Leadership

Reluctance

There’s an art to keeping the right people engaged for the right amount of time. When things feel stale, it’s a signal of disinclination. To infuse new energies into a group, create space by releasing the reluctant.

Life happens, so it’s natural for interest and commitment levels to change over time. While engagement may expand, anyone’s ability to contribute can just as easily be reduced as transition occurs, missions evolve, and roles transform.

The spiral of someone’s reluctance will soon create stress between others who are still devoted. The longer this misalignment lingers, the more tension it creates.

Even so, people hold on too long, and most of us choose to avoid confrontation. This extends the pain for everyone. The reluctant feel guilty for not contributing while the zealous begin to resent the perceived lack of integrity. Stakeholders experience obscure toxicity and less dependably, which devolves into reduced trust, enthusiasm, and engagement.

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“Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.” –Seth Godin

Keeping an eye on our personal bandwidth adds clarity for what and when to quit. This self-awareness helps leaders stay centered and motivated by the way we spend our time. It also helps maintain good relationships by avoiding the unnecessary roughness of dramatic encounters, even when it’s time to explore a new direction. When bridges don’t get burned, we can make a ruckus, move on, and actually expand our impact while still staying connected.

For leaders dealing with lingering reluctance, let’s finish with a few friendly tactics to keep a group vibrant, while maintaining lasting loyalty from the departed.

Start by respectfully inviting individuals who have written their story to graduate gracefully. Sometimes, good people simply don’t want to quit on the people or program they care about. If time has been committed or someone’s identity as a leader is closely connected to their position, the transitional period takes more time, and the group will need to show proactive initiative to prove they are ready to lead without the departing individual. Rarely is there a perfect time to step down, but when given a polite opportunity to exit with elegance, appreciation leads to smooth transitions.

Another way is to ask everyone to do more. Inviting initiative provokes less committed members to bail. The danger is that you may lose others who may not like being asked to go beyond the original game plan.

Lastly, recognize the end will always come. Be clear with expectations, transparent as things evolve, and keep succession a part of ongoing planning.

Along with being open up front, complement internal clarity with external celebration. Acknowledge individuals who made a difference in the past, and praise those who are being generous now. This nurtures an environment where people are inspired to do their best when they’re involved, without feeling a sense of loss when it’s time to let go.

Brewed From Within
#54 📖 Leadership

By Ben McDougal, ago

Tenured & Tired

Consistent action transforms opportunity into potential. As experience expands, successful leaders are rewarded with increased capacity, attention, and control. Along with many cultural motivations, financial capital is often involved as well. These alluring incentives make it no surprise that many prominent positions are held for too long. Leadership calls for lasting commitment, and long-term leaders can sustain longstanding progress.

But how can we interact with complacent leaders who have become tenured and tired? People who are coasting. People who act as gatekeepers to progress. People who hold on to power from the past.

When starters run into the aloof, misaligned energy can lead to a standoff. Time is the ultimate answer, but what if progress is needed now? Every situation is complex because of the environment, people, and organizations involved, but here are tactics that work no matter the circumstance.

The first leans on social currency. It requires us to set the ego aside and instead celebrate all that the accomplished, yet stubborn gatekeeper has achieved. Use respect, kindness, and appreciation to form a bond. Relationships that feel less transactional often create leniency toward new ideas. When a crack in the wall of inactivity is created, be the glue that maintains the integrity of the existing system. For example, “I’m too busy” is a common qualm, so lean into that pain by offering to execute ideas that sparked mutual interest.

It’s important to be realistic in these moments, because when promises are made, credibility is at stake. As you light a path toward progress while you also champion change by evolving ideas into reality, trust is gained and your ability to continue making a ruckus increases. Along the way, take responsibility for failure, but give credit away when success is achieved.

If an organization is involved, another tactic invites the tenured leader to level up their team by activating a colleague. This provides a new hire the chance to get personally involved within the startup community, while the organization is seen as being engaged within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It’s hard for some to understand that time spent in the wild is more valuable than clocking time in the office, but if the organization allows this person to show up, everyone wins. The new community member feels a boost of innovative energy and brings intrapreneurial vibes into the organization, while the startup community benefits from fresh perspectives and expanded support.

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“Make things better by caring enough for those we serve, to imagine the story they need to hear.” –Seth Godin

If you’re tenured and feeling tired, you’re not alone. We all experience motivational ruts and emotional dips. Even in ideal situations, leading for any length of time is depleting. Markets, products, services, teams, strategies, and cultures change as well, which shifts how your own interests and skills align over time. If haphazardness is left untamed, a lack of purpose impacts your attitude and everything around you. When the urge to settle drags us away from being our best, setting new milestones helps to spark fresh enthusiasm. Other galvanizing tactics include trying something new, developing other areas of your career portfolio, resting, reading, writing, hibernating for a longer break, or quitting if it’s time to write a new chapter. Even if it’s challenging, make an effort to find fun and be wary of consuming more than you create.

Once rejuvenated, get back into the startup community. Even if we’re just listening, we can feel invigorating energy from the creative ambition of others. New opportunities will emerge for experienced leaders, but there’s no rush. Instead, adopt the inspiration. Let others lead, and use fresh intensity to break through emotional lulls as you uncover more ways to make an impact with your art.

Brewed From Within
#61 📖 Leadership

By Ben McDougal, ago

Airport Foot Massage

Scripted ice breakers are usually lame, but a fun one invites participants to share something that others may not know about them. There are many ways to approach such a prompt, but a response I once threw in the mix was my unassuming indulgence in foot massages at airports.

After traveling, there’s something bougie about having your tired feet rubbed while endless strangers pass by. Along with mental relation in a very public environment, tightness can be melted after a conference, team meetup, golfcation, or whenever you had fun on your feet.

Transitions came to mind when a recent airport masseuse was whisking my feet into mashed potatoes. A tension arrived as the artisan prepared to switch from one foot to the next. There was an undercurrent of disappointment in that one foot’s rub was coming to an end, yet this feeling disappeared when the next foot received its first touch of attention.

This tiny transition accentuates the kaleidoscopic variety of shifting twists we experience in endless ways. Unconscious, planned, and unplanned changes happen all around us, yet some transitions bring added avoirdupois or take more time than expected.

The route toward a smooth transition is different for every situation, but one tactic to help navigate any transition is to acknowledge the past, then use the present to concentrate energy toward what’s next.

This seems obvious, but our ego often tries to pull us back to what we may be leaving behind. For example, a sense of loss can be felt when leaving a team or as one steps out of an active leadership role. When something has become part of our identity, it’s no surprise that transition brings tension. Will you still be respected after you’re gone?

When leaders let others lead and depart with a sense of abundance, it takes time, but appreciation will last.

Brewed From Within
#52 📖 Leadership

By Ben McDougal, ago

Ship It

We are all artists. No matter what you create, there’s a distinction between creating art and shipping it.

Seth Godin teaches us to go beyond the status quo by creating remarkable art. As leaders cultivate a creative practice, Godin also suggests that if we don’t ship our art (i.e. send it into the world), the effort is self-limited. There’s value to creating more than we consume, but art creates connection. If what you construct is not shipped, there is no connection, and therefore, Seth Godin says it’s not art.

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Does (re)defining art change how you think about your own contributions?

What is your art? Entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, side hustlers, students, and community builders who are willing to ship, fuel positive change with their art.

Unfortunately, the ego fears external evaluation. This fear is compounded when progress feels slow, which is part of the dance. As apprehension calcifies over time, it’s hard to resist the temptation of hiding our thoughts, emotions, and activities within the safety of solitude.

Creating art to enjoy by yourself can build real skills and provide internal layers of sentimental value, but to go beyond the status quo, push past the fear of feedback. No need to waste time shouting just to make noise, but know that we need you to ship the art.

This encouragement is not an excuse to rush into bad ideas, ship something that hasn’t received proper attention, or not deliver on a promise. It is, however, a friendly reminder that pursuing perfection can devolve into an enemy of progress.

We’ve all heard inspiration like that before but listen to those you admire. Perfection is rarely required when all you need is enough success to continue creating art. Let such liberation fuel confidence. Translate expanding confidence into fresh curiosity. Augment this curiosity with creative action. Rinse and be isochronal in your creative practice.

As belief in oneself grows, one interesting hesitation is disguised by good intention. We tell ourselves it’s not wise to be too self-serving. This is virtuous, but sometimes endless humility makes silence feel safe. As we protect ourselves by staying quiet, a self-limiting restraint develops. For example, many find a journal to be therapeutic but are quick to dismiss sharing these beautifully raw writings with others. It’s good to internalize thought, but as you learn more about yourself through writing, even if it’s only for those you love, know your art can only connect when it ships.

Ready to ship your art? Double-click on your superpowers and the people you care about. Pouring a hint of discipline over what you’re best at and who you seek to serve will provide genuine value over time. Experiment with small actions, and as this develops into a practice, expand the connected nature of your creativity. As your art connects with those who care, find a cadence that allows you to be consistent. A daily blog? A weekly podcast? The monthly newsletter? An annual event? One size does not fit all, and the right tempo depends on the art you’re planning to ship. To find a signal, consider your personal bandwidth and the target audience. Talk with others and take action, then tweak timing to find the right rhythm.

If you’re shipping art, I’d love to hear what makes it stand out and how you remain consistent.

Perhaps there is a renewed desire to connect more of your intelligence? As you take action, know that your contributions matter. Even when the immediate impact is undetectable, thank you for being courageous enough to ship it.

Brewed From Within
#14 📖 Entrepreneurship

By Ben McDougal, ago

Neon Future

The deep future is the totality of realized dreams. It’s the culmination of how humanity continues to interact. Cultural temptations lurk at every turn, but if we dodge divineness, the neon future will shine bright.

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Great minds think alike.
Greater minds think differently.

As leaders (like you) guide us through the unknown, a provoking question that connects with the genre of this book is, does everyone have an entrepreneurial spirit?

It’s surprising how many say no, but one hopeful response includes a thoughtful caveat: Perhaps everyone has a creative spirit, but those who are able and willing to tolerate risk unlock the opportunity to decipher an entrepreneurial lifestyle. Along the way, technology reduces the need to turn knobs all day, and instead, helps us focus on what all the turning knobs accomplish. With this advancing capacity, more people can scrutinize their own creativity.

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When progress leaves past ideas vulnerable, opportunities await.

Together, we’ll ride the rolling waves of technology. Each wave may be different, but all remain significant and our lasting ambition ensures the next wave will always come.

This ambition honors the luxurious time we share and activates technology with integrity to stretch our true potential.

How we interact with ongoing innovation will determine the shared direction of our kind. It’s up to us to generously interact with a sense of abundance, to creatively leverage technology, and to guide us toward that future. This neon future is entirely unpredictable, which presents an open invitation to be absolutely extraordinary.

Brewed From Within
#89 📖 Technology

By Ben McDougal, ago