Can a person be promoted too fast?

Or before he or she is ready to handle the responsibility?

My opinion is a very strong YES.

Maybe you've seen it; I certainly have. I've seen it because I've done it and been burned by it. I think the problem often stems from managers who are getting covered up with stuff and need someone desperately to fill a leadership position. The managers look around and settle on someone who is performing really well at the current level.

Don't get me wrong...I'm a big proponent of developing your people. How can someone grow if they're not given more responsibility? The big mistake comes when we give our rising star too much power too fast.

What does it do so many times? Goes right to their heads. As Pat Riley says in his book, "The Winner Within", they just don't know how to handle their "meteoric rise". Sometimes your star can handle the duties of the job and sometimes he or she struggles. What almost all of them fail at is keeping their egos in check.

It's just human nature, isn't it?

Regardless, you end up really needing that person in the role. You've worked every angle and this is what you need to do. OK, that's fine. So how do you do your best to ensure everything works out, your star flourishes and you don't end up with a bucket-load of headaches? You:

~Set the expectations for your star and, if you feel it appropriate, warn of the potential issues right away ("You need to understand, regardless of the trust I've placed in you, you can't let this go to your head. Genuine humility is one of the signs of a real leader, so keep it real").
~Let him or her know you'll be watching.
~Stay involved, giving regular guidance and direction
~If you see any issues re: "the big head", nip them in the bud ASAP.

The best choice, in my opinion, is to wait for the right person to fill your critical job. But, if you have a potential superstar and want/need to give him or her the chance to achieve great things, closely oversee and guide for success.

"If you wanna be somebody else, change your mind."

What is this, you say? It's a line from the song, "Change Your Mind", by the group Sister Hazel.

Besides being a pretty good song, the lyrics are very profound, aren't they?

I don't know that I've ever heard a phrase that so perfectly shared 2 ideas:

"If you wanna be somebody else, change your mind":

1. You're fine...don't try and change yourself. This is how God made you...although you can tweak a thing or two...

OR

2. If you need to change, the first thing that has to change is the way you think.

I think both of these interpretations could be pertinent simultaneously, which makes the phrase even more profound.

I definitely need to spend time, every now and then, on introspection...when I do, I think about this phrase and then try to act on it.

Teach without harm

So our people mess up every now and then and we want to teach them the right way to do things without causing harm and while showing respect.

Here's another Army story.

If you've read any of my posts before you might have seen where the unwritten law in the Army was for officers to eat after their soldiers had been fed. Another rule that was a little more formal was that, after you got back in from time out in the field, officers couldn't leave until the soldiers were finished with everything and then released for the day...you didn't go enjoy yourself or get to go see your family if your soldiers were still working.

Captain Jones had a young lieutenant working for him named LT Arnold. LT Arnold was brand new and the night of "the lesson" was the end of LT Arnold's first trip to the field with this battalion. LT Arnold went up to CPT Jones about 8:00 or 9:00 PM and said, "I'm taking off, sir; my wife and little boy are waiting for me outside."

The background was that LT Arnold only had one car and this was back in the day before cell phones. When he had gotten in from the field, LT Arnold had called his wife to tell her he was back and she and 4-year old son had driven the 15 or 20 miles to pick him up and take him home. The problem was that the troops weren't done cleaning their weapons and securing all the vehicles yet...they had probably another hour before they were done. CPT Jones had a decision to make.

Now, the "right" thing to do would have been for CPT Jones to tell LT Arnold that his wife and son needed to either wait for the next hour or so OR to go home and then come back when he was ready to be picked up.

Thing is, you can be right and dumb at the same time (a very smart Army sergeant taught me that once and it's always stayed with me). Being right in this respect would really have not served any purpose...well, LT Arnold certainly would have learned his lesson and would hopefully not have put his family through the same ordeal in the future. BUT, that is a very tough lesson because LT Arnold was new and everyone was busy and no one was really noticing him at the time.

So, CPT Jones did what I think was a very smart thing. He sat LT Arnold down, explained the situation and then said, "take your family on home and next time you'll know better, ok?" LT Arnold was embarrassed, but very thankful that his family didn't have to suffer because of his mistake. And he became and remained steadfastly loyal to CPT Jones from then on. No harm, no foul.

Remember...you can be right and dumb at the same time...just think about what's reasonable and go from there.

Are you first or last in line?

In the Army, when they're in the field or out on maneuvers, an implied rule is officers are supposed to eat last...after their soldiers do.

It's not always something overly intuitive to young lieutenants. They learn quickly, however, when they get in line with everyone else and then are pulled aside by some higher ranking officer and set straight.

In the modern military, no one is going to go hungry...the worst that might happen is that the cooks run out of the main course and the officers might have to do with leftovers or something less appealing.

Still, there is strong symbolism here. You take care of your people because the people perform the mission...not the leaders. You ensure they're properly clothed and fed, rested and trained. You see to it that they're properly led. Without the soldiers, the leaders are nothing. Some of the officers "get" the symbolism, responding accordingly...and some never do.

It's no different in the civilian world. Do we not realize? Are we too busy with our own projects and problems? Is it too much trouble or that we just don't know how to do it. Do we not care?

OR is it that we think we deserve to be first in line? After all, we've invested a lot of time and effort to help the company grow and be stronger. While there are perks that come with working your way to the top of an organization, we can never afford to let a core leadership principle -- taking care of our people -- slip away from us.

Take a look at your organization and try to determine the commitment level the leadership has to the workers. If you're not happy with what you see, then maybe it's time to start working on a culture shift.

You won't truly have your team's commitment until they know they have yours.

WIIFM...You'd better believe it

WIIFM is what makes the world go around. WIIFM or "What's In It For ME" is an acronym that's been around a long time in the business world. It sometimes surprises me when I use the term or phrase and people haven't heard about it.

The thing about WIIFM isn't what it is, but what it represents. Look at the people around you...family, friends, colleagues, CUSTOMERS. Everyone of them work in the world of WIIFM at one time or another and may not even realize it or if they do, may not know how to express it.

If you're goal is to help others get what they want whether it be any of the people mentioned above, you have to understand that WIIFM.

How can you find out what someone's WIIFM is on a particular subject?

ASK!

Two great things you can do to help meet another's WIIFM is to:

1. Actively Listen
~Two ears and one mouth means "shut your pie hole"...remember, it's about the other person, not you. Since most of us like to talk about ourselves, resist the urge and let the other person do the talking.
~Focus on the words and ideas the other person is sharing so that mean's multi-tasking and thinking about what YOU are going to say next are "No-Nos".
~Just speak to ask clarifying questions and don't interrupt.

2. Practice Empathy
~Empathy means putting yourself in the other person's position and to do that you might need to be willing to temporarily "suspend your beliefs" about a subject so you can truly understand what the other party is trying to share.
~Be respectful, whether you agree or not. We all want to be treated with respect.

If you understand people's WIIFM when you interact and can use the skills of listening and empathy, you can help ensure you can relate to them in the way to help them be successful...and that could make your very successful, too (...that's your WIIFM, right?).

Start your week off right -- Encourage someone around you

Here's a great idea for first thing Monday morning.

Take 5 minutes before your day "officially" starts and write a personal note to someone in your office whether it be a colleague or team member (you could even write one to your boss if it didn't appear like you were kissing up too much).

The point is that everyone likes to know others think positively about them. You don't have to write something really profound or special to someone other than to tell him or her that you're glad you're on the same team.

One idea I heard about was a manager who bought a 1 or 2 dollar box of plain note cards with a generic design on the outside. Then, this person made a list of all the people he worked with. He tore the paper into strips with a different name on each strip and put them into a cup. Each morning over a few week period he pulled a different name out of the cup and wrote a personal note. He got to work before most others in the morning so he slipped the note onto the recipient's desk so they would realize the note some time during the day.

I understand that while some recipients liked the notes, they discarded them soon. Others held onto the cards to remind them of positive thoughts from someone else. Regardless, all of them appreciated receiving the notes.

Sharing encouragement and appreciation can be expressed in many differnt forms. This particular one is easy and inexpensive, but can potentially have a significant impact.

You have the power to positively impact someone else. Don't waste the opportunity.

Commitment to Service...It's not always pretty

Pretty much everyone I know likes to do nice things for other people. It's easy and sometimes fun to do nice things, helpful things, for others.

What about when doing the nice thing, doing the helpful thing, do the right thing is just plain inconvenient, or hard, or messy or distasteful?

When my grandfather was alive and going through the last stages of Alzheimer's, my mother (Gpa's daughter-in-law) went to visit him most, if not every, day. She did his laundry, she talked to him, she made over him, she made sure he had everything he needed and did so with a smile on her face...she was totally committed and there for him. Some of the things my mother had to do for him were pretty distasteful, but she didn't flinch. Gpa wasn't always coherent and didn't speak most of the time so he didn't say "thank you" very much, but my mother wasn't doing it for the praise. She was doing it because she was cheerfully committed to him.

My mother learned this servant attitude well. Both her parents had it and my grandmother (my mother's mother) modeled it regularly with her own family as well as other people around her.

I can't say I learned it as well as my mother did. One time, when my mother couldn't visit Gpa, she had my sister, brother, and me go over to the nursing home. One of the things that needed to be done was to put some kind of cream on Gpa's legs because they were so chapped and dry. I was the one to put the cream on. I was getting it done in my normally thorough way when my brother looked down at me and said, "Bob...you're face." I said "what about my face?" He said, "you need to wipe that look off your face."

Evidently, I had a really disgusted look on my face that must have made it appear like I was sticking my hand in a dirty toilet. Hopefully, my Gpa didn't see my expression or perhaps it didn't register with him. I hope not.

So, commitment got me through the distaste. And I was doing my duty so that was a good start, but I was lacking a spirit of empathy and compassion. Those things can take you the rest of the way to cheerful service.

Let's all look at how we provide service to those around us and do our best to provide it in a positive, empathetic and uplifting way...even when it's not pretty.