It’s Not the Number of Tasks You Do (WT594)

It’s Not the Number of Tasks You Do (WT594)

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by Shirley Dalton | 12 Nov, 2021 | Blog, Leadership

WT 594 It's not the number of tasks you do

As we drive around in the motorhome we like to listen to audio books.

One book that I can highly recommend is Measure What Matters by John Doerr.

The book is all about what he calls “OKRs” – Objectives and Key Results, why and how to use them.

But that’s not what I want to share in this thought.

One of the points that stood out for me was a little sentence for managers.

You see, lately I’ve been coaching a number of Chief Operating Officers at various companies as well as having been the COO for Kip McGrath Education Centres, an Australian international franchise organisation and currently COO for a start up business, this sentence really resonated for me and if you’re a COO or manager or you aspire to be, then I really want you to take notice of it and assess yourself.

Are you ready?

I forget the name of the person to quote, so we’ll say “source unknown”.

If you’re a manager, you don’t get paid for the number of tasks you do, you get paid for the quality of the decisions you make.

I’ll repeat that. If you’re a manager, you don’t get paid for the number of tasks you do, you get paid for the quality of the decisions you make.

To illustrate my point, when I was working at Kip McGrath Education Centres, Kip walked past my office one day and poked his head in and said, “Shirley, if I walk past your office and you have your back turned away from the door and are staring out the window with your feet up, I’ll be really pleased.”

“Ok, I’ll bite”, I said. “What will you be really pleased about?”

“It will mean you’re thinking about how you can improve my business” and with that he walked back to his office.

So, what does this mean for you? Are you running around doing everything? Do you have the mindset that only you can do it?

If so, you are severely limiting your career options and chances for promotion.

What any business owner or senior leader wants to see is people stepping up. People thinking about and acting on how the business could be improved; how processes could be streamlined, how expenses could be reduced, how customers could be wowed. The list is endless.

And if you have trouble making decisions, next week I’ll share a little tip with you that will make all the difference and help you feel much more confident to make those decisions.

Now you have a decision to make. What will you do with this week’s thought? Will you read it, think about it and then forget about it or will you read it, think about it, discuss it with your mentors, other managers and colleagues and find ways you can delegate some of those tasks that someone else can do just as well, if not better than you?

Let me know what you decide. Remember, it’s not the number of tasks you do. It’s the quality of the decisions you make.

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Get a Mirror (WT587)

Get a Mirror (WT587)

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by Shirley Dalton | 24 Sep, 2021 | Blog, Leadership

WT 587 Get a mirror

I fell off my pushbike today.

I was following Ross and he navigated a tricky pedestrian crossing at the lights.

A car stopped for him and the driver waved him on.

I was happy to stop and wait, however the driver waved me on too.

I felt pressured to keep going, although I’m not as proficient at riding as Ross.

Of course I fell over.

Right in the middle of the road.

Right in front of the driver.

Right in front of all the other cars that were stopped at the lights.

I was embarrassed.

I was hurt and Ross was nowhere to be seen.

The young driver called out to see if I was ok.

I had somehow landed on my backside with both legs in the air and I managed to roll over and found myself laying there with hands, palms facing down on the road, for what seemed like minutes before I gathered myself and untwisted the bike and walked to the other side of the road.

Where was Ross?

All I wanted to do was cry and melt into his arms.

He had ridden up the road and was waiting; sitting on a seat outside our destination.

Now I was mad.

Instead of melting into his arms, I wanted to punch him.

“Get a mirror”, I screamed

“Get a mirror on that damn bike so you can see what’s happening behind you.”

Of course, this outburst came because of an earlier frustration I had had with him not hearing me call out when we were riding in Darwin.

And to my point, no matter what we are doing, we need to be present and remain alert and of course, not pressure ourselves when we’re in situations that are uncomfortable.

What will you do?

Will you get a mirror?


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Yes I Did and I’m Sorry (WT586)

Yes I Did and I’m Sorry (WT586)

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by Shirley Dalton | 17 Sep, 2021 | Blog, Leadership

WT 586 Yes I Did and I'm Sorry

Our theme this week is taking responsibility.

It always amazes me how themes arise.

I often hear stories from different people around the same topic.

Here’s a couple of examples:

  1. A worker isn’t performing. The worker fails to produce an expected outcome on time. The supervisor calls a meeting. The worker offers excuses as to why it wasn’t his fault. The supervisor asks, “What’s your 50% in this?” The worker continues blaming circumstances and others. The worker doesn’t seem to understand, that we are all co-creators and that if it’s happening and you’re involved, then you too are responsible.
  2. Watching the TV show, SAS Australia, celebrities are tasked with completing 30 rounds of a number of activities. The staff are not physically watching, however the celebrities do not know that they are being filmed. One of the celebrities only completes 15 rounds instead of 30 for one activity. The Leader asks for anyone who didn’t complete all rounds to step forward. A couple of people step forward. They may have completed 27, 28 or 29 rounds. They can step back. The “cheat” did not own up. The “cheat” did not take responsibility for his actions and made excuses. His actions did not help to create good trusting relationships with the other “team members”.
  3. Elizabeth vents loudly to Cassandra. Elizabeth complains about Margaret not pulling her weight. Cassandra encourages her to confront Margaret. “Oh no, I couldn’t do that. I don’t want to hurt her feelings. I was rather hoping you could have a word to her for me”, replies Elizabeth.

In all three situations, no-one is taking responsibility for their actions. No-one is taking ownership of what needs to be done.

Years ago some friends of ours shared a story about their three sons. They were laughing as they told us about their middle son, we’ll call him Mark. Mark was always up to no good. He would borrow things from his brothers without asking. He crashed his bike. He broke things, however, unlike his brothers, when asked if he was responsible or whether it was he who had done “the thing”, he always answered, “Yes, I did and I’m sorry”. 

“How can you get angry at that?” our friends asked. “At least he is taking responsibility and apologising, unlike his brothers who would look to blame or give excuses.” As it turned out, his brothers got into more trouble for blaming and lying to get out of trouble than Mark did for actually doing the wrong thing.

When it comes to working with people and interacting with your family and friends, who would you rather hang out with; someone who gets into BED with Blame, Excuses and Denial or someone who takes responsibility and says, “Yes I did and I’m sorry?”


P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Nobody is Helping (WT575)

Nobody is Helping (WT575)

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by Shirley Dalton | 2 Jul, 2021 | Blog, Leadership

WT 575 Nobody is helping

We were stopped at the traffic lights on a hot and humid Friday afternoon in Darwin.

“OMG! Ross”, I yelled, “Nobody is helping” as I pointed to a young guy who was laying underneath his motorbike at the traffic lights on the side street to us.

As we were waiting for the lights to turn green I watched in horror as I saw the guy and the bike fall over.

I was stunned that nobody rushed to help.

There was a car in front of him and a car behind him and a long line of traffic.

Our lights turned green and we crossed the intersection and pulled up.

Without thinking, I jumped out of the van and ran to his aid.

Thankfully, by this time another man had appeared to help, amidst the women from the front car who only seemed interested in whether he had damaged their car before taking off.

We got the bike off him and picked the broken pieces up off the road and moved to the grass across the road.

He was shaken but okay.

He was more concerned that it wasn’t his bike.

He mentioned he was the apprentice and was able to call someone to come with a trailer to pick him up.

The other guy on the scene was able to wait with him.

I raced over to the motorhome and got him a bottle of water.

With that we got going.

“Wow, I can’t believe people didn’t rush to help”, I said to Ross.

It really upset me to see people just sitting in their car watching.

I know I’m not supposed to judge. Well that’s a judgement of myself, isn’t it?

It was another sad example of what psychologists call “The Bystander Effect”.

What this means is that if you’re in trouble, you’re better off to have just one other person around because if there are many, they will all stand back, thinking that someone else will help and of course, nobody does.

I’m curious. What would you have done?

Would you have sat in your car or would you have gone to his aid?

No judgement.

P.S. This month’s free online training is scheduled for Friday 16th July at 11:00am Sydney Time – Discover the Secrets to Finding, Hiring and Keeping the Right People. Click here to register.

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Polite Doesn’t Mean Pushover (WT574)

Polite Doesn’t Mean Pushover (WT574)

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by Shirley Dalton | 25 Jun, 2021 | Blog, Leadership

WT 574 Polite doesn't mean pushover

I was conducting a recruitment interview for a client today.

I asked the candidate to explain his definition of “Assertive”.

“It’s someone who is quite forceful in getting their way”, he replied.

“Wow”, I thought to myself. “That’s not my definition.”

To be assertive means to be honest and congruent. It means that you get your needs met AND not at the expense of others. In order to get your needs met you need to:

  1. Be aware of your needs
  2. Take responsibility for getting your needs met, and
  3. Use your communication skills (I Messages, Active Listening and Conflict Resolution Skills as examples).

Participants in our Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience and Online Membership get to experience this in a number of ways.

There is a difference between being Assertive and Aggressive.

Aggressive people want to win and don’t care if others lose.

Assertive people also want to win, however they look for a win win, to make sure both parties get what they want.

Passive people lose. The give in and hardly ever get what they want.

Passive Aggressive people are the same as aggressive people in that they want to win and don’t care if you lose, however they are not as loud or violent. Rather they are sneaky and manipulative.

Assertive people who use their communication skills are often described as being polite.

Make no mistake, polite doesn’t mean pushover.

Polite people use their manners.

Polite people consider others.

Polite people look for a win win.

There is nothing wimpy about being polite, in fact, being polite can often help you gain support and help from others to get what you want.

Ross found this out when he gave a book to the receptionist at the van park. He took the time to talk with her when we arrived, found out she liked reading books, gave her one to read and add to their swap collection and she’s been very helpful ever since, which she isn’t always with other people.

This week your challenge is to be polite and still go for what you want.

Give it a go and let us know your results.

Polite doesn’t mean pushover.

P.S. Our next face to face Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience will be held in Newcastle, NSW in September 2021. You can find out more by CLICKING ON THIS LINK.

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

If It Was Easy Everyone Would Do It (WT573)

If It Was Easy Everyone Would Do It (WT573)

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by Shirley Dalton | 18 Jun, 2021 | Blog, Leadership

WT 573 If it was easy everyone would do it

We’re talking about leadership and management of course.

It’s not for everyone. It’s not an easy role to have.

I remember when Ross was promoted to the Site Supervisor’s role. He had no idea how to lead and manage his team.

He did what most new leaders and managers do. He treated his team the way he had been treated in the past.

Working in male dominated heavy industry, he yelled a lot. He swore a lot and he was passive aggressive.

He hadn’t had any training and he would come home to me and tell me about his day.

I would cringe listening to him as he recounted the events of the day and how he treated his team.

I did my best to counsel him and mentor him.

I also strongly suggested that he join my next Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience, which to his credit, he did.

In fact, he has been a participant in 4 of the experiences as well as assisting me in many many more.

The change in him was amazing. He stopped swearing and yelling.

He invested the time to get to know his people. He stood up for them to higher management when needed.

The result. He created a very loyal, very productive and harmonious team.

At Christmas one year they had more work than they had workers and Ross facilitated a team meeting where they collectively created a plan for getting the work done. No surprises they all got to finish at midday Christmas Eve and got to enjoy the holiday period.

Being a leader isn’t easy and it doesn’t come naturally for most.

Leadership skills are skills you can learn and I’m excited to announce that the winner for our 11th year of Weekly Thoughts, and a participant in our next Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience in Newcastle is Annie D.

Congratulations Annie and congratulations to all the entrants. It was a tough decision.

Remember, if it was easy, everyone would do it.

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

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