Execute Big-Bet Strategies Through Intentional, Incremental Decisions

If you are like most of my clients, being a leader in such challenging times can often feel overwhelming, just too much, sometimes bringing you to a halt, questioning what you are doing and why.

And this is not how we want to operate.

As high-achievement-oriented leaders, we want to take significant actions. This could be launching a breakthrough strategy, transforming how our team works, or creating a more collaborative and generative culture. But these “big bets,” together with day-to-day decision-making and execution, can create paralysis or at least make us question where to focus next.

And when we are uncertain what to do, how to get unstuck and move forward, our brains resist, and our tendency is to go to our default autopilot mode – to responses that feel familiar, easy, and reasonable. This may provide some short-term “relief” and a feeling of accomplishment (like, “Well, at least I did something”).

But we are fooling ourselves if we believe that we are really making progress. We are just treading water, if not regressing, out of fear of making decisions.

In my experience, there is no “magic” answer to this dilemma facing most leaders, but I do believe there is one thing you can do to keep moving forward in a meaningful way: intentionally make small, informed decisions…creating what we call “small wins.”

As Charles Duhigg discusses in his book The Power of Habit, “Small wins are exactly what they sound like, and are part of how keystone habits create widespread changes. A huge body of research has shown that small wins have enormous power, an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves. “Small wins are a steady application of a small advantage,” one Cornell professor wrote in 1984. “Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win.” Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.” (Weick, 1984; Duhigg, 2012)

Small wins help build cultures where change becomes contagious. And that’s how you create those transformative, Big Bet moves.

You may not see major change or success overnight, but focusing on small moves and creating small wins can create momentum and forward progress to keep you and your team on track.

References:

Duhigg, C. (2012). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House.

Weick, K. E. (1984). Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems. American Psychologist, 39(1), 40-49.

Discover How to Deliver Results When Your Organization is Stuck in First Gear

Hi, this is Bobbie LaPorte, back with another week of “Calling the Game,” where I share my own experience and insights while giving you valuable tools you can use to call your own game…and plan the best moves for you and your team.

In these times of ongoing change and uncertainty, I often hear from clients that it feels like their companies are moving much more slowly, without the sense of urgency they had in the past.

Why is that? There are lots of factors to consider. It could be a reluctance to commit given uncertain market conditions, fear of making costly mistakes, or, for some leaders, self-interest that keeps them “under the radar,” maintaining the status quo.

Any or all of these could be the reality in your organization. But… at the same time, you are still being held accountable to produce results – no excuses, right?

So, how do you and your team make progress when the larger organization seems to be stuck in first gear?

Here are three things to consider during corporate slowdowns:

• Pick a project or initiative – something concrete that is important to the company but where you have agency to make things happen. It doesn’t have to be major – it just needs to be defined to where you have control over most of the resources to produce results and get a win.
• The problems companies face are too complex for any one person or group to solve, so think about how the talents and skills of your team can serve the emerging needs of the organization. If the project you decide to focus on could also benefit the broader organization, that would be optimal.

• Consider the theory of “small wins.” Research shows that small wins can have enormous power and influence disproportionate to the accomplishments themselves. Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win and convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.

Focus on something you have agency over. Keep your team moving and celebrate the “small wins” along the way. Do that, and you will make progress and create success for you and your team – despite the sometimes glacial pace of the broader organization.

OK, that’s it for this week’s “Calling the Game.” Hope this helps you gear up for a great week and navigate any curveballs that may come your way!

Your Best Next Move: How Leaders Gain Momentum by Managing Inside the Box

Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly leadership tip for your Best Next Move, where I help you see continuing curveballs as an opportunity. We’re done reacting to them or pausing, waiting for a new kind of certainty to return. This year, I will help you actively use your personal agency to accelerate what you want to accomplish in 2022.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared how I was hearing from many leaders that they were struggling with “getting going” in the new year to gear up for all that’s ahead in 2022.

And now that we’re already heading into February, I am continuing to see this condition:  it feels like it’s a combination of the continuation of Covid (and all the uncertainty that represents) and not feeling like you really got a break over the holidays; and annual planning and looking at all that’s expected of you in 2022. It’s enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed and stuck.

If you look at this in total…it’s hard to see what the first step is AND how you will get to the finish line, right?

Let me share a personal scenario:

When I get to the start line on an Ironman race day, I can’t think about crossing the finish line some 15 hours later – and wondering – what if I get a cramp in the swim? what if I get a flat on the bike or blisters during the run? What if I’m really slow and the aid stations on the run course run out of food (all of which have happened)? If I ruminated on all the possible curveballs that COULD come my way….I’d never put on my wetsuit and get in the water. The whole day and what I am trying to accomplish can seem out of reach.

So, here’s something for you to consider:

In Ironman racing, we have a saying called: “Managing inside the box.” The BOX could be different things to different athletes. For me, “the box” is swimming to the third buoy ahead (about 75 yards); on the bike, it’s riding to the next aid station (about 10 miles); on the run, it’s getting to the next aid station – which thankfully is only a mile ahead.

That is the box for me; that’s how I manage myself through a long day, through any challenges that might arise, and through the possibilities that things will change – and they always do. It’s the time and space that allows me to focus on micro goals and be able to respond to challenges.

For you – “the box” might be one week; or through a series of meetings tied to an important project; or even the end of the day. Whatever time and space give you a sense of control, of being able to respond and regroup, that represents success – an all-important “small wins.”

It sounds simple. It is. And it can be a very effective and powerful approach to regaining confidence and getting your mojo back.

So, that’s my tip. I’ll see you next week. In the meantime, use your personal agency to make uncertainty a part of your success strategy for 2022.

“YOUR BEST NEXT MOVE: START SMALL…BUT SMART, WITH SMALL WINS”

Hi, everyone. Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly tips for “Your Best Next Move,” where I help you have more agency in your work, acknowledge your capacity to act, and see what you can do right now.

[I know it’s July fourth and it’s summertime, but if you live in San Francisco, you know that this is one of the coldest times of the year. So I’m sitting here with the heater on and a fleece top, and it’s drizzling outside. And I would love to be back in Lake Tahoe, where it’s sunny and warm. All right, forgive me for that little side conversation.]

So I’ve been talking recently in these tips about how, while we’re all coming out of the pandemic in some way, many of us are in different places, transitioning from one phase to the next. But there is one thing I do see in common. We are all change-weary, feeling depleted, with nothing more to give. We desperately want to return to a normal routine…minus all the uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and instability we’ve all felt for the last 15 months.

I get it. Really, I do get it. We all want to feel like we’re back in the game. We all want to feel excited to work again on special initiatives, to feel fully engaged with our teams, to see our businesses moving forward and thriving, as all successful and ambitious leaders do. Of course, we all want this.

But the magnitude of it all just seems like too much for most of us right now. So we wait. We stall taking action. We observe others to see if they make the first move. We’re afraid we will be seen as unfeeling, unempathetic towards others. If we try to move too quickly or too decisively, or take aggressive action, we’ll launch some bold new initiative and then not have enough energy or resources to follow through.

But if we’ve learned anything during the pandemic, it’s that the cost of delay can be significant, given the pace of change we’re continuing to see.

So what do you do?

Well, here’s my tip:

Start in your own corner of the world with what you can control and influence. It may be taking the first step to repairing a relationship with a colleague or testing the idea of a new program with your team. Or soliciting some outside help with an idea you have to address an issue in your organization.

You don’t need to take on the world…just what’s right in your own backyard, so to speak.

You may have also heard me talk before about the power of small steps which lead to small wins. There’s a huge body of research that shows that small wins have enormous power. They actually have an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves.

Small wins are a steady application of a small advantage. Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win. Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.

It’s really important, so let me say that again: Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.

So start small…but START.

I want 2021 to be a year momentum for you…one of possibility thinking, where you take advantage of the agency we sometimes forget we have. That’s my tip for this week.

I hope you enjoyed the July fourth holiday weekend. We live in a great country, and we have many things to be thankful for. All right, everyone, take care. Have a great week, and I’ll see you next Monday.