When Am I Going To Use This?

When am I going to use this?It's the number one question I heard as a student, as a speaker, and as a teacher.School doesn't teach the skills you need to be successful, it teaches the skills needed to a compliant worker.Sit for 8 hours, follow the formula, fill in the bubble, submit your application, wait for someone to pick you.School was built on the industrial model, a powerfully effective engine that pumps out workers. It works incredibly well.Until we change this, you are responsible for your education.

"I've never let my schooling interfere with my education" — Grant Allen

You're responsible for figuring out what skills are valuable in the context of what you do for a living (or what you wish you were doing for a living).It's up to you to answer the question: When am I going to use this?

2 Minute Action:

What's a skill you need to learn but didn't in school?What's a skill you learned in school and need to unlearn?Can you sign up for a course? Join a facebook group to ask questions? Go to a local meetup of like-minded people?These actions can take 2 minutes to execute, but can massively alter your trajectory.

“The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — Alvin Toffler

This Is How Good Your Project Needs To Be

It needs to be as good as it needs to be, and no better.It needs to be as in-depth as it needs to be, and no deeper.It needs to be as long as it needs to be, and no longer.

2 Minute Action:

What’s something you haven’t started because it needs to be just so?What’s something you’ve been working on for a while that’s still not ready?Whats the worst thing that could happen if you made it smaller, or less complicated?Almost always, whatever makes it to market faster wins.

Are You As Ready As You Think

Here's a leadership trick I pulled from Agile.When you're looking at yourself, your team, or a co-worker, you can use this tool to quickly assess readiness.In the "Situational Leadership Model," there are 4 levels of "readiness." Readiness is how motivated and capable someone is.It's a predictor of future output. 

Here are the readiness levels:

Here is the type of leadership that is most effective with each of these levels:

R1

If you're an R1, you don't have the skills or the confidence to face challenges. This person needs a little micro-management and very clear task instructions. The goal is not to continue on like this, but to get enough small wins that they develop the confidence to move on to R2. You're telling them what to do. Hence the name "Telling" style.

R2

If you're an R2, you still don't have the skillset, but you're up for learning. This is a great place for new hires to be if you've got the bandwidth for some training. Quick ways to get your team up to speed would be involving them in decisions and have them pair up on tasks where knowledge could be transferred. The focus here is on quality, not quantity. It's like lifting weights. You need to get your form right before you can start doing the heavy stuff, else you risk injury. This is called the "Selling" style of leadership in this model.

R3

R3s are interesting because they have the skills and tools they need, but lack the confidence to complete tasks at high capacity. It's actually a great place to be. One of the most critical things you can do here is build trust by creating an environment where they don't feel like they'll get the axe if they fail. This might mean that instead of making decisions for the team, you're letting them make their own decisions while you facilitate learning. This is called "Participating" style because you're reducing task direction and increasing relationship-building behavior.

R4

R4s are the final stage. This is where you can shift from participating in the process to delegating the task of deciding how the work should be done. This means you're now only thinking of maximizing throughput, and blocking/tackling for the team. You're making sure everyone is aligned with the most important priorities and pushing hard. Sustainability is key. This is called the "Delegating" style.

2 Minute Action:

Where are you on this map?What kind of coaching do you need to give yourself?What are the things you'll need to level up?Take 2 minutes to decide one way you might start leveling up, today.