​Colleagues,
 
Today I’ll be helping some amazing members of a local non-profit develop curricula for serving the most highly stressed youth in our community. Those of you who are educators are very familiar with what a curriculum is, but those of you outside of education may not have as much clarity.
 
No matter which group you are in, curriculum is something that is critical to leadership. A curriculum is a set of performance standards tied to a desired outcome and includes the knowledge and skills necessary to meet each standard.
 
Want to teach someone something? Of course, there is a curriculum.
 
But what about selling them something, like a product, an idea, or a set of behaviors? Yes, there is a curriculum for each of those too.
 
What does this have to do with leadership?
 
For almost anything you need someone to do, there is a performance standard, knowledge, and skills that need to be mastered in order to complete the task. If the person can’t meet the performance standard, it means there is a gap in knowledge or skills. If you understand the curriculum for the task, you can focus on the area in which they need help.
 
I hope that’s not too heavy for a Friday!
 
Speaking of which, tomorrow is my birthday! The best present you could give me is a brief story about how you have used something from one of my emails to achieve some positive outcome. You may even get a party favor in return.

Do good and be well,
 
Frederick

 Colleagues,
 
Yesterday we looked at three strategies for helping those you serve:

• Be fully present
• Ask reflective questions
• Provide quality feedback

I encouraged you to apply one of those strategies yesterday. Today, ask yourself these three reflective questions:

• What went well?
• What surprised you?
• What would you change?

You can double the value of your reflection by clicking here to open an email to me and type out some bullet points!
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick

​Colleagues,

Have you been fielding any questions from those you serve this week?
 
Maybe a few? (sarcasm intended)
 
I’ve spoken to several leaders who are getting inundated with questions, many of which have no answer, or the answer today will be different than the answer tomorrow.
 
It is natural for people to want answers and to look to their leaders for those answers, but is it healthy? Sure, many of the questions need to come to you. However, when people are unsettled, they often ask questions to which they themselves could figure out a reasonable answer.
 
This past week has anyone asked you a question that they didn’t really need to?
 
As long as you keep answering questions that others can answer, they will keep coming to you.
 
What if you could help people address their own issues? That would help build additional leadership capacity and allow you more time to invest in solving root problems. Here are three ways to respond when someone asks a question that you don’t need to answer:

1. Reflect the question back: “If I wasn’t available, how would you handle it?”
2. Help them assess the risk: “If you think you should do x, what is the worst thing that can happen?”
3. Connect them to someone else: “I know so-and-so was also thinking about this, why don’t you contact them and then let me know what you want to do?”

 
Note that each response:

1. Acknowledges the concern.
2. Allows you to add value by helping them reflect.
3. Encourages them to take initiative.

 
Most people understand that there are presently many unscripted situations for which we are inventing solutions on the fly. Reflecting, assessing, and connecting remind them of that reality in a positive way and may also help them feel a bit more control amidst the turmoil.

Do good and be well,

​Frederick

Colleagues,
 
We are in a unique time that may be testing your current leadership abilities. Chances are that nothing has prepared you for leading in today’s specific context of social distancing and the threat born by a world pandemic. So, what can you do?
 
Just as the situation challenges your leadership, it also challenges those around you. One powerful strategy you can embrace is focusing on the professional and personal well-being of those you serve. Here are three concrete strategies to help you meet others’ needs:

1. Be fully present when you are with someone. Turn off notifications, stop working on other things and give 100% of your focus to the person you are with. Even if you do nothing else, your total attention will have an affirming and uplifting impact.
2. Ask questions that require thoughtful responses. You can go the easy route by using the three questions from 5-minute coaching:
   
   • What’s going well?
   • What has surprised you?
   • What needs to change/what would you do differently?
3. Provide quality feedback. Quality feedback includes these components:
   1. States the explicit action in detail
   2. Describes the outcome of the action
   3. Tells why the action led to that outcome

For example, “When you called the team’s attention to the times on the agenda (action), people realized the discussion was losing focus (why) and they worked on reaching closure (outcome).”
 
Choose one of these strategies and use it in one interaction today. 
Thanks for all you do each day to serve others.
Do good and be well,

Frederick

Colleagues,
 
What is your most pressing issue today? Like many of us, you may have a laundry list of them. Our routines have been disrupted (watch my video on routines here), the nature of our challenges has changed, and our future remains in flux. These things combine to create a huge demand on you to live in the urgent quadrants of the Eisenhower Matrix.
 
However, what about next week, next month, or next year? It seems very difficult to imagine what those may look like, but it is still important to try.
 
Go back to that laundry list of today’s pressing issues. Try answering the following questions about each of them”

1. If things don’t return to normal (for the foreseeable future), how will your actions need to change?
2. If things return to normal, how does that impact this issue?
3. If there is a “new normal,” what could that mean for this issue?

 
This is more than an existential exercise. It helps you pull your head out of the immediacy of the situation in order to begin planning for the future. Also, going through this exercise may yield some insights that are relevant to dealing with the issue today.
 
What’s one issue that you are focused on? Pleas share below.
​Do good and be well,
 
Frederick