This month's theme:
Asking yourself the really tough questions
Welcome to the November edition of Sharpening the Axe.
This month we feature an interview with Roger Lewis, Group Chief Executive of the Welsh Rugby Union. Roger shares his thoughts on subjects such as talent development; success and failure in business; asking yourself the tough questions, and taking measured risk. Click here to read the full interview.
Hard work and integrity - a winning formula
Even the most talented people need a strong work ethic and integrity to make it to the top. That’s the belief of Roger Lewis and he should know.
He’s worked with all kinds of talent, from musicians such as Eric Clapton and Madonna, sports people like Welsh Rugby coach Warren Gatland, to business people in all areas of media, sports and the arts. He warns that no matter how talented someone is, hard work and a real sense of integrity are what count.
Now those of you who have declared integrity one of your company or team values may have dozed off at this point. Integrity is one of those earnest words we claim as a value because we think we should.
Roger sees integrity as something much tougher and edgier. He says “integrity is being able to ask yourself the really tough questions after a performance, like did I really achieve my full potential?” Winners never accept second best. Even after winning they can put victory to one side and focus on the next performance.
Don’t be fooled into thinking this only applies to sports people and musicians; it’s just as relevant for you and me working in the world of business. In a recent Sunday Times article, research showed it takes 10,000 hours of practice to gain mastery of a sport or musical instrument. That equates to three hours a day, each week for ten years. Now, assuming you’ve been learning, practising, and growing throughout your business life you’ll have gained quite a bit of mastery over the years. But the crucial question is how much learning and risk-taking have you really exposed yourself to?
How many tough questions have you asked yourself? How comfortable are you with ambiguity; not knowing the answers, not being in control? How much risk have you taken? Be honest!
A boss of mine once said you have to skate to fall. His point was unless you skate on the edge of your blades, ie the point at which you are most likely to fall, you will not make big improvements in learning and performance.
Dealing with success and failure
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same”
Taken from the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling
Roger offers a good dose of common sense about success and failure in business life. He advises celebrating and bottling it when you succeed. When you fail, he says you need to learn from it honestly and then move on.
An increasing number of companies are adopting Appreciative Inquiry (www.appreciative-inquiry.org). It’s a technique that lets them learn from their successes and build on the energy that exists in the business. It’s something Roger subscribes to. He makes no apology for the partial role his Welsh background plays in him having to learn to celebrate success: “It’s a cultural thing in Wales – we’re not very good at talking ourselves up.”
I think that could be said of most Brits actually! So it makes Roger’s advice to consciously talk up the good times doubly pertinent.
The Welsh Rugby Union under Roger have a lot to talk up. They’ve won the Grand Slam, Triple Crown, delivered record profits, paid off debt, cleaned up the balance sheet, sold out the autumn test series, and just provided most of the coaching staff for the next Lions’ tour. But even if you have just a sliver of success to grasp on to it’s important to remember the good times. Why? Because as Roger says, “when you get into the bad times you can say to your colleagues, hey do you remember how success felt; how it smelled? And we'll get there again.”
That’s why the phrase ‘celebrate success’ should be more than just a trite line. It’s a value we really should live.
And what about failure?
I asked Roger how he deals with failure. His answer? “Oh it hurts...and it never stops hurting!”
People in general are not very good with failure. The more successful they become and the higher they go, they find it less easy to embrace the concept. If people constantly need to be right, and believe they always know best, they will undermine their ability to learn. They will also become one very tired person.
Roger’s advice is to be honest and confront the reasons for your failure. Don’t bottle them up and let them fester. Sometimes it takes a while to put the pieces together and make sense of it all, so make time to talk it out and reflect.
“The most important thing is to be able to talk to close colleagues or friends, and just to try and figure out what really happened” he advises. I think that’s really powerful, and for me, it reinforces why team working is so important.
You need to be able to be vulnerable with team mates and able to support and challenge each other. I call it quid pro quo. It could simply be the reciprocal task of being there for each other when those honest dialogues are needed.
Roger Lewis’s top tips
- Innate talent alone doesn’t get it done. It takes a huge work ethic to succeed. Remember: success comes before work only in the dictionary.
- Integrity means asking yourself the really tough questions. Have you really achieved your full potential during a specific project or job role? Ask yourself honestly, and ask trusted friends and colleagues for feedback.
- Take a risk with young talent. Give them a platform and make sure they receive coaching at the right times.
- Leadership has to be team-centric. As a leader you have to take risks and that means testing yourself. It’s easier to do this with trusted colleagues around you who will tell it as it is.
- Look for three things in your people: capability, attitude and integrity.
- Positive peer group pressure must be encouraged. For this you need authentic, trusting relationships which in turn create reliability and consistency.
- Be deeply honest with your team both personally and professionally. Provide them with a real sense of purpose. Set meaningful goals and give the team meaning and direction.
- Confidence gives people a real sense of hope and this creates energy.
- Lean towards action, curiosity and courage.
- Tell real stories. They capture hearts and minds.
- The whole nature of risk means we will make mistakes. We learn more from our mistakes than from our successes.
- Understand your strengths and weaknesses. This allows you to be more in control under pressure. Encourage others to do likewise and learn to make the most of each other's skills, personalities, strengths and weaknesses.
- Being able to say, “I don’t know, help me”, is very powerful. Have the confidence to say it.
- Remember the good times, formally celebrate them, and understand what led to them.
- When you lose the desire; it’s time to retire.
Purple Cow
by Seth Godin isbn 978-0141016405
I knew I would include this book at some stage. Seth writes so provocatively that he makes you question your current thinking and approach to business, and life in general.
The front of the book prompts you to ‘transform your business by being remarkable’. Seth’s constant theme is that alternative approaches are not a novelty; they are all we have left.
Two things particularly resonated with me: the provocation that fitting in is failing, and the question ‘are you invisible?’ From a personal point of view this challenge has led me to publish my thoughts regularly and to speak on more controversial subjects. I’m also taking on projects and working with people that put me more on the edge of what I do, what I learn, and what I’m known for.
As for the intriguing title, it refers to the fact that once you’ve seen a number of cows you start to ignore them. A purple cow though, well that would be interesting. And you’ll have to read the book to learn the rest.
Got a book you’d like to recommend?
A book that’s had a profound influence on your career, your attitude, and your choices? If you have, let me know and I’ll feature it in a future issue. Please email me with your choice and the reasons why you want to recommend it.