Shades of Leadership

College Advice and Business Reflections

I had the pleasure of hosting a virtual event for my college alumni club today. Every summer, at about this time, Joel and I host a pizza party inviting all of the Houston-area freshmen preparing to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to meet one another as they get ready to head for campus. It also gives them a chance to meet local alumni group officers to ask questions in preparation for their upcoming experience. Given that we are living in the world of COVID-19, this year’s event was held in the Zoom Room, of course. Of the 18 new students attending UIUC this year from the Houston area, we had only three who could join us, but with 5 alums also on the call, it was a wonderful conversation we shared for about an hour.

After the requisite brief introduction by all participants, we opened up for questions from the students. Every year when this event occurs, I find myself mentally wandering back in time, thinking about how scared I was heading out of state to a university of about 40,000, where I wouldn’t know a single undergraduate student, and starting a new chapter of my life. And every year during the conversation, I find a yearning to return to campus and having a chance to relive that wonderful chapter all over again!

The students’ questions this year covered a broad range of topics: What electives did you take? Where did you study? What do you think of study abroad programs? How many years did you live in the dorms? What meal plan do you recommend? How heavy of a coat should I take (extremely important when you are from Houston!)? Where did you hang out in your free time? It was enjoyable for the alumni on the call to spend some time reminiscing as our time away from campus life ranged from single digits to over 40 years!

In the final minutes of the call, I asked each of the alumni to give one bit of advice – with the advantage of having 20/20 hindsight – based on anything they wish they had done more of (or less!) during their time on campus. I found the reflections poignant and sensible, and definitely advice I wish I had received when I first ventured away from home for college. Not surprisingly, I realized much of the advice can be equally relevant to how leaders at any stage in our careers think about opportunities and circumstances as we move through our different life chapters.

Be prepared to work hard to stay on top

• The advice to the students was to realize that even though they might have been one of the smartest kids in high school, they need to understand that the definition of excellence was about to be reset. The difficulty of acceptance into UIUC’s Grainger College of Engineering (they are all engineering majors), means they are about be surrounded by some of the brightest minds from all over the US and abroad. The importance of being prepared and diligent, staying ahead on coursework is key to excelling in college.
• The parallels of this advice for leaders are great. Leaders who fail to recognize the importance of continued learning and improving skills are sure to far behind. The work only begins when you land a new job. Particularly in the environment of constant change that we find as the new normal, the importance of this advice cannot be underestimated. Staying still today means falling behind – quickly.

Trust your intuition, but don’t rely solely on it

• The advice to students was that although being good at thinking on your feet and figuring things out on the fly might have worked in high school, not being organized in your daily college life will backfire. You can’t rely on just figuring things out – you need to be deliberate about applying discipline to everything you do.
• The importance of balancing intuition and disciplined information-gathering is key for any good leader. Instincts are important – especially when it comes to reading a room, sensing a challenge emerging, or even in problem-solving when something just “doesn't seem right”, but great leaders understand the importance of being disciplined in gathering data, learning the facts, and preparing thoughtful steps in executing strategy.

Study (travel) abroad

• The question of whether study abroad programs are worthwhile always seems to come up when speaking to rising college students. It’s wonderful that many universities are encouraging undergraduate students to have this experience as such programs grow the student in both a professional and personal capacity. The advice given was to definitely pursue an opportunity, consider appropriate timing (in the context of requisite coursework), and to start planning for it early.
• The importance of business leaders having a global perspective is paramount – whether or not you run a business that goes beyond your country’s borders. The impact of global events and disruption plays a huge part in managing everything from supply chain to reputation management. Geopolitical imbalances, unexpected natural disasters or pandemics, and military insurrections can quickly change an organization’s ability to operate successfully. Increasingly diverse workforces call for leaders who are enlightened about ethnic and cultural differences. With the rise of the importance of ESG and in the world of instant communication, naiveté about global issues can have irreparable consequences.

Find opportunities for experience beyond just classes

• At a university as large and diverse as UIUC, the experiences that await incoming freshmen are almost more than one can imagine. We recommended that in this unique time of life – when you have a sole purpose of learning – that students take full advantage of resources and opportunities available. Taking a diversity of elective courses, meeting different kinds of people, and allowing yourself to be truly “who you are” and not living up to a set of artificial expectations are important during the college years.
• For too many leaders, intellectual exploration ceases when they begin a professional career. It becomes far too easy for executives to be comfortable in their habitat and surround themselves only with the “job at hand”. They fail to venture outside where there is more to learn, and where the options for solutions are far greater. Leaders who fail to grow beyond their job descriptions suffocate innovative thinking and weaken both peripheral vision and the ability to see a future that might be different from where they stand.

Be aware and take advantage of brilliant people who surround you

• Recognizing the importance of relationships and networking, my one regret was not taking advantage (perhaps not truly valuing) the tremendous amount of brainpower that surrounded me during my time at UIUC. Failure to seek wisdom of professors during their office hours and not having more conversations with advisors (other than figuring out how many more credits I needed for graduation) are my greatest regrets from my college days. As I look back now, I realize that at any given time at UIUC, there are more than a handful of Nobel laureates or Pulitzer Prize winners teaching on faculty, and brilliant adjunct professors who have extensive experience running businesses. Too many students go through their college years without tapping into perhaps the greatest resources that universities can offer.
• In the business world, we know that it’s all about relationships and tapping into expert knowledge. The amount of thought leadership that is available today through publications, podcasts, and video recordings is endless. With the convenience of the internet, it is virtually impossible to find the answer to a business challenge that someone hasn’t at least thought about or actually experienced first-hand. Similarly, great business leaders understand the importance of capitalizing on their personal networks. Nothing can easily be accessed without someone opening a door. The better you know an individual, and the more you have invested in that relationship, the quicker someone is willing to reach for that door handle to help you out. I find that the common expression of it being a “small world” is due to someone who has invested in their network over many decades.

As the Zoom call ended today, I’m sure the alumni on the call felt as I did; that they would like to take some time to return to the life of a university student, knowing what we know now. Upon reflection, however, I realize that we always have the ability to take the advice we gave to the 18-year old rising freshmen and apply those lessons to our everyday lives. Go Illini!

 

 

Positivity

 

In conversations this past week, I was asked by three different people, “How are you staying so upbeat and positive with everything going on?” It was an interesting question, and when I was asked for the third time, I realized it was worth thinking about. Life is a challenge these days as we face a pandemic, racial strife, economic downturn, energy industry impact (I live in the Houston area), ugly politics during an election year, etc...and yet I’m feeling pretty positive and hopeful.

No, I haven’t taken to drugs or increased my alcohol consumption, nor have I crawled into a hole and avoided reality! But in the past few weeks, I have made it a point to take some deliberate actions to stay positive and hopeful. I realize that I impact not only the mood of my household, but as I serve on boards and speak to numerous executives and thought leaders across industries during the day, I impact many who all benefit by hearing more words of hope and optimism as they navigate challenging waters.

As I think about what I’ve done to stay “above the muck”, these are some practices I’ve adopted:

Understand my role in this pandemic

I’m not an epidemiologist, health care worker, nor do I work directly in the healthcare field.  I have no expertise about this virus. My role is as a citizen. I have a healthy respect for this virus, understanding that although the vast majority of people who come in contact with the virus do alright, I’d rather not contract it, nor do I want to give it to someone inadvertently. As a result, I stay home as much as possible, and when I go out, I wear a mask.

I do not need to know absolute daily numbers of how many people test positive or how many have died in every state or country. I have a good general idea and know where trends are heading. Therefore, I don’t spend time worrying about what mistakes were made yesterday, which political camp is inflating or deflating statistics. I adhere to guidelines prescribed by experts and follow local authorities. I pray that really smart people are working on a vaccine but know it might take time.

I also know that information is readily available. There are reputable sources that are publishing these, so I don’t need to be the 500^th share or tweet to inform.

Limit my media consumption – particularly social media – particularly Facebook

In case you didn’t notice, news is depressing. As a result, I don’t consume more than I need. I watch/read enough to carry on conversations with people so that they know I’m not a luddite, but I don’t need to debate things that (1) won’t change or (2) people really don’t care what I think about. I do continue to maintain deep knowledge about the topics for which I care and understand, and I am cognizant about topics on which my opinion matters. I’ve also discovered that picking the right forum to espouse my thoughts is important if I want to have a constructive conversation.

As the forums go, Facebook has become the most depressing. I joined years ago to get in touch with old friends and catch up on one another’s lives. My “memories” lookback shows how my involvement on this platform has evolved. Having gone through the stage of “cute kids” and “parental bragging rights” – I still love my kids but they’re adults now so they’re on their own to talk about how cute they are – I’m now in a life stage where I have this strange dilemma of “what do I tell people about”. Realizing it’s easy to fall into the narcissistic habit of asking people to “like” my life, I’ve found myself posting far less than I did years ago.

So on the topic of how to stay upbeat, I took the FB app off of my phone and iPad (leaving Messenger on because I have people in my life who use it regularly). When I do get on via my laptop, I allow myself to scroll until the first negative/critical/lecturing comment about ANYTHING, and shortly thereafter, I close the app.

Generally, my scroll time is about 30 seconds.

I don’t have the time or energy to engage in debate with people who don’t want to hear contrarian views, and I find myself starting to dislike people I actually thought I liked. I love informative posts – news and updates – but I cringe when people are directive and condescending. I found many posts/comments around racial equality to be tremendously insulting and hateful. I’d never before seen the level of vitriol and resentment on the site. I know I’m missing cute kids and puppies, but it’s okay…I catch them if they appear on my scroll above the hate and negativity, and the lack of my “like” doesn’t make them any less special.

It’s not that I don’t have an opinion on important matters, but I don't think I’m going to change anyone’s opinion on masks, politics, ethics, diversity, or sustainability on Facebook. Change happens in real conversations and social media is not a real conversation. Real conversations have consequence and dialogue; if I say something negative, I have to answer to a response. People don't have to do that online; they can anonymously call someone an idiot, and never have to answer to their victim. The danger of those comments and headlines getting shared over and over gives people the impression that the majority of the human species are jerks.

I don’t believe we are.

For my needs, I find LinkedIn to be a much better platform for sharing/receiving thought leadership. It hasn’t been taken over by people who want to name-call or lecture. On the few occasions I’ve seen it, people are quick to call out inappropriateness, and it seems to work. I find for my blog posts LinkedIn garners many more comments, shares, and suggestions, and is (unsurprisingly) reaching an audience that cares more about the content.

Look for goodness and beauty

You don't have to look too hard to find great stories that are taking place these days in spite of our challenges. Gestures of caring for the elderly, the amazing innovations happening on so many fronts, stories of survival, and overcoming incredible obstacles give me strength and affirm my belief in goodness. Those are most of the stories I choose to share.

In nature I find beauty and amazement. Finding live video streams of animals in their habitat or of nature walks and majestic mountains remind me of the amazing planet on which we live. Taking a walk and noticing animals and birds in my neighborhood gives me a sense of gratitude that I get to quarantine in a beautiful environment during the pandemic.

Find time to do new things

In spite of more hours on videoconference calls and in meetings, the inability to travel and my reduced online hours have yielded a windfall of free time. As a result, I’ve increased my book reading, piano time (re-learning some old and learning some new), bike-riding (before Houston summer temps arrived!), and I’ve fallen into the great habit of getting in touch with old friends by phone – since everyone is home and easy to find!

All of those activities result in far more positiveness than negativity.

 

One of the most important attributes of strong leadership is to maintain a positive and inspirational outlook in challenging times. Being deliberate about understanding our sources of stress and scaling back on activities that bring us down is vitally important.  That helps us focus on aspects of our lives that bring feelings of happiness and gratitude from which others can draw hope and inspiration.

Give yourself a break from too much bad news and social media. Look for goodness and beauty. Find old and new and fun things to learn and do. Get in touch with friends and people who will lift you up. The magic formula is in there somewhere!