“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
– Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
These are times of great change. Market swings. Recoveries that may or may not be real recoveries and financial fissures that may or may not be sealed up. Global threats, cyber threats and direct, frontal attacks by competitors and regulators. And, these factors don’t just apply to the banking space — they’re virtually universal.
Data and data analytics are the buzz words of the day, and, as the Chicago Cubs just proved, they can be critical to building and executing a strategy. That said, until artificial intelligence, machine learning and algorithms can actually generate revenue all by their little ol’ selves, talent is going to matter. The Cubs used data and analytics to build their roster, but they also had to execute on the field, and that means coaches had to coach and players had to play.
Yes, talent matters. But everyone at the top levels of any profession is talented. If you watched any of the World Series, you saw two very talented teams led by two exceptional managers play really great baseball for a week and a half. And you saw two teams that had the fuel booster they needed for their exceptional talent.
Attitude.
As leaders, there are some yardsticks we can use. For example, we can measure activity, project timelines, lines of code per programmer, close rates, client calls, certifications and preparations. In these cases, we can, and should, look at our teams in terms of both what they can and can’t do, and we ought to train them, if they can (and are willing to) do.
Attitude, on the other hand, is harder to measure, but it’s not hard to notice. It’s like the Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart posited on obscenity: “I know it when I see it.”
And, when we see it, we ought to celebrate it, recruit for it and cross-pollenate the heck out of it.
Practical application? In times of great change, once we make sure the team can do what we need them to do, we need to decide whether players on our team will or won’t do. And if they won’t do, that won’t do.
No one is irreplaceable. As a buddy of mine often says, “Look, this ain’t rocket surgery!” And since no one is doing triple bypass on any rockets, attitude takes its place at the head of the class.
These are times of great change. Anyone can complain about it. Make excuses out of it. Run from it and try to hide from it. (Let me know how that one works out, ok?!) We can blame change, be paralyzed by change and resist change. We can even ignore change, but I’m pretty sure that leads to extinction….just sayin’…
Difference makers take a different attitude. They embrace change. They run toward (but not into) the flame. They participate in ideation and they take risks, make themselves vulnerable and give feedback with absolute transparency. They raise their hands and say, “Put me in, Coach! I’m ready to play!”
It’s a little thing that makes a big difference, just like ol’ Winston said…
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