Flourish or Stink – Skunks or Bees
There are two categories of people, those who separate people into two categories and those who don’t.
There are two types of leaders, skunks and bees.
Skunks:
Work stinks when skunks show up. They complain, focus on problems, and push people down.
Everyone cheers when skunks leave the room.
Bees:
People bear fruit when bees show up. Bees seek opportunities, build connections, and fuel growth.
Everyone flourishes when bees do their job.
7 ways to help people flourish:
- Let others shine. A person who never shines is underutilized. When someone can’t shine, they’re on the wrong team.
- Focus on analyzing success more than digging into problems. Ask, “What’s working?” Search for high energy spots in your organization. What’s happening there?
- Serve others so they can serve others. Exponential success goes beyond you.
- Figure out what people love doing and enable them to do more of that. Ask, “What would you love to do more of?”
- Talk more about where you’re going than where you’ve been.
- Be a learner, not a knower. Learning makes you beautiful when it’s put into practice.
- Ask “dumb” questions. Reject the need to know more than others. Say, “I don’t know,” when you don’t.
Challenge: You’re probably a skunk when you wonder if the room stinks when you leave. It’s time to up your game.
Project: Make a list of 3 things you could do today to help people flourish.
What’s on your list?
Still curious:
15 Attributes of Positively Energizing Leaders
To improve team dynamics, skunks (difficult team members) need to understand how their behavior affects the group negatively. Help them become more effective and productive by taking these targeted actions:
• Add—help the person add a new attitude or behavior that is more positive and productive. (Asking more questions, better listening, and being more open-minded.)
• Subtract—help the person eliminate attitudes and behaviors that do not add value. (Complaining, interrupting, acting like a know-it-all.)
• Multiply—help the person use their strengths in new ways. (Yes, skunks have strengths!)
• Divide—help the person divide up their task and clarify their highest priorities. (Skunks are often focused on their own needs and not the team needs.)
Brilliant, Paul. I especially love the add and subtract approach. Add one new behavior. Subtract one behavior/attitude that doesn’t add value. Cheers
Good morning Paul,
Thanks for your insightfulness. I agree with what you say about skunks needing to understand how their behavior affects the group. The challenge I have with it though is first they (the skunks), must understand they have a need to understand!
A skunk doesn’t smell their own stink.
Love your “7 Ways” right on target… In leadership roles it is so tempting to feel its us, our smarts, our talents, our oratory skills, on and on. Seeing leadership as a stewardship of discovering/developing/encouraging/amplifying other’s talents and gifts is far more rewarding, and helpful. Sadly, my ego still waits at the door… resisting “what’s in it for me” can be a daily tension.
Thanks for your transparency, Ken. Acknowledging the pull of ego is necessary to act humbly. Leadership as stewardship is too often neglected. We seem to default to top/down approaches. Part of the problem the subtle deceptions of ego.
There are some folks who are deficit employees: we’re better off with the position empty than with them there. Even more damaging are deficit supervisors: their presence makes the work take longer and the work product worse. A good leader ends up spending a lot of time helping the team recover from deficit employees and deficit supervisors
So true, Jennifer. Sometimes a leaders hope contributes to the negative impact of deficit employees. We hope they will improve. Sometimes hopes makes us wait too long.
What an AMAZING read today! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Rosanne. My pleasure.
Although I love a fun and different title, I just have to speak up for the skunks of this world. The skunk is my ‘spirit animal’ and I want to share the positive side of skunks. They are dedicated to their family, protective of all they care for, and yes when someone crosses them they will let you know where they stand. They are both soft and prickly and fearful people get out of their way. There is room for all of us!
Bonnie
Thanks Bonnie. Point taken. I love that you chimed in today.
“Talk more about where you’re going than where you’ve been.”
I’m posting that up on my desk as a reminder.
Reminders are awesome. It’s easy to plan. It takes reminders to get it done. Thanks, Barbara.