The Frustration Factor

In this episode of Audio Tidbits Podcast I return to six leadership styles I shared with you in an earlier podcast. In this episode I discuss the leadership style of President Trump and consider which of the six styles best characterize his leadership style. I also share some thoughts about how well he does as a leader using his preferred style. I conclude that he is a master at the motivational/values leadership approach.

This episode of the Audio Tidbits Podcast is a remix of an earlier episode that suggests an approach to people and situations that reduces any tendency we may have to reflexively react negatively to others and new situations. It helps protect us from us.

I have included four examples of down home country wisdom just for you. Each has a message worth considering without the usual hard to follow part that so often comes with life's little lessons. I suspect at least one of the simple messages will resonate.

Taken from Ecological Human Services Management

Shift focus now to consider human services agency excellence from a Management Perspective. Earlier, we saw the agency is not a static entity with fixed relationships to other entities and elements. It is more like an organism whose survival and success are interdependent with the survival and success of many other organisms and elements in the incorporating environment. As we consider internal agency functioning, the organic analogy applies just as it does within the Helping Triangle.

The people -- agency staff -- associated with the internal operation of the agency are not static entities with fixed relationships to other entities. Rather, they are separate, autonomous organisms dynamically associating to form the internal portion of the agency's eco system. I refer to this as the internal eco system. Taking the analogy a step further, the purpose of agency Management is to establish, support, and sustain the internal eco system.

There is an underlying point here that is somewhat counter-intuitive. The purpose of agency Management is not to manage people. The purpose is to establish, support, and sustain the internal eco system. Agency Managers do not manage people. They manage the internal eco system or aspects of the eco system. Agency staff function as self-managing organisms within the internal eco system. De Pree (2004, page 15-17) When talking about organizational leaders advised us in part that leaders owe the organization's people a clear statement of the values of the organization; a new reference point for what caring, purposeful, committed people can be in the institutional setting; maturity as a sense of self worth, a sense of belonging, a sense of expectancy, a sense of responsibility, a sense of accountability, a sense of equality; rationality valuing trust, human dignity, and self fulfillment; and space to grow and exercise diversity. As managers manage the internal eco system, they must keep this covenant with everyone associated with the agency. …

What principles govern agency Management?

There are five guiding principles agency Managers follow in order to successfully manage the internal eco system. First, agency Managers

understand, accept, and support the mission of the agency, i.e. the purpose for which the agency exists. Only people who can and do strictly adhere to this principle function as agency Managers. No exceptions. No excuses.

Second, the Authorizers and Implementers, with or without the collaborative involvement of agency Management, establish policies, rules, and operating guidelines representing restrictions and expectations with which the agency must conform. It is the responsibility of agency Management to understand and fully implement those policies, assure agency operations are in compliance with the rules, and maintain the functioning of the internal eco system in accord with the guidelines. The policies, rules, and guidelines do not prescribe how agency Management will achieve these outcomes, only that the outcomes will be achieved. No exceptions. No excuses.

The third guiding principle requires agency Management to define and maintain a rational, flexible Organizational Structure and internal environment within which agency staff members function with a minimum of administrative or bureaucratic control or interference. Understanding and accepting this principle is fundamental to successfully managing the internal eco system. Staff members are autonomous organisms dynamically associating to form the internal eco system. Management control of or interference with their functioning are counterproductive with respect to the overall functioning of the internal eco system. Agency Management maintains the internal eco system with a minimum of administrative or bureaucratic control or interference. No exceptions. No excuses.

Are you a Charlie Checker fan? If not, this is your chance to get abord with Charlie and his latest cases. Charlie thinks of himself as a detective but is at least as much into being a teacher and friend. Press play and get the story for yourself. I think you will enjoy it.

Have you ever taken a trip on the success train? If not, you are in for a real treat. If you have made the journey with Tom and his friends before, you will discover that a second trip on the success train is even better than your first. Press play, climb aboard and enjoy the ride.

Jacobsen, Ian. Leadership at Your Fingertips: Proven Ways to Handle Your Challenges. Los Altos: Westchester Publishing Company, 2003.

When you hire, you hire a whole person. It is naive to assume that people leave the rest of their life on the doorstep as they come to work. Organizations need to be prepared to help employees deal with the challenges they face off the job, too, in order for them to be effective on the job.

Whenever two or more people work together, conflict is inevitable. Conflict can be healthy when it is a competition of ideas. It can be destructive when it is a conflict between people. Thus, it is essential for any organization to have an agreed-on way to deal with conflict, and for people to be trained to use the system. Such a process is more easily created and installed before a conflict arises than in the heat of a conflict.

A leader is not a leader without people to lead. Leaders are entrusted to serve the people they lead. Leadership is a privilege earned through being credible to the people one leads and represents, and competent to resolve the issues. For people to commit them self to you is an act of faith. In other words, "followers" need to have faith and trust in you in order to commit themselves fully.

Yet, there is a tendency for people to build organizations piecemeal as an amalgam of available spare parts when what they really need is a unified structure to create a total system. Even copying the best practices of other organizations typically falls flat. …

The role of leaders is to inspire and enable people to achieve common goals while earning their respect, trust and support.

Clarify and confirm roles, responsibilities, quality standards, authority, ground rules and expectations. Make sure that everyone is "singing off of the same song sheet.”

Be authentic Come across as genuine, sincere, open, trusting and trustworthy; self-assured without being conceited.

Passion If you don't have passion for something, how can you foster it in the people you lead? Passion is an intense, compelling emotional drive, "fire in your belly," for something you believe in. It cannot be feigned or bought. It has to be authentic. It is a quality of the heart that emanates from your values and beliefs. It is the application of your purpose in life to a goal with which you identify strongly. With passion, you conquer the obstacles in your path. When you have passion for your pursuit, other people who share your values, beliefs and goals want to join you.

Do you really need passion to be a leader? Yes! Leadership is the art of inspiring and enabling people to perform at their best to achieve a common goal. It is not just a care-taking function. It is getting them to buy in to a vision of a better future and leading them on a journey to the goal. … Passion separates the extraordinary from the ordinary.

Chapter 5 - The Intervention Set

At this point, we have combined an understanding of the crisis state with an insight into people in crisis. We have learned how to assess a crisis, including ideas about its possible causes and effects. We know how to involve the individual in the process of understanding what is happening, what happened, and what is likely to happen. We are now ready to help the individual move toward crisis resolution because we have an idea about the possible causes and consequences of his specific crisis. A superficially simple point is that crisis resolution necessarily involves either changing those factors, situations, or circumstances causing the crisis, or modifying the possible effects or outcomes of the crisis.

CRISIS REDUCTION

Recall our earlier example in which Dick learned of his wife’s marital infidelity. Were we not to intervene, the outcome might be that Dick could pack his bags and leave. As we look at that crisis, we see that the precipitating event (Dick’s learning of his wife’s infidelity) is not amenable to influence or change. There is nothing that can be done to change that situation. However, our intervention can lead to an alternative and less destructive outcome. For example, through discussion and understanding, Dick may realize that “leaving home immediately” may be a less desirable option than staying at home until he and his wife work out other arrangements. This does not mean that he necessarily will or should reconcile with his wife. It only means that he stays at home until a better and less destructive plan can be worked out. This enables Dick to avoid the possible “snowball” effect of leaving now.

As a further example, suppose the crisis involves a teenager who has left home and is “tripped out” on drugs. As we think about his predicament with him, we learn that his leaving home was precipitated by a serious argument with his parents over curfew hours. We became sufficiently involved with the teenager and his crisis so that we both understand that the curfew precipitated the crisis, and we have explored the possible consequences of being away from home and “tripping out” on drugs. Intervention might be directed toward these undesirable consequences or effects of the crisis. We may use the crisis communication skills (discussed in a later section of this text) to “talk him down” from his bad trip. At the same time, we might encourage the teenager to consider the option of returning home and accepting the curfew and at the same time, with his permission, talking with his parents about the possibility of counseling or guidance for the family. In crisis intervention, our goal is to modify or change the effects or outcomes of the crisis, modify or change situations or conditions precipitating the crisis, or achieve some “change mix” in both causes and outcomes.

How much change is required? It is important to remember that our intervention needs to promote only enough change in either causes or consequences to decrease the now potential and/or to increase the self-resolution factor. Generally, our intervention does not resolve or eliminate the conflict between the individual and his total situation. More probably, it will lead only to reducing the crisis state to the conflict state. A crisis is an emergency. Crisis intervention removes the emergency dimension of the situation. In this sense, crisis intervention is a first aid or symptomatic relief procedure.

Understanding that the goal of crisis intervention is the modification of the precipitating event and/or the reduction or elimination of undesirable consequences or outcomes is difficult for most newcomers to crisis intervention to grasp. Our natural tendency is to feel a responsibility to resolve or remove the conflict existing between the individual and his total situation.

You may know about Dr. Pepper but likely do not know about Dr. Pepper's First Principle. If you are open to a tip about life and living in the real world. Dr. Pepper's First Principle is one you will not want to miss. Press play and learn.

I came across an audio essay of sorts focusing on Love and Power. I have included it here but need to let you know that the audio quality is less than optimal. It sounds like I may have been talking in a tube. It’s not terrible but not great either. If you are willing to tolerate the audio, I think you may find the essay interesting. If not, please skip it and check out some of the other episodes of the podcast.