income.)
Are you passionate about your work/vocation? If the answer is no, do something about it.
Do you have an unresolved relational issue where you have refused to forgive the other person? Consider dealing with it, since it definitely affects your effectiveness.
Do you have a destructive fear (phobia)? This can consume a lot of energy.
Do you have friendships that are energizing?
What season of life are you in? Do your goals and activities match your season?
Is your life focused on what matters most to you? Simplify.

Disclaimer: Bill Hybels is the leader of a major Christian organization, and sprinkled throughout the book are Christian references. That being said, he arguably is one of the best leaders in the world today, and I’ve learned a lot from him. Whether you’re a Christian or not, you can substitute your belief system and still gain some great advice.

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

Stepping It Up In Your Next Third

Simplify. (Replenishing Your Energy Reserves.)

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