Minute With Mallon: Fire Helmets

Hi Folks and Welcome to Minute With Mallon

Something I Taught:

I was working with a great leader recently who told me that she was being interrupted way too many times during the day by people who were bringing and giving their "fires" to her.

She told me that this was throwing off her days and that many days she left work feeling like she hadn't accomplished anything of significance because she was continuously working on other people's problems.

"It's so frustrating. They act like I'm the only one who has the answers around here."

We continued talking and we determined that in reality she was the one who was taking the problems from her employees, by doing this she was reinforcing the problem every time she took one. 

We talked about things she could say in order to have them keep and fix their own problems. Here's a model that we came up with which may help you too: 

"While I understand your desire for help, it's important to recognize that this is an opportunity for you to develop problem-solving skills and build resilience. I encourage you to reflect on the situation, break it down into manageable steps, and take accountability for finding a resolution. If you need advice or support along the way, I'm here to listen and provide guidance."

Read this out loud several times. Don't try to memorize it. Just get the gist of the message. Then use your own words when talking with people who want to hand you their problems. 

The thing to keep in mind as a leader is that one of the most important things you can do is grow your employees. It seems quicker just to fix things, but in reality you're building a prison for yourself.

Later in the session I asked her to go buy a small children's toy fireman's hat and put it on her desk so that she would keep her awareness up that there were fires coming at her from all directions. 

The best leaders don't solve problems for their employees; they create an environment that allows them to solve problems on their own and become more capable.

And by the way - this works very well in raising children too!

Something I Learned: 

In "Open" by Andre Agassi, there was a part of the book where he was talking about training for the US Open in 1990. One of his coaches was named Gil. Gil pushed Andre to the limits, but he was very encouraging. Andre loved him. Gil once told him:

 "There’s a lot of good waiting for you on the other side of tired. Get yourself tired, Andre. That’s where you’re going to know yourself. On the other side of tired."

I love that saying. It goes back to something we discussed before: If you do hard things, life will become easy. But if you do easy things, life will become hard. 

So embrace the difficulties that come in your life. Actually, search them out and go after them. You don’t have to do this with a lot of things, but at least have one hard thing that you’re doing in your life at all times.

What is your’s? Please let me know! 

This testing will develop perseverance and strength in your life. As for Andre, he lost the US Open that year, but went on to win 8 Grand Slam titles between the years 1992 and 2003.  

Also, I'd highly recommend the book. It was one of my favorites the year I read it. Here's a link to the Audible book: Open by Andre Agassi

Something to Ponder:

Justifying is akin to just-a-lying. Andy Stanley

Something I Saw:

Thanks for checking in and we’ll see you next week!

Robert