Dec 7, 2022
Mike is the author of
“Leadership in
Balance and
Management in
Balance,” the founder
of Crispian Consulting, and a retired Army officer. Mike shares his
thoughts on balance and equilibrium, and what that means for
management versus leadership. Contained in this episode is
essential advice for newly-minted leaders, and a discussion on
learning tools. At the end of the episode is a great “both/and”
challenge!
https://bit.ly/TLP-336
Key Takeaways
[3:05] Mike played rugby as a
Military Academy cadet. He had a lot of fun with his teammates.
Rugby helped him develop into the person he is.
[4:05] Jim met Mike as a keynote
speaker, speaking about balance and being a fulcrum. Jim took a lot
of notes. Mike defines balance for leaders and managers. It’s not
things being equal, it’s the equilibrium of a work/life balance.
Mike talks about managers spending up to 80 hours a week at work.
That doesn’t leave equal hours to spend with your family. When
you’re home, give them your undivided attention.
[6:23] Mike teaches “both/and”
as an alternative to the “either/or” way of looking at problems.
The vast majority of things in life are not dilemmas where you must
make one or the other choice. Most questions involve equilibrium or
equipoise. Apply the right amount of each choice to where it
balances. Mike says to be the fulcrum. Be the point on which
balance is achieved.
[7:49] Mike writes about four
central domains in leadership: Communication, Adaptability, Focus,
and Influence. You can find an equilibrium but the environment is
constantly changing so your equilibrium will also change. Mike
works with people to be ready for change. A key part of the model
is situational awareness. What’s going on in the environment that’s
different from your natural tendency?
[10:11] Mike admits there were
times as an Army officer when he should have given more direct
orders. Instead of telling people why something was important to
do, he needed to tell them how to do it. He didn’t always recognize
what the situation demanded of him so he couldn’t be the
fulcrum.
[12:14] While doing the Audible
version of his first book. Leadership in Balance, Mike realized that the four central domains
have descriptive names. Communication is the
Foundational Domain, upon which leadership is built. The other three
domains rely on effective communication. Focus is the
Purpose Domain. Adaptability is the Action
Domain. Influence is
the Mission Domain.
[14:27] Mike’s second
book, Management in
Balance, is out now. It
covers four domains, Time, Material, Risk,
and
Change.
[15:08] Mike addresses the
mindsets of abundance and scarcity. What is your attitude about an
abundance of risk, versus a scarcity of risk, or an abundance of
material, versus a scarcity of material? Mike quotes former Green
Beret Kevin Owens: “The most innovative people I know are poor.”
The conditions are the conditions, so we have to deal with the
condition, whether abundance or scarcity.
[16:50] Are you seeing risks
that are not there? Are you not seeing risks that are present and
are you becoming reckless? The balance comes into play in that as a
manager you have to deal with the current condition honestly and as
it exists but you have to prepare yourself and your team for that
shift that is going to come. Supply chain issues are examples of
shifts. Adjust to conditions as they change.
[19:39] Using an Army metaphor,
you need to position yourself where you can best influence the
action. You might need to stand back a bit to have a wider view and
receive news from outside organizations. Or you might go to the
front lines to direct people who don’t know what to do. That’s one
of the ultimate leadership calls. The same principle applies in a
business context.
[20:29] Being the fulcrum is
creating the ability for equilibrium by managing resources and
assigning tasks. Mike says ultimately, time management is task
management; how you prioritize and assign tasks. That’s the nexus
of leadership and management. Position yourself as a leader/manager
where you can do the most to create equilibrium in these areas. Be
open to signals coming from the environment.
[21:33] Empowerment and
subordinate development consist of pushing decisions down as far as
you can send them. Stan McChrystal taught MIke to get the authority
down to where decisions can be made most effectively. Mike notes
that Ukraine is using that model now, based on U.S. assistance from
2014. Mike asks, are you doing it well, are you doing it right, and
are you doing it in a way that makes sense?
[23:04] The fulcrum creates
balance based on where it’s positioned along the lever. You, the
leader/manager create balance by how you influence, position
yourself, lead, and manage in these domains access your
organization.
[24:28] Mike discusses newly
promoted “player-coaches.” Both of Mike’s books are intended for
new managers and also senior leaders who are responsible to promote
new managers and leaders and he invites leaders to make these
decisions thoughtfully and intentionally.
[26:07] The first thing anyone entering into a
new position needs to decide is whether they want a job or a
career. Get it wrong and you will be miserable to be on the wrong
path. And senior management needs to be able to look at you and see
if you have leadership potential and the desire for a career. Are
you willing to make the physical, emotional, and mental sacrifices
that leadership requires?
[29:20] Sometimes we get
frustrating answers from asking the wrong questions. Sometimes our
ego stands in the way of asking the better question because we
don’t want to know the answer. Or we overlook that we might have
been wrong previously. Surround yourself with smart people. Put
together a smart team with at least one person who asks, “What are
we missing? What is another possibility?”
[30:29] Always look for the
third option. Don’t let decisions be either X or Not-X. Having one
more option forces you to think more deeply about the problem and
how that plays out as a solution. Most of us quickly make decisions
based on experience. Step back and ask some other smart people what
they’re seeing. Reframe the problem. Mike tells how he addressed an
IED problem to improve mobility.
[34:03] Remember that everything
you do as a team or an individual is a performance cycle. A
performance cycle has four steps: Plan, Prepare, Execute, and
Review. Don’t skip the Review step, especially if you succeed,
because it will help you plan better for the next performance
cycle.
[37:21] Mike’s next book focuses
on management and leadership as a “both/and” proposition and will
speak to executives. Mike discusses the risk to mission, the risk
to people, and the risk to reputation. You have to know where those
three types of risks are lurking. Manage to mitigate that risk to
your people, your mission, and your reputation. Look for
opportunities to find acceptable risk and grab market
share.
[40:43] Mike wrote the second
book to define management, setting the stage for his next book,
covering leadership and management. New managers always ask Mike
whether management or leadership is more important. The better
question is, how are they different and when do you do each? The
domains for the Management/Leadership equipoise are:
What, How, When, and Why?
[42:45] Mike’s challenge for
listeners: Find the “both/and.” When you think you’re on the horns
of a dilemma, step back for a minute and ask, “Is this really an
either/or proposition, or is there some question of equilibrium
that needs to be found between these competing demands?” If you do
that, you may find that you are more effective and a lot happier in
your role.
[44:07] Closing quote:
“There is no decision that
we can make that doesn’t come with some sort of balance or
sacrifice.”
— Simon Sinek
Quotable Quotes
- “A lot of people, their thoughts immediately go
to things being equal; … a balanced scale. … Balance is not about
things being equal. Balance is about finding equilibrium; a
work/life balance.” — Mike
- “The equilibrium comes in when you’re home,
giving them your undivided attention, putting your work aside, and
getting involved in the things they’re involved in.” —
Mike
- “The vast majority of things are a question of
balance, equilibrium, equipoise: to take these things that are in
contention with each other and apply the right amount of each to
where it balances.” — Mike
- “That’s why the ‘be the fulcrum’ thing comes
into play. That’s my reminder to everybody that you’ve got to be
the point on which balance, equilibrium, is achieved.” —
Mike
- “As an Army officer, … I wanted to be more
indirect in how I influenced people. I was very much, ‘This is what
you’ve got to do and this is why it’s important,’ not, ‘this is how
you’re going to do it.’ … There were situations where I should have
been more like that.” — Mike
- “I've been asking a lot of clients lately,
‘What’s the most important thing that you do, and are you getting
better at it every day?’ And almost invariably, it boils down to
their ability to communicate.” — Jan
- “Limiting resources can make people very
resilient. The most innovative people I know are poor.” — Former
Green Beret Kevin Owens, quoted by Mike Lerario
- “If you’re in the retail business now, you’ve
seen this roller coaster. You had a lot and all of a sudden, maybe
people didn’t have money, and then people got money and they’re
buying all your stuff and the supply chain gets impacted because
there are 50 ships backed up.” — Mike
- “[Speaking] as an Army guy, one of the most
important lessons is that you need to position yourself where you
can best influence the action. In some cases that might mean that
you’re standing back and you have a wider view of the battlefield.”
— Mike
- “The fulcrum creates balance based on where
it’s positioned along the lever. You, the leader/manager create
balance by how you influence, position yourself, lead, and manage
in these domains access your organization.” — Mike
- “I’m a firm believer that, especially with
decision making, you have to find a third option, always. If you’re
looking at the decisions as, ‘I’ve got to do A or I’ve got to do
B,’ or ‘I’ve got to do X or Not-X,’ you’re going to fail. … You
have a higher probability of failure.” — Mike
Resources Mentioned