Getting people to go above and beyond

Friends,

Last Thursday I was helping facilitate on a “high ropes” course with the participants in Leadership Detroit. These 60 leaders had been meeting once a month since September to learn about the Detroit region and about leadership. In this last session, we challenged them to strap on harnesses and safety ropes, and climb forty or fifty feet up the tall pine trees and maneuver across cables suspended between the trees. The exercises were demanding physically and emotionally. And nearly every participant excelled beyond what they thought was possible for them when they first walked back into the pine trees in the morning. I found myself wondering why, and asking what relevance it had for everyday leadership. Four things stuck out.

First, they were safe to fail. Some didn’t have the upper body strength to get to the top. They climbed as high as they could. Some lost their balance and fell. They were caught. Some tried techniques that didn’t work, but were offered better ways. In short, everyone was freed up to do their best. Mistakes were part of the learning. Consider the opposite: in a work culture where making mistakes gets you in trouble, who is going to try something with any degree of difficulty?

Second, the vocal praise and encouragement clearly took people beyond their limits. Someone was asked after he came down, “What difference did the vocal support make from your team below?” He answered, “It was everything. It was everything.” One line heard all the time on the course was “You can do this.” (That’s the Detroit Free Press Marathon’s motto, by the way.) In everyday life it can feel hokey to say, but seldom do we mind hearing, “You can do this! You can do it.” Try it out. See if people aren’t appreciative.

Third, people wanted to excel at something difficult. Perhaps we don’t say “you can do it” very often, precisely because people know they can do what we’re asking them. So, why aren’t we asking them to do things that they not sure they can accomplish? Why aren’t we leading them to the thrill of trying something hard . . . and therefore something satisfying? It’s easy to slide into our routines and habits of pretty average expectations. On the other hand, it’s exhilarating to try something new and challenging and scary. Why not challenge your people to step up to the high ropes and get their adrenaline going?

Finally, the sum total of these things created a culture of excel-lence. It became the norm for people to take on something scary and succeed. Many climbed for the simple reason that everyone else was doing it. We are social creatures. We react to peer pressure. We do what we see others do. Authorities know that the “norms” that get created will dictatee performance. So filling the culture with these first points - safety to risk, tons of encouragement and abundant challenges - can lead to a culture where a bunch of people are taking on challenge. And once you can get that bunch going, nearly all will follow.

Set some high sights this week for your people. You can’t fail, but can only learn. You can do this; you can set big challenges. In fact, everyone is doing it! Climb those trees to…

Lead with your best self,

Dan