Jonathan Rojas - Creating a Positive Cando Culture - Module3

[jonrojas]

1. Are you more of a Why, a What, or a How person? Where do YOU begin when "selling" your vision?

A: I try my best to start from the Why and work my way to the What. A good example of this in my day-to-day is keeping the team motivated when we are dealing with a frustrating issue. Instead of pointing out the What, the issue at hand that needs to be resolved, I instead start with the Why which would be providing support for Fedcap so they can keep supporting the world around us. Approaching the issue from the Why helps a lot more as it reminds the team of why we are doing the work in the first place. This usually makes for a much easier transition into the How and What in regards to resolving the frustrating issue. 


2. How do you help your team (or your colleagues) "see the vision, live it, and breathe it"? (See Chapter 5 Winning)

A: I help my team see, live, and breathe the vision by reminding them of the Why periodically for inspiration as stated in my answer for the previous question. I also help by working to keep the can-do attitude alive and well in the team environment. 


3. What types of questions might you ask of your team that are "answered with action"?

A: What can we do to improve? How do you feel about our performance lately? What can we change to become more productive? Is our vision clear to you? Can I do anything to help you? 

4. What one thing would you add to Welch's "Leadership Rules"?

A:  I honestly don't feel that I could add to his list of leadership rules. They were all very well thought out and cover what I would include a list of leadership rules.

[John Uliano]

Hi Jon - I appreciate your insight that focusing on the "Why" when tackling a issue can definitely minimize frustrations and help the team be more solution-focused. By getting stuck in the "what", it as if all the energy that could be used to address the challenge gets used up debating the "what." This is certainly a helpful tool that I will have implement more so in the future when problem solving. Thanks!

[paulwickson]

Hi Jon. Thanks for your post. I like that you've highlighted yourself as more of a 'Why' person.

My assumption would be that working in IT many questions you may receive perhaps relate mostly to 'How' or 'What' so it's good to see you've selected 'Why' as I think this helps to underpin everything and give context.

I'm interested to know a little more about your response to how you help your team/colleagues "see the vision, live it, and breathe it". You've referenced you do this by promoting the 'Why' and this reminds them of the work they are doing. How does this help to embed and sustain your vision or approach with others?