Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

Resistance is Inside

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“You told me to listen to my stomach,” Ryker said. “My stomach tells me there is trouble ahead for this project. At least, now I know the trouble is inside me and not in someone else.”

“The stomach is a valuable radar detector if we will only listen,” I replied. “When we blame the resistance on someone else like your team’s ringleader, our stomach is happy, it does not tell us that we are the ones that have to change.”

“And, that suited me just fine. I could put all of the project pain on someone else.”

“Resistance is very real. It keeps us in the status quo, where it is comfortable. Resistance must be wrestled with before any real progress is made. So, tell me what you are going to do? How will you fight the resistance?”

The Resistance

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Ryker was deep in thought about his doubts to lead his team in a difficult project. “I see the resistance in my team’s ringleader, but the real resistance is in my own mindset.”

“Even though you signed off on the contract. Even though you promised the customer, face-to-face. Those do not erase your own self-doubt,” I said. “Moreover, you think it is easier to change the mindset of your ringleader than it is to change your own.”

“I was so focused on the resistance from outside,” Ryker replied, “that I couldn’t even see my own resistance.”

“And, until you slay that dragon, your leadership on the project will be full of second-guessing, squandered preparation and halted momentum.”

Dungeons, Dragons and Demons

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“If I could change the mindset of the ringleader, I could change the mindset of the team,” Ryker thought out loud. “She does not believe we can be successful in the project. It’s a limiting belief in herself.”

“So, she has an internal demon that prevents her from signing on to the project? The very same project that you already promised the customer?” I asked.

“I’m not going back to the customer to renegotiate my commitment,” Ryker was adamant.

“So, let’s talk about internal demons that reside in the mind of your ringleader,” I nodded. “But, before that, let’s talk about the internal demons you have to face.”

“What do you mean?” Ryker was puzzled. “I am not the one confused here. I already signed the contract. I’m fully committed.”

“Yes, but you have doubts,” I smiled. “You are the manager of the team, but you feel it’s important to change the ringleader’s mindset about the project. You feel that not doing so will jeopardize the success of the project. You have doubts about your own leadership ability in the face of the team. You have your own demons to slay. Who is the real leader of your team?”

This put an abrupt halt in the flow of the discussion. Ryker was thinking. “You are right. I do not see myself with the power to pull this off. I mean, I have the authority, but the team has the power.”

“And, what is it about yourself that makes you think this way?” I wanted to know. More accurately, I wanted Ryker to know. “You suggest that changing the mindset of the team’s ringleader has more impact on the team than changing your own mindset. What is the demon that you have to slay?”

Comfort Zone

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“But, the ringleader of the team doesn’t believe in the project. As long as that is what she believes, the project is doomed,” Ryker explained.

“What are your alternatives?” I asked. “And, I am looking for more than one.”

Ryker thought a bit. “I could try to change what she believes. That’s one. I could try to change her influence over the team, find a new ringleader. Or, it might just be easier to resign the project, let it go.”

I nodded. “Yes, it would be easier to abandon the project, stay in your comfort zone.”

Ryker pursed his lips. Seconds ticked by. “Nope, not going to abandon.”

“Okay, then,” I stared at Ryker. “Then, tell me what you are going to do.”

Difficult Work

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“It looks like you have a fly in the ointment,” I said.

“You got that right,” Ryker replied. “We have a difficult project ahead, and one of the ringleaders on the team says it can’t be done.”

“How so?” I wanted to know.

“She has reasons that sound plausible. The work is too difficult, it will take longer than the deadline and the client is too difficult to work with,” he shook his head.

“I believe she is right,” I responded. “For her, the work is too difficult, she is not organized enough to meet the deadline and she doesn’t believe in the outcome the way your client believes. It can’t be done, by her.”

“But, I signed on to the project, because I believe it can be done,” Ryker stopped, then started again. “The work is difficult, we may have to learn some new methods. The deadline is tight, we might have to spend time to organize a solid plan. But more than that, I believe, like the client, that it can be done.”

“So, what is the difference between you and the team’s ringleader?” I asked.

“It’s obvious,” he shook his head. “I believe and she doesn’t. It’s a mental state.”

“But, mental state is not enough. To be successful in this project, you are going to have to learn some new methods and be organized. Not enough to think positive, you have to prepare. But, you won’t prepare unless you believe the project can be done.”

Positive Attitude is Not Enough

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I’ve been watching a lot of hockey lately. Disclosure, I am rooting for the Florida Panthers. I noticed a commercial pitting the heart and determination of any hypothetical hockey team approaching a game with its opponent. The message was that every player on both teams had the same dreams, the same exhilaration, the same passion to win. The commercial ends with a cliffhanger encouraging you to watch the game.

The commercial admits that we often think the team with the most heart will win, that positivity will triumph. I assume most people wake up every day with the full intention to do their best. There will still be winners and losers. Mental determination is not enough. It is competence that determines the difference. Competence is the combination of capability and technical knowledge, coupled with practiced performance. That will determine who wins the Stanley Cup.

Prepare for Intensity

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“These are three problems I see with the plan,” Stephan shared.

“Problems with the plan, or obstacles to face in the plan?” I asked.

“Obstacles, three big obstacles that will be tough to overcome,” he nodded. “But we have a mitigation strategy to work over, around or through, so I think we are under control.”

“What about the obstacles that are not part of your plan?” I pressed.

“I am sure there will be some hiccups,” Stephan agreed. “Something will happen that we don’t anticipate, something that we can’t prepare for.”

“Can’t prepare, or won’t prepare?” I replied.

“If we don’t know what it is, how can we prepare for it?” he wanted to know.

“We can mentally prepare, prepare for an increased pace, a practiced quality triage, improvisation of method. We may not know the real obstacles that lay ahead, but we can prepare with mental fitness.  Because, yes, there will be unanticipated problems.”

Inner Dragon

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“It’s impossible,” Cheri shook her head. “I don’t see how it can be done?”

“Lots of impossible things have been done in the past. We even went to the moon,” I suggested.

“Yes, but this project has all kinds of traps built inside. I can feel it,” she said.

“Are those traps real, or imagined?” I asked. “I mean, there are real hazards. We don’t have to jump off a cliff to understand that we cannot fly. But many trepidations are only in our imaginations. We see them as fire-breathing dragons.”

“And, now you are going to tell me that dragons don’t exist?” Cheri was skeptical.

“Oh, no. They exist alright and are very real to you. An inner dragon is the most fierce. And, the one dragon you must slay before you can move forward.”

Steps to Necessity

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“My question still stands,” Erica was insistent. “How do I get my team to the point where they believe performance is necessary?”

“It starts with competence,” I replied. “We cannot perform at a level where we are not competent. If we are not competent, then, not only will it NOT happen, it cannot be believed to be necessary. So, the first step in believing in the necessity of performance is to build the competence required.”

Erica was a good student. “And, competence is a combination of capability, skill and practiced performance?”

“Moreover,” I responded, “if we have the capability, possess the required skill and practice to the point of habit, then necessity follows. The habit of pace, at quality spec, produces the necessity of performance.”

Broccoli and Power

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“So how do I get my team to the point where they believe in what is necessary? How do I make them believe?” Erica was stumped.

“Indeed,” I said. “If your team doesn’t believe it is necessary, you cannot make them believe. Sure, you can trick them with a bonus or maybe a plaque, but it is still a trick.”

“Like your broccoli story,” Erica remembered, “I have the authority as a parent to command broccoli, but my child has the power to determine if broccoli will be eaten?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “If you feel the need to compel behavior, does that say anything about the power others have over you?”