Scarcity Mindset Vs Abundance Mindset

Scarcity Mindset Leaders vs. Abundance Mindset Leaders***

- Scarcity mindset leaders negatively impact their organizational culture. When a leader's perception is a lack of resources, money, or opportunities, the result is dysfunctional work politics, fear, and paranoia.

- Scarcity mindset leaders feel that when others succeed, something is being taken away from them.

- Scarcity mindset leaders suppress and often destroy; creativity, innovation, and teamwork.

- Scarcity mindset leaders create hostile environments where it is unsafe to have vulnerability trust (Lencioni).


Abundance Mindset Leaders will empower those around them to grow, be authentic, and develop their skills further.

- Abundance Mindset Leaders create an environment of openness, opportunity, and recognition.

- A leader with an Abundance Mindset does not feel threatened and is genuinely happy for others to succeed and thrive.

- Abundance Mindset Leaders will also invest in their own self-development to flourish in all areas of life; physical, mental, emotional, financial, career, and spiritual.

- Abundance Mindset Leaders create a plethora of possibilities, creative thinking, innovative opportunities, and strengthens team cohesion.

- An Abundance Mindset Leader is cultivated from a sense of personal self-worth, a genuine self-belief and knowing of one's strengths, and security in one's leadership abilities.

*** Inspired by Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Successful People and the Leadership Freak blog.

The Soaring 20's - Self Leadership Conversations

The Roaring 20's

Last century, The Roaring 20's was a time of change and prosperity.

Entrepreneurialism flourished!

Leadership was evolving.

Now here we are...the 20's of the 21st century.
We had "The Roaring"... it's time for "The Soaring!"

"The Soaring 20's"
Self - Leadership Conversations

1. Start with myself; What is my plan for personal growth?

2. Now that I have a plan; prepare it, practice it, and implement it.

3. Now that I have implemented my plan; measure it.

4. Measurements need to be evaluated; what's working, what's not working, what can I start doing that I have not yet tried?

5. Who's holding me accountable?

6. How is accountability keeping me focused.

7. Once focused, how am I going to keep the momentum?

8. When momentum weakens, what will re-energize me?

9. Accept the fact that I will fail; learn and live forward. What's next?

10. Know that I'm committing to personal growth, and by continuously improving myself, I will be better equipped to help others.

My three daily mantras:

1. "Remarkable success is sustained by persistent personal development." ~ Dane Rockwell.

2. The pursuit of Excellence includes the acceptance that I'm not there yet.

3. When it comes to success, there is no finish line.

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12 Leadership Mea Culpas *

1. Focusing on low performers while neglecting high performers.
     Solution: Spend most of your development resource on "B" performers. Reward "As".
     Develop "Bs".

2. Declaring conclusions.  You've been mulling something over for a few days, and without                     including your team, you tell what you want, your conclusion.
     Solution: Engage people early and often. If you want them to buy in, they need to weigh in.

3. Getting lost in the weeds. In the weeds is good stress, lost in the weeds is bad stress and defeats         us.
     Solution: Reconnect with your "why" and mission. Seek advise from your sounding board.

4. Forgetting you intimidate people because of your position or title.
     Solution: Leaders are on a stage, empathize with those who follow you.

5. Believing all good things people tell you.
     Solution: Seek out  people who tell you the unvarnished truth, value them.
     (avoid the "Emperor New Clothes" stigma.)

6. Giving feedback only when things go wrong.
     Solution: Make it a point to reward what you want repeated.

7. Treating everyone the same. What inspires one, discourages another.
     Solution: Learn the values of your teammates. Utilize the Platinum Rule**.

8. Creating artificial urgency. 
     Solution: Don't pretend there's an emergency in order to fuel energy. Avoid the "crying wolf".             When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.

9. Interrupting
    Solution: Shut-up if you tend to interrupt. Listen, learn, reply...in that order.

10. Relying on email when things get heated.
       Solution: Pick up the phone when things get hot. Better yet, show up in someone's doorway.

11.  Allowing people to talk theory rather than action in meetings.
        Solution: Ask, "Who does what by when", over and over.

12. Spending too much time talking about problems and not enough exploring options.
       Solution: Say, I hear what went wrong. What might we do about it.?" After the first suggestion            say, "What else?" two or three more times.


* Inspired by Leadership Freak

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Leadership and Power

10 Ways to Expand Power*

1. Make others feel powerful. Expand power by giving authority to people who get things done. Hoarded power shrinks, but shared authority expands your ability to get things done.

2. Expose frailties; never whine. The battle makes you beautiful. Ugly leaders pretend they have it all together. We connect people who work through frailties. The operative expression is "work through." Vulnerability isn't an excuse for weakness.

3. Bring up awkward issues with optimism. Weak leaders dance around elephants. Powerful leaders invite them to dance.

4. Assume you talk too much, if you have position and authority. People with power believe they have the right to talk more than others. Listen at least 60% of the time.

5. Take action after listening. Listening isn't leading. Quiet, by itself, isn't strength. Leaders take action.The more you get done, the more powerful you become. Wrestle big problems into submission.

6. Give permission before its needed. Ask, "Whats next:, then say, "Go for it." Permission-asking is old school.

7. Make people feel important. You're drawn to someone who makes you feel you matter. Expand power by letting others know they matter.

8. Develop and release talent, yours and theirs. Leaders who fear talented people are losers. Ask yourself, "How can I bring out their best?"  Develop strengths. Minimize weaknesses. Mitigate hindrances.

9. Commit to help others reach their goals. Remove teammates whose personal goals and values collide with organizational.

10. Lead by noble values, not the bottom line. Hold to your values even if it costs. Never trust a leader who serves the bottom line before integrity, for example. Leadership is about results, but never sacrifice values for results.

Bonus: Make it better or stop blabbing

* L F

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12 Things Great Leaders Know

1. Great leaders know that they don't know everything.

2. It's important to create an environment where performance is expected, enjoyed, and honored.

3. Leadership is not about being in charge, it is about taking care of those in your charge.

4. Reward what you want repeated, manage what you don't.

5. The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has happened. Clarify and confirm. Over-communicate, under-assume.

6. Great leaders know you have to love someone enough to hold them accountable, even if they don't love you back.

7. Deal quickly with issues. It's irresponsible to neglect holding people responsible.

8. Don't assume people feel valued, value them with a sincere conversation.

9. Listen to learn, not just waiting for your turn to speak.

10. Ambiguity is the enemy of accountability. Specific is terrific, and keep it simple and sincere.
 (K.I.S.S.)

11. If you want to grow your organization, start by growing your people.

12. Great leaders know that leadership is giving. Giving people the opportunity to do things they may not necessarily want to do, but need to do...including ourselves.

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7 Leadership Lessons From Dad

Ed Gambone started his leadership journey with the Kroger Company right after World War II.

Dad lived in a generation when people quite often defined their lives by the company that employed them. I can empathize with that myself,  I spent 36 years at Giant Eagle Supermarkets, my Dad trumped that with 48 years in the Kroger Company.

In reflection, here are 7 Leadership Lessons from Ed Gambone:

1. Laugh more at your own "goof-ups" then other's "goof-ups".

2. Never be on time for a meeting or an appointment, always be early.

3. Promote the successes of others.

4. Know the difference between "giving a hand", and giving a "hand-out".

5. Don't just let "family" happen, make "family" happen.

6. Always have a strong work ethic and more importantly, have "ethics" that are always strong.

7. "Do what you love, love what you do, and share that love with everyone." ~ EG *

*Quote from Ed Gambone,  first published in my book Pecan Pie.

Shifting of the Leadership Dialog

Yesterday's Leaders vs. Today's Leaders

Yesterday's Leaders say
   "You should..."
Today's Leaders say
   "I believe that..."

Yesterday's Leaders say
   "I can't believe you did..."
Today's Leaders say
   "How did that happen?"

Yesterday's Leaders say
   "Why didn't you...?"
Today's Leaders say
   "What other options were available...?"

Yesterday's Leaders say
   "Just do it!"
Today's Leaders say
   "We need this now!"

Yesterday's Leaders say
   "You better get it together..."
Today's Leaders say
   "I'm concerned about your behavior, how can I help?"

When it comes to Leadership; What got you here, will not get us there.

Lead better, or be replaced by better leaders.

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What Got You Here, Will Not Get You There

"What got you here, will not get you there." ~ Marshall Goldsmith

Tomorrow's organizations will need to be both Smart and Healthy-

Smart Organizations are excellent in:

• Strategy
• Marketing
• Finance
• Technology

These organizations are task-oriented and focus on getting things done.

Healthy Organizations demonstrate:

• Cohesiveness
• Clarity of purpose, direction and communication
• High morale
• High productivity
• Low turnover

These organizations are people-oriented and focus on building better people and a better team.

Common threads in both Smart and Healthy Organizations:

• Vulnerability trust
• Healthy conflict
• Team commitment
• Peer accountability
• Results driven

Championship-level performing organizations are both Smart AND Healthy.

Both models combine to answer the following questions:

1. Why do we exist?
2. How do we behave?
3. What do we do?
4. How will we succeed?
5. What is most important, right now?
6. Who must do what?

Leadership and Joy

Leadership and Joy

Leadership and joy are not finite games.
Leadership and joy are infinite games, played by continuously improving participants.

When it comes to leadership and joy, there are no finish lines.

You will never be "the best" leader.
You will never be "the most joyous" person.

You will always be learning to be a better leader and learning to find more joy.

Leaders find joy in learning.
Learning will help you teach others to find joy.

Leaders are dealers in joy.

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Encouraging the Empowered

When leaders empower, they give qualified team members control over their work.
Encourage the "empowered" to find their way, not yours.

Everyone must agree on the vision and goals, but how to get it done is up to the "empowered" and small teams who are closest to the work.

Keep in mind, encouragement isn't telling someone they did a good job when they fell short. That's a lie that affirms indifference and mediocity.
Never affirm lackluster performance due to lack of preparation, low effort, or want of commitment.

Leaders need to be empathetic, yes, because empathy says, "I understand you".
Encouragement says, "I believe in you".
Too much empathy validates lack of effort and causes self-indulgence.
Encouragement says, "You can reach higher."

Bottom Line: Guide the "empowered" by showing a little empathy, and giving lots of encouragement.



*This posting was inspired by Dan Rockwell, Leadership Freak

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Coaching the Un-Coachable

I often hear that so many entrepreneurs are not coachable.

 5 tips to enhance your coaching experience with entrepreneurs:

1. Ask "how can I help?", before helping.

2. Ask for permission to coach, before coaching.

3. When they ask you for help, ask them what have they done so far.

4. Be an expert on not being an expert.

5. Most importantly, never say "you should have done it this way." say something like... "what would      it look like if you do it this way?"

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Christmas Eve 1989

***Worth Repeating***

It was 5:00 pm Christmas Eve 1989, and I was locking the front door of the supermarket where I was Store Manager.

Over the years, I had made it a tradition for me to be the "closer" of the store on Christmas Eve.

Inside the store, my employees were rushing around counting their register tills, sweeping the floor, and generally preparing the store for closing down, so they all could rush home to their families for Christmas.

At approximately 5:30pm, I heard someone tapping on the front door.

“I just got off work and I need to shop for my family", the gentleman on the other side of the glass door shouted.

“Sorry, we are closed.” I answered.

“Please, I really need to shop and you are the only grocery store open.”

In the background several of my employees yelled out to me… “Mr. Gambone, I hope you don’t let him in, we all want to go home.”

I turned to my office manager and said , “Cindy, I feel bad for this guy…will you stick around with me until we get him checked out.”

She looked at me with a frown, “Well, I hope he only needs a few things, OK.”

We let him in…he was very gracious, grabbed a buggy and started to shop.

“I’ll only take a few minutes,” he said.

Then all of a sudden, he turned around and looked at Cindy and me in desperation… “Shit!..I’m sorry for swearing, but I left my wallet in my overalls at work….I can’t believe this!!!”

He abandoned the buggy and started walking towards the front door to leave.

Cindy looked at me and said… “Well, I guess we can leave now.”

“Hold on!” I said… “Sir, you pick up what you need and come back the day after Christmas and pay us.”

Cindy looked at me as if I was crazy. The gentleman was overjoyed and continued to shop.

When he completed his shopping, Cindy and I checked him out and bagged his groceries. He purchased lots of milk, cereal, bread and basic groceries along with some gift-wrap and children’s toys.

We wished him a Merry Christmas as he left and Cindy and I locked up and went home to our families.

.....wait for it...........................................................



...............the gentleman never returned...................

Yes, I took some heat from my Regional Manager when he found out…but that’s okay. I knew in my heart that it was right thing to do at the time.

It is moments like this is my life when I am reminded of the words from my mentor, Lou Z....

“The good you do, will come back to you.”

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may you and your family have a safe and glorious New Year.

Bob Gambone, The Pecan Pie Guy

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12 Reasons Why Meetings May Suck!

Team meetings are very productive when leaders take charge.

I'm not just talking about starting and ending the meeting on time, that's a given.

I'm saying that leaders need to be aware of the following 12 reasons why meetings may suck:

1. Bloviators

2. Texting under the table

3. No agenda

4. We covered this last time

5. Irrelevant attendees

6. Pretending to take notes, but really sending emails.

7. Ignored or disregarded remote participants.

8. Rabbit chasing

9. Could we please do something

10. It could have been an email.

11. No call to actions

12. Meeting hijackers

I'm sure you can add to this list. 

Bottom line: eliminate bad meeting behavior.

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It's Showtime!

Leaders...You are on a stage:

- Your attitude is contagious, realize you impact others.

- Determine how you show up before you show up.

- Don't blow off steam in public.

- Leaders act with others in mind, practice the Platinum Rule, and reserve venting for your counselor or coach.

- Share concerns with optimism.

- Praise loudly, blame softly.

- Remember, your team is not there for you, you are there for them...perform as a Leader.

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Stand Tall, Drop The "Small"

I recently asked a group of business owners to raise their hands if they call themselves a "small business owner".

Of course all 30 of them raised their hands.

 I then asked them if they wanted to grow their business. 

Once again,  all 30 raised their hands. 

Then I said, therein lies the problem... a few of them looked at me and said,  what do you mean the problem?

 And I replied,  if you're going to call yourself a small business owner you're going to...be a "small" business owner.

 I told them all,  it's time to start thinking like a big company...if you want to grow.

 Get out of the fish bowl, I said, and get into the ocean. 

They asked me, what does that mean?

 I answered, okay take a goldfish and put it in a fishbowl. 

Then I asked, how big will that goldfish get?

They all said,  the size of the fishbowl.

Exactly, I quickly stated. 

Put that goldfish in a lake, and how big will it get? 

Frickin' huge! One gentleman shouted.

*** Effective immediately,  start thinking big. Research what big companies have in place that you do not.

Here are at least five you need to implement:

1. KPIs

2. Marketing Plan

3. Vision and Mission Statements

4. A sounding board or trusted advisors.

5. USP or Point of Difference. 

- Stand tall and drop the "small".

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Leadership and Marathons

Last Sunday,  while running the Erie Marathon (26.2 miles), I was reminded of Dan Rockwell's words:
"There is no permanent cure for leadership loneliness, only regular treatments."

That statement got me thinking about how running a marathon and leadership loneliness had a lot in common.

Now I'm not talking about the professional runners who cross the finish line in 2.5 hours. I'm talking about the majority of marathoners who are out on the course for 4, 5, or even 6 hours.
Let me tell you, not only are we out there twice as long as the elite runners, it can often get lonely.

When I run a marathon, I like to chat with others who run at my pace. Over the years I've heard lots of heartwarming stories. From people running for a loved one that has passed, to celebrating their 50 race, to a special young lady who was recently cured of a terrible disease.
Hearing their stories is my regular treatment for loneliness.

As leaders, we need to find our "regular treatments" for leadership loneliness.

Here are 10 best practices from established leaders I've know over the years:
(not in any particular order)
1. Become a member of a mastermind group.
2. Hire an experienced coach as a sounding board.
3. Ask for sincere and candid feedback from your team. "How am I doing?"
4. Meet with leaders outside your company on a regular basis.
5. Attend networking events.
6. Join a networking group.
7. Volunteer for a non profit.
8. Become a mentor.
9. Find a mentor.
10. Run marathons.

....and yes, I'm sure there are plenty more...please share what works for you in a comment below.
 thank you

"They Are Not Here For Us...We Are Here For Them."

"They are not here for us...We are here for them."
John Susan, (God rest his soul), shared these words when he was mentoring me in leadership.

"Leadership is giving", John would say, "As leaders we need to give our wisdom so that others may grow. Our young team leaders are not here to make us look good, we are here to make them look good."

I asked John, "So how do we know it's working?"

"You will know Bob, yes... you will know." John replied in soft confidence.

Several years later my leadership lessons from John were put to the test:

---- It was a year of change. Giant Eagle had a new CEO with a new vision. He created awards for store teams based on seven Key Performance Indicators.
 Then all of a sudden, I was asked to take a temporary assignment, which meant leaving my store right in the middle of a banner year. (I had been Store Director there for the last 2 years).
AND,  we were running 3rd and 4th place in all the performance categories.  The company was not sending a replacement for me, my senior team and co-manager would be in charge...this would truly be a test of trust and leadership.

My team all joked with me... "Well Bob, I guess we will be hearing from you several times a day while you are away. We all know you need to check in on us."
They were all surprised by my answer. "How about this... If you need me, what I mean is, if there is problem you can't solve as a team, then call me."
With surprised passion several of them asked... " what about the 4th quarter strategies for all the KPI's?! we are so close to winning!"
"And you will." I replied with soft confidence.

Off I went to Ohio on my special project.
The weeks went on. The only communications I received from my team was an occasional friendly hello or how are you doing?

RESULTS

Fast forward...The year came to an end. The 4th quarters results were in and the year-to-date KPI's,  along with the winners, were published company wide.

This was the most gratifying day of my leadership career... the team I empowered and trusted were champions:
# 1 in Safety
# 1 in Customer Satisfaction
# 1 in Sales increase over budget
#1 in net profit improvement over budget
#1 Most profitable Bakery
#1 Most profitable Kitchen at Giant Eagle
Tied for #1 in Employee Satisfaction

Did my team struggle during the last 3 months? ABSOLUTELY!
Did they learn from their struggles and pressed forward as a team? YES!
Did I learn a lesson? I sure did...during those 3 months I can't tell you how many times I wanted to pick up the phone, how many times I wanted to make sure they were implementing my strategies...
...but I didn't.

CELEBRATION

A month later the new CEO as well as several other company officers held an on-site celebration at our store.
Darlene spoke on behalf of the store team-
".. Bob is a leader in the truest sense of the word. He taught us, inspired us, challenged us, held us accountable, empowered us, and most of all he trusted us. We are champions today because Bob Gambone is a champion. We are leaders today, because Bob Gambone is a leader."

FINAL THOUGHT

Leadership is giving. Giving people the opportunity to do things they may not necessarily want to do, but need to do...including ourselves.
Did I want to "let go" of the control over my team in that final 4th quarter, hell no!...but I needed to.
Like John Susan said, "You will know Bob, yes... you will know."

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The New "A" Word

Accountability

We talk about it, we say we want it, we say people need to be held accountable, but what does accountability really mean?

I recently had a inspiring conversation with a very good friend of mine.

"Mary*, how do you define accountability?"

Mary paused at first and then explained...
 "First,  lets talk about integrity. Integrity is who we are, what we believe about ourselves. If we have integrity we are honest and will do the right thing even when no one is watching.
 Accountability is being responsible for an action.
 Integrity is talking the talk, accountability is walking the talk."

She continued to say... "Accountability needs to have consequences.
The consequences can be good or bad, but without consequences,  accountability is meaningless.
And... I believe accountability is an act of love."

I interrupted... "Really?   Love?"

 "Yes, you have to love someone to hold them accountable, even if they do not love you back.
Hold them accountable because that's whats best for them. By doing this, you will create an environment where performance is expected, enjoyed, and honored.
Circling back...Integrity is in their hearts, accountability is in their actions. When actions are fulfilled, so will be the heart."

* Mary is a award winning educator, a successful entrepreneur, and a gifted coach.

Challenge Is In Our DNA.

Challenge is in our DNA.

We are born to challenge ourselves.

As babies, we see everyone else walking...so what do we do?        We try to walk.

Do we succeed immediately?......NO!    we fall, we stumble, we fall again, we cry, we hurt, we fall...eventually we figure it out and learn to walk.

You could also say the same about potty training, learning to talk, reading, riding a bike, etc....

So why is it that only 34% of people in business like challenges. Only 34% like to set goals, step into leadership positions, and only 34% enjoy taking on a challenge that is outside their comfort zone?*

I say, your environment. "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." ~ Jim Rohn

Are you hanging with winners? .... or are you surrounded by the Average Joe's?    You know, the naysayers, the yea but-ers, Negative Normans, Debbie Downers....you get the point.

As infants, we are cheered on by families to succeed, our families are the leaders... then it happens... we become adults, and we are on our own.

Now we need to lead ourselves.

Leadership is getting people to do things they may not necessarily want to do, but need to do...including ourselves.

Take a look at your environment...the 5 people you spend the most time with.... and do what you need to do.



*Harvard Business Review

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How to Change Culture

" Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast"   ~  Ivan Misner

If you want to change the culture, you need to change people. 

If you want to change people, change what they believe about themselves.

If you want to change what people believe about themselves, you need to be a great leader.

Great leaders do not change people, they create environments where people change themselves.

Leadership is giving; giving people the opportunity to do things they may not necessarily want to do, but need to do. 

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