“M” for leaders – Momentum
Organizations and individuals either have negative or positive momentum. In other words, they always have trajectory. You may feel you’re holding steady but you aren’t. It may seem you organization is flat but it isn’t. If you are flat or holding steady, you may be in the first stages of negative momentum. Chances are you are picking up speed and heading where you don’t want to go.
Momentum indicates you will continue in the same direction unless acted upon. Negative momentum, heading in a downward, unprofitable, counter-productive direction, is deadly because its hard to overcome. In order to reverse negative momentum you must first stop your negative trajectory and then start moving in a positive direction. Negative momentum is one reason you may feel trapped.
Creating and sustaining positive momentum
#1. Talk and think about the good stuff. Spiraling downward is dark. It’s easy to complain, feel defeated and give up. Don’t think and speak in negative or neutral terms. Remember, organizations and individuals always have trajectory. Your words and thoughts take you somewhere. Why not fight negative momentum with positive speech and thought?
#2. Celebrate small wins. One factor in organizational self-image is perceived trajectory. The answer to, are we winners, is nurtured by focusing on small wins. Don’t bury your head in the sand and pretend everything is rosy. Face hard truths. However, the encouragement found in celebrating small wins energizes organizations to aggressively fight negative trajectory and fuel positive momentum.
#3. Craft, embrace, and live by compelling vision. Nothing is more powerful than a forward looking, future facing target. Mission is never enough to create and sustain positive momentum. It only tells you why you exist. Vision tells you where you are going. An organization without vision is like a car without gas.
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How can individuals or organizations create and sustain positive momentum?
What other “M’s” for leaders can you add?
Dan – may can build Momentum towards achieving our Mission by crafting the right Message for the right Media, then track with Metrics and Milestones. Mmmm, that’s marvelous!
M A G N I F I C E N T!
marvelous!
Mmm, what is the leadership melodious muse of management? What are our maps (and mistakes) that chart our leadership course? Motivation?
Dan, your comments today about negative momentum reminded me of one for yesterday.
I forgot one for “L”…leaning.
And not the current focus of ‘Lean Management’ and Six Sigma, but leaning into situations, positive or negative.
Lean into them when you believe you want to distance yourself or your heart says you want to run away. We learn more by leaning into issues. We can stop a negative trajectory by leaning into it. It is not easy, sometimes is painful, but it is the mark of a true leader.
And your #2 is so true… a nugget of wisdom from “What About Bob?” Baby steps make momentum and move mountains.
Hi Doc,
Leave it to you to break the rules and bring up an “L” on “M” day. I have to admit its a good one! If find suspending judgement about the issue, possible results, and/or difficulties helps me lean into situations, especially the negative ones.
Thanks for the reminder of “What about Bob” its one of Bill Murray’s best. IMHO
Thanks for adding value to the conversation. And thanks for “melodious muse” nice use of “M”
Best to you,
Dan
Doc is a featured Leadership Freak contributor. Read his bio at:
http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/featured-contributors/
Leaning, as you describe it, Doc, is a vital skill of leadership. Thanks for adding it.
Dear Dan,
I completely agree that leaders should face hard truth and counter negative environment with positive feeback. I have learned one good thing about neutralising or isolating negative feedback or environment. You should appreciate the person giving negative feedback with some positive response about him. Don’t criticise him or let him or her know that he or she is doing something wrong, Instead, inform the person complaining that someone was appreciating his effort and helping attitude. I have tried this and it works.
The M of leadership are morale, motivation, mind, memory, must know, make up, mix up. I firmly believe in morale. Leaders should have good morale so that they can motivate people. They must have good memory to remember names of people and should not believe in make up or putting cosmetic in their personality. They should easily mix up with people. Among all the M, morale is root of all leadership quality. Without it nothing works nor sustains.
Ajay,
You always bring great ideas to the discussion and thanks for the real life component of your comment.
I find it difficult to thank critics and complainers who seem to MOAN. You encourage me to drain my emotion and reach higher.
Thanks for the other “M’s” for leaders.
Cheers,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Once again, you’ve written a post about organizations and leadership that can also apply to daily living…that’s a gift. Your post is quite timely for me. I just decided to “get back in shape”. Not the best week for it since temperatures have been soaring. However, I’ve applied your thought process and wasn’t even aware of it! I’ve focused on the positive, and set myself up for success. I walk later at night, when it’s a bit cooler. Because I’m more of a jogger, my first inclination is to belittle my efforts, as I’m “only walking”. However, I’ve focused on the positive while celebrating the small win of doing something, of getting started. And I’ve given myself a realistic target. This keeps me motivated and driven to succeed.
When leaders understand that the same winning strategies they apply in their personal life will work in the organizational environment, they’ll be 10 steps ahead in the game!
Cheers,
Jen
Jen,
Thanks for an encouraging personal illustration of one of the most important and powerful things we can do… celebrate small wins.
Best to you on your path to getting “back in shape.”
Dan
Momentum is without a doubt one of my favorite words in the dictionary Dan.
As for how to keep it going especially in organizations, your point #1 is the key. Speaking positively, even about mistakes, keeps everyone hungering and willing to try again. Mistakes bring learning and learning keeps momentum going.
To do this, ALL leaders, managers, team leaders, and supervisors must embrace the “lessons learned” philosophy in their daily conversation and interaction. If even one falls into the trap of negativity, it will spread like a virus throughout the org. and take the life out of momentum.
As for personal momentum, when I start to lose steam — I change things up a bit and that re-energizes my momentum!
Best,
Kate
Kate,
Thanks for hitting on lessons learned. Just think how great it would be if meetings went beyond problem solving and decision making to lessons learned. Perhaps every meeting should have a standing point… “What are we learning?”
Other useful “learning questions” might be: What don’t we know? or What do we need to know? or What great mistakes have we made?
Cheers,
Dan
Being best MESSENGER for delivering the correct MESSAGE is highly important.
Some may not like this but being a good MANAGER is also important. Now I realise there’s a MILLION different books on the difference between managers & leaders. But I believe that a leader must be a good manager. Rarely does it go the other way, but a MASTERY of MANAGEMENT is important for leadership.
Mark,
Right on… today the terms manager and leader frequently merge. In many circumstances they should.
Companies expect their managers to lead and their leaders to manage. The challenging truth is it takes contrasting skills to both manage and lead.
I’m delighted to see you again!
Dan
You have a great list of M’s here Dan. For me a key one is Mentor. As leaders we cannot be everywhere at once. We are Multitaskers. That means that we need Multiple leaders in our organizations that can carry the Message forward and Make sure it has Meaning for all of our team members. Mentoring leaders beget More leaders and More is always better.
Hi Joan,
You’ve left a splash with your effective use of M’s. Thanks!
Mentor… love it.
I’m looking forward to future comments.
Dan
I jump back in here and say YES to both “Messenger” and “Mentor”.
Also, leaders must always be MINDFUL of the balance between individual needs and the ultimate goals of the organization. Some leaders lean to far one way or the other.
Kate
Hi Kate,
YUP
Too far one way and the needs of the individual obscure organizational mission and vision.
Managers/leaders who are too friendly with staff fall into this category.
Great observation,
Dan
Leaders bring something special.
Leaders are not a titled class, but are an action. Leaders are at every level of the organization: looking up, looking down, looking left, and looking right.
My “M” word: magic.
Leaders bring something that others can’t always bottle, prescribe, audit, or dissect. And some of it comes down to a special sense that everyone who works with a leader feels magically transformed; magically validated; and magically empowered.
Others look at it as charisma or luck or even a waste of time. It is tough to bring magic into the conversation, but perhaps some more of our interactions could benefit from a bit of magic.
But leadership is neither magic nor Machiavellian, but relies simply on: maturity.
Toby,
Very cool! Thanks for a great comment.
I think the magic is making others feel special, enabled, respected, challenged, accountable…
Cheers!
Dan