QBQ Book Study - Chapters 16 - 23

Continuing the study of QBQ by John Miller, looking at chapters 16-23.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the actual discussion over this section so this is a summary of the information from these chapters which stood out to me.

Culture is one of those nebulous terms which everyone uses but when push comes to shove is difficult to pin down with an exact definition.  We say things like "that's part of our culture," or "we need to change our culture," often with specific attitudes or actions in mind which conform to our impression of who "we" are.  This is my metaphor for culture: My perception of myself and my likely response/attitude is my "culture."  For my family, culture means, to me, the things that we as a family are likely to do/say or the attitudes which we are most likely to display.  When our children act outside this "culture" we say to them, "that may be how others behave, but that is not who WE are," and so we mold and reinforce our family's culture.  For an organization the establishment and reinforcement of culture follows this same model, usually built of the shared personal "cultures" of the individuals who compose the organization. 

When I read this quote at the end of chapter 18, "Ownership: 'A commitment of the head, heart, and hands to fix the problem and never affix the blame'" I hear "this is our culture," (or at least what I want to reinforce to become our culture).  

 

This whole section resonates with "culture" both for who I want to be as an individual and what I want for my organization; and it starts with me.  That is why I believe that our corporate culture is an amalgamation of our individual "cultures."  In becoming a better, more responsible ME, I contribute to a better more responsible company.  I'm part of the solution . . . or part of the problem.  Miller says: "Change only comes from the inside, as a result of decisions made by the individual."

Chapter 23 focuses on integrity and I will contribute more on that topic with the next post on this study.

QBQ – book study – chapters 8-15

Continuing the study of QBQ by John Miller, looking at chapters 8-23.

Again the study facilitator did an excellent job in opening up the topics of these chapters and including everyone in the conversation.

Some of the things which stood out to me from the discussion and reading these chapters:

• That there is often a sense of powerlessness by many employees who focus on “why” the leadership isn’t doing something different, e.g. communicating better, or “when” the leadership will take action.  According to Miller, “Questions that begin with ‘When’ lead to procrastination.”   Procrastination leads to stress and frustration which definitely leads to poor engagement and production.   However, the procrastination under question is not that of leadership, but of ourselves in asking “when” someone else will act and not engaging ourselves in finding the solution.

• In my office on the wall I have a sign given to me by a friend which states “THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.”  I like this and ponder it often throughout my day.  Miller adds a thought which I think is a corollary:  SUCCEED WITHIN THE BOX.   This thought forces me to quit wishing for resources I may not have and instead examine other ways to use the resources I do have to get the job done.  It empowers me.

• Another quote:  “We don’t need the ‘new’ thing or the ‘hot’ topic.  What we need to do is to practice the fundamentals – like personal accountability – day in and day out.”  This strikes me because I am often captured by the ‘new’ and know how easy it is to be distracted from the fundamentals.  Anything we can do to remind ourselves of getting back to the basics is welcome.

• This study concludes with the emphasis of “who” questions focusing on blame . . . instead of on solutions.  “There’s not a chance we’ll reach our full potential until we stop blaming each other and start practicing personal accountability.”  I couldn’t agree more, but it is easier, and too often we chose easier instead of anything which might cause us to admit it our own actions which need addressing.

This continues to be a study which challenges me to be a better me.

Looking forward to the next section.

QBQ - book study - Introduction - ch. 7

I have posted earlier about the book QBQ by John Miller and will try not to duplicate that information in this and subsequent posts.  This post is related to a book study of QBQ in which I am participating.  So far I have attended the first session and we have read up through chapter 7.  This is not as much reading as you might think since many of the chapters are only a page or two in length.   So far the study has gone well and the facilitator of the first session did an exceptional job, especially since it is a large group, most of whom are participating virtually through web/phone conferencing.

The first part of the book explains that the IQ (Incorrect Questions) which most often come to mind when we are faced with challenges are usually the wrong ones for achieving the outcomes we truly desire, and ultimately our success and happiness.  These questions usually begin with "Who," "Why," or "When."  Examples of these kind of questions are:

• "When is that department going to do its job?"
• Why don't they communicate better?"
• "Who dropped the ball?"
• "Why do we have to go through all this change?"
• "When is someone going to train me?"

As you can see, all of these questions, and indeed, most of our questions are designed to deflect responsibility anywhere except back to us.  In QBQ Mr. Miller tells us that the beginning of effectiveness lies in our choice; and that we always have a choice!  The beginning of choice is to determine to ask the Question BEHIND the Question.  He provides three guidelines for creating a QBQ: (p.18)

1. Begin with "What" or "How" (not "Why," "When," or "Who")
2. Contain an "I" (not "they," "them," "we," or "you")
3. Focus on action

I think the challenge will be to consciously pay attention to my speech patterns and then practice re-framing  my questions to fit the model outlined above.

One of the quotes which jumped out at me was: "The best thing we can do to get rid of victim thinking in our world is to get rid of it in ourselves." p. 23

This really resonates with me because I see so much victim thinking every day.  When we believe we can't, we are already defeated.  I choose to believe that there is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak.

This is a great reminder about personal accountability and I'm looking forward to these studies to reinforce the necessity to make the right choices.

4 Types of Leaders

·         Strategic Leaders  are those who “see the big picture and envision outcomes. . . .  They intuitively know what the results should be, even though they are not experts in getting there. ” (Whitesel, p. 32)  These leaders are usually the first to know when change is needed.  Dr. John Conley, a mentor of mine, repeatedly told me that leaders see steps 1 and 5 but usually don’t have the ability to see steps two three and four, or at least not very well.  In other words, they know how to rally support and resources, how to cast the vision and steer the ship, but don’t really know how to set the sails or provision the ship.  The strategic leader knows that change is inevitable and seeks to guide the process in an optimum direction.

·         Tactical Leaders are those who “can organize, plan, budget, recruit volunteers, and evaluate progress of change.” They can take the strategic vision and pull together the pieces to make it happen.  (Whitesel, p. 20)  “Tactical leaders know how to bring the long term projects down into easy, doable steps. (Whitesel, p. 36).  They are not primarily those who do the task, focusing more on delegation, but can do if necessary.  The tactical leader is the 2, 3 and 4 leader who upon receipt of a vision immediately begins thinking about how to make it happen.  This leader just needs the target and can figure out just what is needed to make it happen.  The tactical leader is comfortable with change and may even crave it.

·         Process Leaders are those who have the ability to refine the processes of an organization, making them more effective.  Their gift is to see the connections between what needs to be done and how it can be done better.  “Better” is their mantra.  Process leaders are most often effective maintenance leaders.  They may understand the necessity of change but prefer small incremental changes.  They work easily within the boundaries of the status quo.  Process leaders resist significant change although they are comfortable with the minor changes necessary to make the status quo "better."  

Note:  Tactical and Process Leaders have nearly the same skill set, except one embraces and even craves change, while the other resists and may even block change.  Both have their place.

·         Operational Leaders are highly relational.  “They foster teamwork, interdependence, improvisation, creativity, and unity toward a goal.” (Whatesel, p. 38)  They work best with the precise planning provided by the Tactical Leader.  “If the Operational Leader does not have the go-between of a tactical leader…the strategic leader’s vision may be too imprecise to motivate the operational leader.” (Whitesel, p. 39).  If an operational leader doesn’t have a plan pretty clearly laid out, they will either stumble forward with limited effectiveness or, more likely, come to a halt.  Without a tactical leader they can become frustrated with the strategic leader and vis-a-versa. As long as the Operational Leader has a competent Tactical Leader to work with, they can function well with change, if not the whole ship can grind to a halt.

It is important to keep in mind that while it is possible to change your leadership style, most people are unable to modify their leadership type.  The key point here is to be aware of who you are and to draw around you the other leadership types so that you can accomplish your goals.  Most leaders think they are Strategic Leaders, when in actuality they aren't.  There are relatively few true Strategic Leaders and even then their gifts go to waste if they don't find and join with a Tactical Leader.

Regardless of the leadership type, strategic planning cannot be the work of the leader alone.  For a strategic plan to have a chance of success, others from the congregation must be involved, and not just anyone, but especially those who are influencers.

Resource:   Change Reaction by Bob Whitesel, with personal additions