LM Ep 24
===
[00:00:00] Welcome back to talent management truths. In today's solo episode, I'm digging into the number one challenge I see for talent leaders that I have the honor to work and speak with. So what is this challenge you ask? Well, the challenge is around getting stuck in what I call the reaction bandaid for tax either temporarily or permanent.
[00:02:00] The vortex is a windy place where it's hard to see above the waving weeds and the swirling sand that that's blowing in from different directions. It's where it feels incredibly difficult to spend enough time in a proactive, strategic, innovative, and creative way. You're flailing about slapping bandaid solutions on problems until you can come back to them, which you really do because you are onto the next deliverable.
[00:02:26] And the next one. There is a corner in the vortex that is particularly uncomfortable. It's called the sheds woods in Lisa's world. Anyways, this is sheds woods is a place where leaders feel like they should be able to do so much more or do so much better. For example, they feel they should be able to convince stakeholders of the benefits of implementing a particular game changing program or.
[00:02:50] They get frustrated because their clients should value their expertise more and pony up the dollars and resources to enable a meaningful initiative that goes beyond a two hour workshop bandaid or a slide deck loaded to SharePoint. These leaders feel they should be able to book strategy and thinking time and stick to it.
[00:03:10] But they don't, or at least not regularly. They should implement boundaries and protect them, but they let other people knock down any attempt that they make. They often feel like they should just be able to figure it out on their own after all they're supposed to be the resident talent. Well, the vortex and its dark shades woods are a metaphorical place on my talent leaders, growth continuum.
[00:03:35] So this continuum is a simple diagnostic tool that I use with talent leaders to help them figure out where they are, where they would rather be, and then figure out how they can start moving towards that. Let me walk you through this continuum. You may be familiar with HR or talent management or organizational maturity continuums.
[00:03:56] This is a similar visual, so you can always request this from me. And I'll I'll, I'll tell you how to do that at the end, but imagine a graph with two axes on a paper in front of you. So the vertical axis over on the left side of your paper is a measure of. Your intentionality, which is really your commitment to being intentional about how you spend and prioritize your time, and the habits you cultivate.
[00:04:21] The horizontal axis that runs along the bottom of the paper is the measure of your potential. So to what degree, you're stepping into that potential or living into it. Now you've got your two axes in place. Now draw an imaginary line leading from the bottom left, where the two axes meet, moving up towards the upper right corner.
[00:04:42] Next draw five imaginary stations along this continuum. The lowest bottom left station is that vortex I was talking about. This is where you're mostly in reaction mode, transactional mode. You're barely keeping up. You might feel stuck tired, and your confidence might have taken a hit at this point at this station.
[00:05:05] You're only being intentional 20% or less of the time. And you're certainly not able to even think about maximizing your. Moving up a station, you arrive at mostly cloudy, which is where you're about 35% intentional in the middle. You find yourself at the mixed weather city. Where you are fairly balanced between being transactional and being transformational.
[00:05:32] You have good awareness of what is possible and where you want to go. And you are making intentional strides to get there. Go up one more station. You arrive at mostly sunny. This station is quite lovely. As you can picture, you've succeeded in spending around 65% of your time on average, in an intentional way.
[00:05:50] And it's showing up in your results and impact. The top station. That's the Oasis, no swirling winds or sands. No waving weeds, just calm and cool, clear water. Also healthy shade. 80% of the time. Now living in the Oasis does not mean that you're a hundred percent intentional. That's impacted. But it does mean that you have space to breathe.
[00:06:17] It means you have boundaries in place, clearly communicated and protected. You're focused on what you can control in the Oasis. It's a place of energy and inspiration and high impact. It's a place of agency, a place of feeling supported, purposeful, and valued the should woods, and the vortex are difficult environments.
[00:06:38] You know, it's hard to really see anything down there. It's so murky and weedy and they don't feel good when you're there. You know, when you should on yourself, you're, you're, you're convincing yourself that you have no choice, no control, and that's not a good state to be for any human we crave agency and choice.
[00:06:57] And yet. Organizations move fast. That's the reality. I know. That's what you're thinking. It can be so easy just to get swept up in the vortex that plays where less than 20% of your time is spent in intentional way. The vortex is the place where you have no time to maximize your own potential or your organizations.
[00:07:17] You're too. You're too busy. Just keeping up with that swirl. And that's exactly why it's up to you to change stations. When you want to make transformation happen your own or your organizational cultures, you can't simply wing. To be able to spend time in the Oasis where 80% of your time is spent with high intentionality.
[00:07:39] So think planning, strategy, creativity, innovation, and where you are truly maximizing your potential. You must become intentional about actually making and keeping the time to be intense. So, let me tell you about one of my clients just to illustrate the concept. We'll call her Candice. Okay. So Candace is a seasoned talent leader with over 15 years experience.
[00:08:04] She's led, talent acquisition, organizational effectiveness. She's done a stint in operations, and a little bit of time in HR actually. So when I first started working with Candice, it was because her boss had sent her off to get coached. Okay. So, you know, Candace had previously been the person to organize coaching for other leaders in here.
[00:08:22] You know, I think it's time you get coached was the, was the message. So I was. Not just as her executive coach, but really as her talent management thought partner, which is a blend of mentoring, coaching, and advising that I do, Candice was absolutely fluoride. And it was showing up in her work.
[00:08:40] She wasn't operating at her best and not only did she feel incapable of getting results, but her boss felt that she wasn't where she and her team should be. The results were not, we're not. Of course, it was more complicated than that. It wasn't all on Candice. Her boss actually had a lot to do with it.
[00:08:57] And the company culture, you know, it was simply breathless meeting, heavy subject to the whims of a senior leadership team that were rarely aligned on what they wanted, you know, and Canada's caught in the organizational middle was constantly trying to make sense of all that. She was exhausted all the time, physically exhausted.
[00:09:14] And, she had Exuma on her hands. I remember her showing me her hands, just like peeling on the poems. Now on the talent leaders, growth continuum, she would have shown up in the mostly cloudy stage. Surprisingly, she wasn't always in the vortex. She was going there fairly frequently. However, early on in the role, when sh when she had first come in about three years earlier, she'd had the space and the grace to do some key strategy work and to hire some great, talented people for her team and to build some key stakeholder relations.
[00:09:44] She was while she was here in the mostly cloudy stage sometimes, you know, going across the border and visiting the dark sheds was quite frequently. The issue was that that early foundation she had belt was slipping away. Gradually things change, right? We're never in a static environment. There'd been turnover on her team.
[00:10:03] She lost a couple of great people, just they, they found other opportunities. there were new mandates from the C-suite due to some. Big merger activity and a couple of new and slightly intimidating senior stakeholders. So she wasn't in a good place, being so busy, so reactive to be able to creatively and strategically navigate all the changes and develop new relationships, nurture them.
[00:10:26] Which is key for influence. As we know, she was operating most of the time in reaction mode and she and her team had become stuck supporting programs that were past their shelf life. They weren't working with where the organization had evolved to. The good news is that she was clear that she knew things could be better.
[00:10:45] And she knew the Oasis that transformational high impact place. She knew that it existed and she wanted to go. She was also finally ready to commit and guard the time to move into that place of high intentionality and high potential. We started small. We worked first. Clarity. So really, really digging into what wasn't working, what was working and what were some assumptions she'd been making.
[00:11:13] And finally, she got clear on what she wanted to say yes to and what she was no longer willing to tolerate. Now I know all change starts with clarity. And once Candace had this, she felt and supported and not so alone, that goes a long way. She had moved along the continuum. So she was now in the, mixed.
[00:11:33] From there. I helped her dream a little about possibility. And then to reality, test those dreams. Then the longer longer-term strategy came together, which we broke down into realistic, manageable chunks. From there, we moved on to capability, which is where the practicing experimenting and piloting began with loads of reflection and learning that Candice then.
[00:11:54] Over the six months we worked together. She moved into mostly sunny into that particular station and sometimes visited the Oasis. So in mostly sunny, that's where 65% or more of her time was spent in an intentional way where she was truly stepping into her potential and where she felt way more balanced, proactive, and strategic.
[00:12:15] Did she ever make it to the. Yes some days, but not everyone. Cause it's, it's a tall order to maintain given organizational culture today. But you know, you'll never catch a glimpse. Nevermind drink from that cool, clear pool, unless you try, unless you choose to be intentional about becoming effective. And that's why I developed the talent trust.
[00:12:38] So indulge me for a moment. I'm going to speak high level about it. That the talent trust is my new premier program for talent leaders who are feeling a bit stuck or alone in their organization and who are finding it tough to be innovative, strategic, and proactive enough. They wish they could implement important transformational programs and systems with greater ease and at an accelerated pace.
[00:13:01] The role of talent leader. I talk about this a lot. It's a complex one with enormous reach and the potential for lasting positive impact. That's why I'm on a mission in my business to transform the working lives of 10 million north American professionals by unlocking the potential of talent management.
[00:13:20] So in the talent trust, I guide you through the talent leaders growth continuum in a very structured and community-based way so that you can tap into my guidance and coaching while also leveraging the power of the community and belonging within the group. the talent trust it's, it's scratching your own itch a little bit.
[00:13:39] It's something that I wish I had had on my journey 25 years in corporate. You know, when I had had these, these times, when I was feeling like I never had time to breathe and to do the truly excellent work, you know, versus barely just good enough. I know it would have helped me enjoy a sense of purpose and achievement and meaning at work on a more consistent basis.
[00:14:00] It certainly would have. Helped me manage my health better. and my sense of balance related to, to home life. This is a six month program. It's similar to a typical coaching engagement and it's at a similar investment point as well. So we meet two times a month as a group early Thursday morning.
[00:14:18] So not too early, but at eight 30, Our first call each month is a 60 minute ideation call. It's set up to move you along the continuum from wherever you are closer to that Oasis on a more consistent basis. We'll cover critical topics and themes, some more skills base, some more around mindset. And what I know for sure is that the people who want and need the talent trust don't want heavy curriculum.
[00:14:45] They want flexible frameworks to spark ideas and tools that help them execute. That's why you won't find massive slide, decks and workbooks to Wade through you don't want more on top of your to-do list. You want something that's going to help you with it. You'll find guest speakers, helpful models and time tested tools and templates.
[00:15:05] Next we have our second call, which is a 90 minute intentionality call. So this is where you get to connect further and collaborate with other individuals dealing with the same challenges as you and who are wanting to set clear intentions and create a realistic plan and commitment to. You also get private coaching with me because I know that no matter how much information you get, we're always going to come up against certain personal barriers.
[00:15:31] So I've worked with many, many talent leaders to help them overcome their perceived barriers to success. Plus you get access to our WhatsApp community group, which is where you can connect any time. And someone will be there to offer, encouragement, kudos, or ID. Now, if this sounds like something you want to learn more about, then talk to me.
[00:15:51] The link to book a call is in the shoot show notes, or you can simply go to the program website, the talent trust.ca. This is a no obligation call. If on the call, you decide the talent trust is not for you. That's not a problem. I'd love to connect with you and learn more about you and where you're going, and maybe give you something to help you on that. If you do think it's right for you, and I think you're a fit for the program, then I'll make you an offer to join us.
[00:16:16] It's your turn to get support. It's it's time to tap into your community in a way that goes beyond the one-off association chapter meeting, you'll develop new friendships in a safe space where you have the time where you've made the time and you've protected the time to think strategize, innovate, and play.
[00:16:37] So remember what I said earlier, to be able to spend time in the Oasis where 80% of your time is spent with high intentionality and where you're truly maximizing your potential, you must become intentional about actually making and keeping the time to be intact. For that reason, this program is not for everyone, not everyone's ready to stand, stand strong in their commitment, you know, to make a big change and lay claim to that thinking and planning time.
[00:17:03] It's, it's just so easy to book time with yourself or in a program and then not honor your intention. And instead let other tasks where people erode that time. However, if you're ready for a new level of inspiration impact and influence so that you can elevate your results and feel more satisfied and fulfilled at work and home, then I'd love to talk with you. It's time to exit the shed woods and stay out of that 14. Likewise. If you're simply intrigued by the talent leaders growth continuum concept, please feel free to email [email protected] to request a copy.
[00:17:40] I'd be pleased to share it with you. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
