Contrary to popular legend, subordinates do not, as a rule, rise to position and prominence over the prostrate bodies of incompetent bosses. If their boss is not promoted, they will tend to be bottled up behind him. And if their boss is relieved for incompetence or failure, the successor is rarely the bright, young man next in line. He usually is brought in from the outside and brings with him his own bright, young men. Conversely, there is nothing quite as conducive to success, as a successful and rapidly promoted superior.

Peter Drucker ‘The Effective Executive’

How to increase your chances for a promotion:

1. Learn how to coach your manager

2. Find what your manager is good at; determine what you are good at. Then build both of your skill sets for improvement

3. Your manager is the most relevant customer of your work…determine how to meet their needs.

4. Make your manager look good in the eyes of his/her manager.

5. If all else fails, apply for a transfer.

Articles Mentioned in the Video:

• Are you a “Big Enough” Manager?
• 9 Indicators That a Manager is NOT Able to Handle the Complexity of the Work & some ideas of what to do about it.
• Before the Promotion he was nice & had potential
• How can we avoid poor team performance? Don’t Promote People who Can’t do The Work.

What do you think?

Do you have any stories of you being passed over for a promotion because your boss was incompetent?

What advice can you share on how to make your manager more successful?

michael cardus is create-learning

The ASQ Statistics Division, some sharing on the ASQ Team Excellence Awards from the Quality Education Division, and a closing talk by Richard Kyte and Thomas Thibodeau of Viterbro Universities Servant Leadership Masters Program, made the conference amazing.

Here are some photos from the Conference.

The Demystification of Quality Leadership

In this highly interactive workshop we will demystify what is takes to be a Quality-Leader. You will leave with a clear and distinct understanding of what Quality-Leadership within your work and life is, and how to maximize the talent you already have to continually improve the quality of your organization, team and people.

Plus these Leadership skills;

• Create an Organization and Team that attracts trust and talent.
• Use the ‘Cascade-of-Leadership’ to increase the quality and throughput of your organizations work.
• Steps to develop high performance quality teams.
• Steps to lead high performance quality teams.
• A formula that can be used to match the right person to the right work. Ensuring the task is completed on time and within quality standards.
• Knowing your Quality-Leadership Strengths.
• How to determine strengths and constraints in other leaders and what to do about it.
• Improve the problem solving and decision making of yourself and others

If you are interested in learning more and offering this workshop to your team and leadership CONTACT MIKE

michael cardus is create-learning

The speaker after me shared some great information on Statistical Decision Making, from the ASQ Statistics Division. 

I couldn’t help but reflect upon work, thoughts and beliefs and wonder if what I thought I knew is wrong, how would I know? And what kind of evidence would be needed to convince me that I ought to change what is shared to better reflect that evidence. 

This is something that constantly plagues me, wondering if what I am doing and sharing with teams and managers, with information that I believe to be right, how would I know if it was wrong.

Does this happen to you?

Listening to other speakers at the conference who claim to be right in their thoughts on teams and leadership. BUT my workshop much of what I said was opposite of what they are saying.

Can both of us be right?

Can both of us be wrong?

On to the Inquiry:

How do you know if you’re wrong?

• I understand that with social science team building & leadership the idea of definitive proof can be argued.
• Do you have an example of when you realized you were wrong, and changed your work, beliefs, thoughts, to better reflect new evidence?
• What kind of evidence is sufficient to prove that you are right or wrong?
• In what ways to you approach others who says things that you believe are ‘wrong’?
• How do you create comfort in sharing what you know with others, while understanding that it might be wrong?

Share some of your ideas and advice.

michael cardus is create-learning

If you can’t make it, and interested in learning more and offering this workshop to your team and leadership CONTACT MIKE

An interactive examination of what Quality-Leadership is and how you can leverage existing knowledge, competencies, Quality Practices, tools and initiatives to improve your organization, team and self.

Resulting in enhanced accomplishment of goals on-time within quality specifications and within budget, capitalizing upon the innovation and motivation of the people who work along with you to complete the work.

Overview:

Great leadership is one of the most valued of all human activities. Within every part of our lives from work to family to friends to be known as a good leader is a great accolade. It signifies the talent of bringing people together and getting them to effectively work towards a common goal, to co-operate with each other, to rely upon each other, to trust each other. It evokes the warm and gratifying prospect of being part of a successful team or organization. Everyone LOVES being on a Winning Quality team, they LOVE the leader who led them to winning even more!

But good leadership within quality teams is also seen as one of the most mysterious things to achieve.

In this highly interactive workshop we will demystify what is takes to be a Quality-Leader. You will leave with a clear and distinct understanding of what Quality-Leadership within your work and life is, and how to maximize the talent you already have to continually improve the quality of your organization, team and people.

Plus these Leadership skills;

• Create an Organization and Team that attracts trust and talent.
• Use the ‘Cascade-of-Leadership’ to increase the quality and throughput of your organizations work.
• Steps to develop high performance quality teams.
• Steps to lead high performance quality teams.
• A formula that can be used to match the right person to the right work. Ensuring the task is completed on time and within quality standards.
• Knowing your Quality-Leadership Strengths.
• How to determine strengths and constraints in other leaders and what to do about it.
• Improve the problem solving and decision making of yourself and others

If you are in Wisconsin area it would be great to meet you and learn with you. To register and learn more CLICK HERE

If you can’t make it, and interested in learning more and offering this workshop to your team and leadership CONTACT MIKE

michael cardus is create-learning

CLICK HERE

8 Variations of Infinite Loops takes a fresh and creative approach to a common team building activity. Each variation can be used as a stand alone, or can be sequenced into an experiential learning and team building program. These variations all focus on creating better teams that are able to work together to solve problems and innovate solutions. To purchase all 8 variations Click Here

Partner Separation

Outcomes & Objectives:

• Get to know others
• Exercise in solution finding
• Developing resiliency
• Communicating lessons learned throughout the group

Materials:

• 1 Infinite Loop per/person. See How to make the Infinite Loop on page 7.

Group Size:

• Ideally 6 – 20 is a good size.
• Larger and smaller groups can accomplish this activity. With adjustments, this activity can be led for as few as two, or as many as 2000 or more.

Time Frame:

• 20 – 45 minutes, including processing.

Preparation:

Ensure that you know how to complete this challenge. Practice, practice, and then practice more. Simply reading this will not prepare you for the possible challenges and the questions you will get from the group.

Go through all of your Infinite Loops and check the knots. Always have more Infinite Loops than people you are expecting.

This activity can take place while people are sitting at a table and/or standing. Make sure that there is sufficient space for people to spread out and move around as necessary.

Instructions and Facilitator Script:

This can be confusing to many people and it should be, allow for confusion and frustration.

Here is one way to introduce the activity. You may choose to modify it for your needed outcomes.

“In a moment, we are going to be involved in a process of problem solving, and working with our brains and team mates to find solutions to complex problems. When working in teams and finding solutions, it doesn’t matter to your brain whether we are separating Infinite Loops, crunching numbers on a spread-sheet, or learning something new. To your brain, solving problems is solving problems. The more we can, as a team, solve problems and then discuss how we solved problems, what was learned and how to apply that back to our lives, the better equipped we will be when these challenges arise outside of here.”

At this point, have the participants get with their partner. There are many ways you can do this, you decide what is best. If there is an odd number of participants make one team of three people, the set up is the same.

Have these guidelines written on a flipchart paper or on a slide.

• The overall objective is to get everyone free from their partner so they can walk away.
• One partner places their wrists in the loops. The other partner then places one of their hands in one loop, takes the other end of the rope and intertwines once with the partner’s rope before placing the other wrist in their loop. You will want to physically show people how to do this.
• Once the partners are connected, the ropes must remain, at all times, on the wrists they started on.
• Partners cannot switch ropes, or take their hands out of the ropes.
• The knots must remain tied as they are and you cannot physically alter the ropes or knots or partners.

Allow a brief time for questions and clarification. Be careful not to reveal too much, this is supposed to be challenging.

As the activity progresses, walk around and observe the teams. Look for information and specific actions that can be brought up during the processing time. For example, if one team or one person knows the answer do they share and help the rest of the team or do they keep the information to themselves? The objective is for the information to spread and everyone to be free from their partner. This is when your judgment as a facilitator is needed. How much do you interfere with the team? When should you comment?

Allow the group to work on the task for about 10 minutes. Next, ask everyone to stop and gather around you.

Ask some initial questions:

• What is your initial reaction to this activity?
• What if anything is working so far?
• How are you measuring progress and setbacks?
• How might you act if you knew the solution?

“In a moment I am going to show you the solution. Following that, you are going to go back to your partner and practice for three minutes. Practice getting separated, then reconnect, then separate again. Even when you think you know it, keep practicing, we want to move your skills from rote copying to personal mastery of this process.”

Verbal Instructions this can be tricky, practice.

• Step 1: Partner and you face each other.
• Step 2: Grab the middle of your partner’s rope
• Step 3: Take your partners rope and it goes from your elbow UP your palm
• Step 4: Over your fingers
• Step 5: Down the back of your hand
• Step 6: A slight pull and you are separated!

Allow at least three minutes for practice and mastery. Walk around and offer tutoring and help as needed. Remind the teams to keep practicing this skill.

Following the three minutes for mastery, pull the team together for some processing.

Facilitator Notes:

As mentioned earlier, YOU MUST MASTER THIS.

Sometimes when separating, the ropes will wrap twice around each other this happened because you sent the rope to the wrong wrist. This explanation is often the most challenging to explain. Practice will make you a master at this.

Remember that this challenge is about finding solutions and developing resiliency. Let the team struggle. When you feel the energy dropping, you may supply some clues.

Potential Processing Questions:

· At what point did this activity seem impossible?

· What made you continue, even though it may have seemed impossible?

· What was the objective of this challenge?

· Did you notice that in the beginning everyone did the same thing?

· Why was that?

· On a scale of 0 – 10; with 0 being “give up easily” and 10 being “never give up” where would you place yourself?

· If you were two points higher on the same scale, how would you approach problems differently?

· Do you currently approach anything like that already, even a little bit?

· Looking at what you accomplished so far, what lessons can you take with you?

· How might you apply those lessons outside of here?

This is a sample of my new Team Building Booklet 8 Variations of Infinite Loops. This is 1 of the variations….for ALL 8 and they are very excellent you can purchase the entire Team Building Book.

CLICK HERE

michael cardus is create-learning

The above slideshare is from a talk I gave at Social Media Uninhibited. The talk and process are effective with technical and inter-personal steps to find solutions. Contact Mike to speak at you next event, conference, meeting or training.

Your Solution Will Not Work For Me

You must learn and determine your own solutions.

Listening to how someone else solved a problem is helpful.

BUT YOU must learn how to apply that solution to you, in your context and how you work.

We always want to share our experience and how we solved problems. When someone shares a problem they are facing, we quickly jump into the “If I was you…” “Here is what I would have done…” “That happened to me and I …” “why didn’t you just…”

That does not work and you are not helping that person you are just making them feel more helpless. STOP IT!

In this talk we will explore a method that you can use to find your own solutions to challenges, find your own voice.

Developing action steps, based upon your past success and what works for you.

Leaving you with identifying what it is you want to do (the solution),  where you currently are, how far you have already gone, steps to move further along, and some definite decisions and direction for achieving your solution.

Ending with you finding the Solution that works for YOU!

michael cardus is create-learning