I Love My Levi's And I Will Not Change!

When I was a teenager, I became very attached to Levi’s jeans. Most of my friends wore Levi’s Red Tab jeans and we all thought we looked pretty darned cool! In those days Levi’s were made of heavy, dark blue denim that eventually faded to a very pleasant lighter indigo hue. The pungent odour of the blue dye was almost overwhelming until the first time they were washed. Those were tough jeans; unstoppable in almost any situation and resilient to every sort of soil or stains. We wore the boot-cut or regular-cut varieties because those were what all the hip young men of the day wanted to be seen in. I never stopped wearing my Levi’s jeans and they are still the jean-of-choice in my wardrobe today.

As a young man, I had not considered that my Levi’s might become a matter of contention in my family when I became a father.

My teenage children wanted “designer” jeans, created by a variety of high priced cloth-cutters with odd sounding names. Gone were Levi’s, GWG, and Lee jeans...In were Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and Tommy Bahama, all of whom made jeans that cost much more than my Levi’s. My kids made a point of letting me know that I was totally out of step and needed a complete denim makeover in order to move from fuddy-duddy to cool dad status. Sadly, I never made it to that lofty level of youthful social acceptance.

Much to the chagrin of my kids, I doggedly stuck with my Levi’s. I refused to change. I was determined to stay the course and wear my Levi’s in the face of humiliation and potential ridicule from every teenager and cool dad in the world. I was set in my ways and nothing short of a mugging at gun-point could force me into designer jeans.

Just as I failed as a cool dad, many managers and executives continue to fail as successful leaders today.

Too many leaders believe that the old ways are the right ways or the only ways. A lot of Boomer and Generation X leaders believe that we need to get back to basics; return to sanity, and bring back the good old days.

Guess what folks...The good old days are gone...They will never return!

Successful leaders in the twenty first century understand that in order to be successful they must drop many of the old ways and move to a new style of people-management. Change is difficult and the older we get, the more difficult it becomes for us to accept new things. That is human nature and it is not likely to change any time soon. However, if we stand in the way of the steam-roller of change, we will surely be flattened like the pavement of a highway leading to the oblivion of bankruptcy.

Young people eventually become old people and when that happens they take over the world.

Because we will have so many Boomers leaving the workforce during this decade, we will have a faster than usual transition to the new guard...As the holders of the purse-strings and the possessors of the thrones-of-power move to retirement, they will be replaced by younger people who will demand a new world order.

When the young power-brokers take over, gone will be command and control management and gone will be the hierarchical class structures that govern most North American businesses today. Gone will be the concept that the boss is always right and gone will be the idea that employees have to do what they are told unconditionally. The new-guard will wear tee shirts and designer jeans on Wall Street and because letter-writing will be a lost art, they will text their way to success. They will eliminate boring board meetings where a few grey-haired men decide the fate of thousands and they will distribute their company’s wealth in a more equitable, almost quasi-socialistic manner.

Ironically, the new-guard were trained as children by the same old-guard that is currently resisting the changes that are as inevitable as a morning sunrise.

We, the Boomers taught our children to be fair, to stand up for themselves, to take their rightful place in the world, to distrust corporations, to detest Governments, and to make the world a better place for everyone of every race, creed, colour, gender, religion, height, width, sexual bias, from any social circle and from either side of the tracks. We have changed our children’s perceptions of social order and they will soon run their corporations with the values that we so vehemently drummed into them.

If we want our businesses to be strong and live into the future, we need to start changing our management styles now. We need to adapt to the new world order and allow our future leaders the freedom to bring their new ways into our companies. Many companies have already started this new way of doing business and have been very successful with it. They understand that corporate hierarchy, executive superiority and grey pin-striped suits are no longer necessary for success.

Forward thinking leaders understand that in the very near future most of their customers and employees will be members of the much-dreaded Generation “Y” and that they must change their ways of thinking, managing and leading now if they want their brands to live on into the future.

I am a Boomer, very near the end of my career. I still wear my Levi’s and I am still a proud fuddy-duddy. As much as very little has changed about me, I understand that the designer-jeans-wearing leaders of the future will be every bit as successful as the Levi’s wearing crew that I grew up with. I also accept that with or without my help, they will create a new social order that will be completely appropriate for its time. The future is inevitable and in my eyes, it looks bright!

I have officially stopped standing in the way of progress but I will never change my jeans!

All the Best

Wayne Kehl

What Does The Future Hold For Our Aimless Youth?

The young people we know as Generation “Y” will soon overtake the rapidly retiring boomer generation in the workforce. When that changing of the guard comes to full fruition, the young people of today will be expected to keep the country running by filling all of the jobs and running all of the organizations that their Boomer predecessors leave behind.

DAZED AND CONFUSED.

 In every generation, there are keeners; those amazingly talented, intelligent, resourceful people who know what they are good at, what they want, and how to go out and get it. However, many of the young people who graduate from high school and make their way into the workforce every year are frankly, dazed and confused...they don’t know what to do and they are afraid of what the future holds. Through no fault of their own, they are aimless and lost in a sea of bewilderment.

YOU MADE THEM WHAT THEY ARE.

Considering the amazing amount of contradiction and misinformation that Boomer and Generation “X” parents have tossed at Generation “Y” all their lives, it is no wonder many of them are aimless. They have been praised, protected, doted on and rewarded by parents and teachers all of their lives. They have no idea what overcoming obstacles means and they have a profound lack of understanding of the subtleties and cruelties of the business world. They have been taught to believe in themselves and have an ingrained faith that they will succeed. However, as they near the precipice of independence, they are beginning to realize that neither their parents nor teachers prepared them for real jobs in the real world. They simply have no idea what they might excel at or where their talents might be best utilized.

Generation “Y” has a fundamental belief that they should never settle for second best. They want to start at the top of the pay scale and they believe they should have everything their parents have, almost immediately after they leave home. Because of their liberal and generous upbringings, many young folks make it all the way to high school graduation without ever contemplating the fact that they will ultimately be singularly responsible for their own lives. Imagine the horror of leaving the nest without a mature, functional pair of wings!

THEY HAVE NO DIRECTION.

Parents and teachers in most cases have done a less than effective job of preparing our young people for the real world.  They did not encourage them into any particular profession or career path. Oh sure, they bought them laptop computers and I-phones and they told them they would be great at whatever they did as long as they did their best, but they did not map out a clear path for adult success.  Many parents and teachers told kids that they should become computer literate, get a good education and avoid dirty jobs where physical labour is involved.  Of course, they wanted the best for their kids when they provided all of that support, but they did not think it through; they did not balance their encouragement and advice with research and practicality so that they could provide clear direction to their progeny. Hence, many of our youths are wandering the streets, avenues, and shopping malls of North America with a deeply embedded sense of despair and no clear plan for their lives. Here is what they might be thinking:

“Should I be a doctor, a lawyer, a pharmacist, a writer, a teacher, a computer programmer, a rock star, a movie star, a disc jockey, an entrepreneur, an employee, a CEO or a taxi driver? Mom and Dad told me I would do well at anything I tried but what in the name of Bill Gates and Britney Spears, should I try? I don’t know what to do!” 

WHAT IS THE ANSWER? HOW CAN WE FIX IT?

 It is never too late to help your children find their true calling. The first thing you need to do is sit down with them and ask them what they want to do. Do not assume that what you want for them is the right thing because if you try to force them to do something that you feel would make a wonderful occupation for them you might find that it is quite the opposite of what they want. In the worst case scenario you might also eventually find out that they are simply not capable of doing well at it after spending thousands of dollars on education costs. Let’s face it, everyone cannot be a great surgeon or a skilled airline pilot and in both cases, the practitioners of those occupations must be extremely good at what they do. Just doing their best when their best is not good enough will not cut it.

Create an unthreatening, safe environment and have an open, honest discussion with your kids about what they want and then agree to help them achieve it. If they are completely confused and simply have no idea what they want to do, you might have to dig deeper. In that case, you can employ a professional employment counsellor to work with him or her. That can be quite costly however, so for much less expense, you can do a skills and talent assessment that will point you both in the right direction. Most assessments can be done online with a report generated on your computer within seconds of the survey being completed. They are very accurate and extremely helpful. For maximum clarity and impartiality you should have a trained professional debrief you and your son or daughter on the report. Once you have been through it, you will have a much better idea of what sort of occupation your kids belong in.

THE FIRST STEP IS RECOGNIZING THAT YOUR KIDS MIGHT NOT HAVE A CLEAR DIRECTION FOR THE FUTURE.

Once you have accepted that they have no plan for the future, ask them if they know where they want go and what they want to do. Make it clear that even though their direction might not be what you expected, it is okay with you and that you will support them.  Do not make the assumption that they will get by on their brilliance and sparkling personalites. Although they might seem mature to you, they are just young impressionable people who need a boost from you to make the next big step in their lives.

You created them and they are yours from birth until death. You owe them every opportunity to succeed.

All the Best

Wayne Kehl

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How To Be A Bad Leader

My articles usually focus on how to be a good leader or a better leader. In fact, most leadership articles available on the internet or elsewhere focus on the positive elements of leading. Many leadership writers prefer to write about completely positive things and focus on what leaders should do to be recognized as the best leaders.  In reality, the main reason we need to learn about leadership is so that we can avoid being bad leaders! With that in mind, this article will talk about how bad leaders operate and the kinds of things they do to be recognized as having highly deficient or defective leadership skills. It is intended to be a little sardonic, so watch out for the humour in it and don’t take it personally.

WARNING: IF YOU RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ANY PART OF THIS ARTICLE, YOU MIGHT ALREADY BE A BAD LEADER!

Bad leaders fall into ten categories. People who are not capable of establishing a solid base of loyal, devoted followers can be identified by one or more of the following traits:

1.       Command and Control leaders...It is “my way or the highway” for these folks. They fly around like chickens with their heads cut off, make a lot of demands, and rule by intimidation. Nothing is ever good enough for them.

2.      Non-leading Leaders...These are the leaders who either hide in their offices reading, emailing and holding the phone to their ear all day or leaders who are often absent from the workplace on the guise of doing important work somewhere else. They sometimes do not know the names of their employees and add little or nothing to the workplace experience.

3.      Know-nothing Leaders...Leaders who managed to get into a job leading something they have little or no knowledge of and often have no intention of learning. They try to inspire through some sort of personal style but their lack of knowledge of the department they control is evident to all. They are usually not aware that nobody is really following them.

4.      Do-nothing Leaders...Leaders who might actually know a lot about their department but choose to avoid getting involved with their employees or the work they do. They often delegate everything to lower-level line managers or supervisors because they think good delegation skills mean they don’t have to do anything. They are busy doing a lot of nothing.

5.      Suck-up Leaders...These ones are so insecure and afraid of their employees that they always appear to be begging their teams to do their jobs. Often they are simply too nice for their own good. They are usually ineffective but if they are fortunate enough to have some sympathetic employees they might actually get a few things done.

6.      Blind Leaders...These folks can see what is going on but are either too dense or too afraid to realize that it might be time for them to act like a leader. They allow bad behavior, poor performance, favouritism and employee conflicts to go on unabated. They often have high turnover rates and cannot understand why nobody wants to work for them.

7.      Insincere Leaders...In order to get ahead, these leaders will say anything to anyone, at anytime, believing that the end justifies the means. They will make promises they cannot keep nor have any intention of keeping, and they will make false compliments to avoid conflict. They delude themselves of their own self-importance but nobody believes anything they say.

8.      Gossiping Leaders...These folks gossip about their organization, their superiors, their employees, their customers, their suppliers and just about anything else that creates good, juicy water cooler talk. They do not understand confidentiality and they pit employee against employee and manager against manager, while avoiding their own responsibilities. Employees don’t trust them and nobody wants to tell them anything because they know it will be repeated.

9.      Defensive Leaders...Leaders who never take responsibility for anything. These people always blame someone else when things go wrong and take all of the glory for themselves when things go right. They are the antithesis of leadership but they think that by deflecting blame, and hoarding success, they are fooling everyone...but nobody is being fooled.

10.  Uncommunicative Leaders...These leaders refuse to tell anyone, anything. They do not feel that employees have the right to know what is going on beyond their specific work-stations or that they have any business knowing about the relative success or failure of their organization. They withhold financial information and refuse to speak to subordinates about the lofty management plans they have or the organizational decisions they might make. Every new thing that happens in the organization comes as a surprise, and usually on short-notice to the workers. Employee dissatisfaction and poor morale reign in their empires.

Everyone on earth who has ever had a job has known a leader with some of the traits indicated here. If you do not want to be a bad leader, the key is to recognize the mistakes you might be making and strive to eliminate and avoid repeating them. If, on the other hand, you are okay with being a bad leader then try out all of the ideas presented here to see which ones create the worst results.

THE 10 A’S OF BAD LEADERSHIP

Often people who operate in one or more of the ten categories of bad leadership will display some of the following behaviours on a regular basis:

1.      Arrogance

2.      Anxiety

3.      Aloofness

4.      Anger

5.      Apathy

6.      Absenteeism

7.      Annoyance

8.      Agitation

9.      Antagonism

10.  Aimlessness

Practice some or all of these for maximum morale-killing effects!

There you have it: Some great ways to be a bad leader! If you utilize as many of these secrets as possible, you too, can join the ranks of the worst leaders on earth.  

Start by showing this article to a trusted colleague or employee and ask him or her if you are guilty of any of these things...Then, get to work making a difference in yourself!

All the Best!

Wayne Kehl

Are You Living An Authentic Life?

There is nothing sadder than the death of someone who has never lived!

Here is a quote from the late rocker, Jimi Hendrix: “I’m the one who’s got to die when it’s time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”

This quote speaks to me of the human need to go along or succumb to the pressures of the groups we find ourselves being members of. In life, we tend to do what our leaders tell us to do whether or not we agree and whether or not they may be contrary to our own desires. We wear fashionable clothing that we don’t like, we work at jobs we do not enjoy, we are polite when we would rather be outspoken, and we often do whatever we are told without thought.

As Jimi said, we must accept that our leaders, mentors and critics will not be there to tell us how to live our deaths even though they constantly told us how to live our lives.

I admire people who are authentic and true to themselves; the people who do what THEY want to do despite criticism from others. As long as their actions and thoughts are positive they harm no one.

For me, success is the happiness and satisfaction that comes from doing the things that we truly want to do. After all, there is nothing sadder than the death of a person who has never lived!

I am Wayne Kehl from Dynamic Leadership

Don't Be Afraid Of Generation Y !

The world is strangely concerned about generation “Y” these days. I don’t understand it! Generation “Y” is just the current crop of kids that will eventually rule the world.

They are the children of Boomers and Generation “X” parents and they were born between 1980 and 1994. Currently they are aged 16 to 30. Every generation had people in their teens and in their twenties, so why is this group being singled out for critical speculation and deeply negative apprehension?

When I was a kid in the 1950’s it was the beatniks who were singled out for scrutiny by older, wiser adults.

“Who or what were beatniks?” you might ask. They were oddly thoughtful people who believed in nonconformity and spent a lot of time reading, writing, and reciting poetry. They wore funny clothing and lived in communes where they played guitars and bongo drums. They believed society had it all wrong and that their deeply literary view of the world was better.

The beatniks were followed by the hippies in the 60’s and 70’s.

My Goodness, what was with them? Lead by the rock band, the Beatles, they had long hair and multicoloured, multi-patterned clothing. They hated war and they believed in peace and love. “Imagine that!” Most young people of the era embraced hippie-ism in one way or another either through hallucinatory drug use, fashion, music, or social consciousness. Older folks everywhere hated the rock bands of the era just as they hated the lyrics of the songs they sang.

Speaking of music, here are some lyrics from a song written in 1960 and made popular in the 1963 movie, Bye Bye Birdie:

“Kids! Why can’t they be like we were...perfect in every way?

 What’s the matter with kids today?”

The song goes on to say:

“They are disobedient, disrespectful oafs!

Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy loafers!”

So you see, even a half century ago the younger generation was a huge concern for parents. As is the case today, parents believed that their way of doing things was perfect in every way and that children should conform to their way of thinking if they were going to amount to anything.

Keep in mind too, that the kids this song describes went on to become the Boomers and Generation “X” adults that brought more technological advancement, personal luxury, and monetary success to the world than ever seen before. If the kids who were so rudely admonished in this song had been more like their parents they might not have gone on to invent computers, microwave ovens, cellular telephones, and crazy glue. The crazy, sloppy, lazy kids of the 60’s went on to be the innovators, inventors and geniuses of the 90’s.

So, why are so many people worried about Generation “Y”?

The answer is simple. Fear of the unknown and the natural human tendency to reject new things and new ideas drives our thoughts. We fear that which is foreign or unusual to us. We know that our way works for us so why should we accept change?

What we have to keep in mind though, is that we made Generation “Y” what they are today. We created an attitude of entitlement in them and we made them believe they are special.

While we were raising our kids, we were forsaking the values our parents gave us so that our kids could have everything that we did not. Now that they have everything we could possibly give them, they want more!

Boomers and Generation “X” created Generation “Y” and since we made so many of them, we need to get on board their bus and help them drive it into the new millennium!

Don’t worry! Generation “Y” is as intelligent and innovative as all previous generations and they will do us proud as they take over the world we are leaving behind.

All the Best!
Wayne Kehl

What Makes A Superstar Employee?

I am going to let you in on the secret to superstar employees: “right person-right job.” When people are placed into jobs they can excel in every time, miracles can happen.

Do you ever wonder why some people excel in their jobs, outperforming all others in the same field?
In any workplace it is quite easy to find someone who consistently does more work in a shorter period of time than the rest of their team.

At the core of every superstar is a natural motivation for the work he or she does.
People who are highly motivated will exhibit better attitudes and their behaviour is likely to be peppered with excitement and elation. On the other hand, their less-motivated counterparts will ultimately exhibit lethargy, disinterest and defeat.

Poor performers often resent over-achievers for their obvious tenacity and drive. They make excuses for their own poor performance and look for ways to make the superstars look bad.

If you want to be happier in your work, identify your passions and find a job where you can realize and cultivate them.

Remember this: “very successful people get to do what they do best everyday”

I am Wayne Kehl from Dynamic Leadership