With Big Banks No Longer Listening...Who is Listening to Your Members ?

Classic look back on one of the blogs most popular posts. It was relevant then ...seems just as relevant today. Originally posted 10/17/10

Heard Any Good Advice Lately
When was the last time you had someone offer you some really good advice? Not the advice of, “You need to watch this TV show” or “Go see this movie” type of advice. I mean “Wow, I am so glad you told me that advice”. For some of us that might have been as recently as today or yesterday. Others reading the blog might have to stop and really consider when the last time they received some really good advice was. Ever wonder why with so many expert opinions and people chatting on Facebook, Tweeting, and texting on their mobile phones that the amount of practical and actionable advice seems to be a tiny percent of all the conversations going on?

Whatever Happened to Listening
With so much communication happening one has to wonder how much listening is also going on. This is critical question as listening enables trust. The fastest way to understand the advice someone needs is to listen to what that person has to say. That sounds very simplistic. However, we live in a world that loves to market and get the message out. We have software that knows my last purchase, where I live, how much people in my neighborhood make, and what my average balance is on any given month. What that software doesn’t know is what keeps me up at night. Sure it might be able to predict what keeps the average forty year old living in Middle America up but not me specifically. That software can’t with all its predictive analysis duplicate the smile and conversation that takes place between one of your service agents on your platform with one of your members. Even in an age of social media the most effective way of learning member needs is not in the development of software packages but in the development of front line staff and line managers.

That is because our members want to reduce uncertainty and risk and the fastest way to do that is to build relationships that they feel are built on common bonds of trust. Every successful business relationship is one that endures past the initial transaction or interaction. The relationship moves from being based on a single commodity (the moment or action of the initial transaction. Which often is the transaction of the least monetary worth) to being based on mutual benefit and increased mutual value. This shifting of perspective is a pivotal moment in being able to move from being side provider of financial products and services to being your members’ preferred financial institution.

A core behavior for building member trust is in the ability of credit union staff to listen to what members are saying to them. It is not uncommon to find people making seven statements to every question that they ask. You can’t help the member with the problem if you don’t understand the problem the member has.

The fastest way to build trust and develop a real relationship that is truly beneficial is to listen to your member. This is true of most relationships and financial relationships are no exception. For most people banks and credit union have become commodities. Too often credit unions are used as a source for a low auto rate or a place to park hot money because of a CD special. These are the very transactions we have to move past with our membership. Passive interaction and order taking are not going to build a relationship.

Practical Application:

That member who you have seen week in and week out for the last year…what is their credit score? What debts are they paying that have rates with other lenders that are higher than what you offer?

When your staff interact with members what "Go To" core questions do they use to really understand where the member is at in their financial well being?

For your key SEGS what interactions have you undertaking to make sure you are in tune with their workforce’s financial needs? Are you engaged and listening to your HR partners?  

Credit Union Blind Spots: Leadership Wedges

The Wedge
There is a story about an iron wedge that I recall hearing years ago. The legend was told by a white-haired farmer who recalled as a young boy finding a faller’s wedge. The wedge was flat, and heavy, a foot or more long, and splayed from mighty poundings.

[For those of you who do not know a faller’s wedge is, it is used to help fell a tree. It is inserted in a cut made by a saw and then struck with a sledgehammer to widen the cut.]

Now the young man who came across the wedge was already late for dinner, so he laid the wedge down between the limbs of the young walnut tree his father had planted near the front gate. As he headed for home he told himself that he would take the wedge to the shed right after dinner, or sometime the next day.

Filled with good intentions the young man meant to deal with the wedge, but somehow there was always something more pressing to attend to. Soon the wedge was firmly gripped as time moved forward and the man married and took over his father’s farm.

 The wedge, grown in and healed over, was still in the tree the winter the ice storm came. In the dark silence of that bitter night one of the three major limbs split away from the trunk and crashed to the ground. This so unbalanced the remainder of the top that it, too, split apart and went down.

The next morning in the light of dawn not a twig of the once-proud tree remained. It was to this sight that the farmer awoke. With time to only mourn his loss the man’s eyes caught sight of something in the splintered ruin of the once proud tree.

 ‘The wedge,’ he muttered reproachfully. ‘The wedge I found in the south pasture.’ A glance told him why the tree had fallen. Growing, edge-up in the trunk, the wedge had prevented the limb fibers from knitting together as they should.

Credit Union Wedges - The Core Group

Today like the farmer in the story many credit unions suffer from wedges that are embedded into the cultural fibers of their organizations. They have simply grown used to all decisions being made by a core group. Typically this group are the ones that have been with the credit union for thirty years and started as a part time teller and worked their way up to the lofty inner circles where all the real decisions happen.  

Instead of looking for ideas and solutions from others, this group sees creativity and insight as a privilege. You are either in or you are out of the process. This group of leaders unwittingly holds back the energy and talent of those around them. Instead of looking for new intellect to add to the dialog they fall back on recycled ideas that are simply versions of other recycled ideas from playbooks that worked for them “back in the day.”

Imagine what the other side of the spectrum could look like. Where would your credit union be if it had leaders that sought to unleash talent and to multiply the abilities of those around them? Picture a leadership team that actively sought how to double the brainpower of staff and managers for the good of the organization.

I came across an article that talked about how leaders can magnify and unleash the talents of others that listed the following attributes:

Attract and Optimize Talent:

When you hire talented people learn the capabilities of the individual so you can connect them to opportunities to improve the group. See beyond organizational titles and look for talent at various levels of the organization. Cultivate and reward people who seek to come up with solutions. Spot light them to the organization in a newsletter or with your internal media boards.

Create a Culture of Intensity:

The maze of titles and offices and small minded kingdoms that come with internal politics are the breeding grounds for mediocrity. You simply need to scan the newspapers for credit unions and community banks that invested everything into the talents of too few people to see this play out. They would be on the list headlined by the words “Regulators Seized”.  Peel back the label on many of these institutions and you would find managers that created tension and anxiety by suppressing the best ideas from those around them. At the first hint of danger they circle the intellectual wagons and stop communication to the very people they need the best ideas from.  

Great leaders do just the opposite by giving everyone the information they need with permission to voice their ideas on that information. This unleashing of ideas draws in people to the process. Spectators on the team are pushed to the sidelines and your natural leaders and creative thought workers get busy making things better.


Toss the Ball

If you were watching your favorite sports team (soccer, football, basketball, and baseball) you would be horrified if you saw the same person take the ball and try to win without ever giving the ball to anyone else. It would be baffling to even consider such a strategy.

Today in financial services too often the “thought police” do exactly that.  They rely solely on their own understanding when they consider what direction to set for the organization. This same mistake is then multiplied by each lower level of the organization as leaders are taught and groomed not to engage others. These leaders spend the majority of their time “telling” others instead of “asking” others.

Don't wait until it is too late and then look at the wedge you never took the time to deal with. A wonderful experiment is to spend your next week asking the hard questions that spark ideas in others. Instead of answering your own questions allow those around you to fill in the voids you have presented. Allow yourself to toss the ball and give those around you permission to catch the ball and run with it. Don't fall trap to one of the common credit union blind spots of not removing the wedge and looking beyond the people in front of you. Magnify the intelligence of your organization by engaging others and letting them fill the voids you know exist.  

Words of Wisdom From a Former Credit Union CEO

The term “small credit unions” is relative. That said, even when times are good, the “small credit union” tends to face challenges in a way that “larger credit unions”, another relative term, do not.  Speaking from experience, the pressures on the small credit union leadership looms large on a daily basis. The leadership must be intimately involved in all aspects of the operations.  Regulatory burdens alone loom large for the small credit union. Small credit unions have a more intimate relationship with their members. These smaller institutions are under a higher degree of pressure as they assist their members.

Asset quality in small credit union has not changed over the past several years.  The net worth ratio remains robust.  Navigating the economic uncertainty can be difficult.  Negative trends catch the eye of examiners, boards and management.

There are no quick answers here, however, with that said, there are common themes, of which, regardless of asset size are helpful.

• Place negative trends in context.  Make sure interested parties know how other credit unions are fairing.  Information will help directors and management make informed decisions and transparency reduces the likelihood of knee jerk overreactions.
• Most small credit union have plenty of capital.  Avoid penalizing members with higher loan rates. higher fees, lower dividend rates. service reductions, and layoffs just to maintain net income.  Analyze the impact of those decisions.
• Rising delinquency and loan losses require close monitoring and active collections.  Don’t simply tighten underwriting standards. Revisit loan quality parameters.  Analyze the remaining inherent risk in the loan portfolio.  Score the loan portfolio and analyze the scoring migration.
• Mortgage defaults are on the rise.  One mortgage delinquency in a small credit union can have a large impact.  Develop a mortgage modification policy and guidelines to assist the membership during economic downturns.
• Avoid big strategic initiatives in uncertain times.
• Loan demand falls during economic downturns.  Reliance on investments takes center stage.  Investments yields are low so be conservative when placing investments. “SLY”-Safety, Liquidity, and Yield.  Build a basic ladder.
• Since market conditions are volatile asset-liability management becomes more important.  Set policy parameters on fixed rate mortgages.  The federal reserve is out of policy options on the short-end of the yield curve.  The federal reserve through quantitative easing or now QE2,  is forcing mortgage rates down to historic lows.  Market rates will rise at some point.  Credit Unions with large portfolios of long-term fixed rate (rate insensitive) assets will pay a high price (compressed NIM) in a rising rate environment.
• Engagement with outside 3rd party vendors require additional caution during uncertain economic times.  Have a robust vendor due diligence program and policy in place.
• Stress that your deposits are federally insured.
• Reduce to writing your plans and be able to communicate your credit union’s tolerance for risk.  The regulators will expect the leadership has considered where the credit union is financially headed and there is a road map containing a reasonable achievable plan.

During times of financial dislocation credit unions, regardless of asset size, can show others the benefits of the cooperative movement.


The blog entry you have just read was written by Edward Lis who was a former CEO and CFO of two different credit unions. If you enjoyed this article I encourage you to learn more about Edward by visiting www.edwardlis.com


Don't just read the blog become part of the blog by submitting your own article or by leaving a comment below. 

Is “Silence” The Newest Credit Union Fee To Hit Consumers ?

Classic Look Back
I have reposted this blog entry from earlier as I  think it is perhaps even more relevant to our times. Big Banks are looking for new ways to separate the average consumer from their hard earned money. Credit Unions not only need to resist this trend but need to make sure they are vocal about the real choice they offer each person who lives, works or worships on Main Street. 


What Will Be the New Strategic Flavor of the Month
A few months ago I had the chance to listen to a presentation for credit unions on how to increase growth and revenue. As the presentation continued ideas would surface that the moderator would add to a flip chart page. The ideas ranged from increasing fees for convenience services, creating virtual kiosks for remote branch networks, and moving into social media. All of these are worthwhile ideas and they all have a place on the map when credit union leaders talk about strategy. What never made it to the flip chart was accountability or performance metrics. Briefly the topic of sales came up (the moderator mentioned it) and quickly segments of the audience voiced their discontent with the idea of proactive sales within the credit union space.

Ever Feel Like A Stranger in a Strange Land
As a reformed banker I was quite on the issue. It felt like one of those weird moments when you see a couple you know start arguing and you have an opinion but don’t want to intrude on the conversation. Yep…it just felt awkward. I wanted to engage in the conversation as the “anti sales” segment of the audience clearly marked their position in the ground. They did not want their employees to sell at the member expense. No product pushing. No individual incentives. No one should be in a position to have to sell or risk being fired. As each point was articulated I could see heads nodding in agreement in unison. I agreed with every point being made. All of those things should be taboo in credit unions

Soon the topic turned to education and how members of the audience felt that credit unions needed to do a better job of working with their SEGS (select employee groups) and explain to members how they could save them money on auto loans and increase their savings rates. The mood was visibly different as more and more audience members agreed that SEGS and younger members were of vital concern to keep credit union membership growing.

To me the disconnect between the two positions could not be more clear – how could so many people agree with SEG education and involvement and young adult marketing efforts (Facebook, Twitter) and not consider the proactive use of sales in a credit union friendly way? Then it occurred to me what the difference was. It was a matter of perception and word choice.

For many credit union advocates the idea of adopting any bank like behavior is moving in the wrong direction. Sales being the very worst of the bank behaviors they want to avoid. After all wasn’t it Big Bank “sales” that put people into subprime mortgages with option ARMs? Wasn’t it Big Bank “sales” that credit card companies engaged in when they sent out mailer after mailer encouraging people to take on more debt and live beyond their means?

The answer is “Yes” it was "selling" that did that… and that is exactly why credit unions have to speak up and talk to their members about the products and services they offer. People accept bad advice most often when they have nothing else to compare it to. It is the absence of having the credit union voice that most quickly leads to our member being sold on a product that does not help them. It is allowing members to hear only the Big Bank sales presentation that leads to members being in positions they can’t climb out of. How would your member ever know they don’t have to pay 22 percent on a credit card unless you tell them?

I think now more than ever as people look for ways to make lower paying salaries stretch further credit unions have a responsibility to proactively engage their members in conversations about the choices they have. Call it member advocacy or any other term to fit the culture. Bottom line our collective silence in not engaging our members only hurts them. Our silence and our aversion to the concept of sales only come at our member’s expense...a hidden fee on our membership.

Practical Application:

• How do you get your staff engaged in proactively engaging members and helping them improve their savings returns?
• How do you get your staff engaged in helping members restructure their debt to save them interest?
• What impact would you create for your credit union? Would it help you lower your dependence on non interest income?
• What is the opportunity you are leaving on the table because your staff is reluctant to move beyond being “order takers?”
• As Big Banks have turned their branches into retail shops with high pressure sales tactics have you allowed  your employee “silence” become the newest member fee you have passed onto your membership?

Big Banks Kicking Up Smoke on Free Checking and Free Bill Pay

The Game Changers
In 2002 the proverbial shot that was heard around the world of online banking was...free bill pay. The culprit credited as being behind the shot was the Big Bank that calls Charlotte, North Carolina home. Actually the first “free bill pay shot”  was fired by the “Big Bank That Never Sleeps” five years earlier when it did a major marketing campaign on the streets of Manhattan touting its no-fee electronic banking message but it was largely ignored by the financial services industry. Yet, in 2002 when the world took notice of this "game changer". Big Banks were no longer charging five dollars a month for online banking and soon the rest of the industry was forced to follow its lead. Since then every new service or feature associated with the online channel has been basically “free”.

So now it is interesting to watch the rest of the industry as the same Big Banks attempt another game changer by change the rules once again. In the "The Billy the Kid Checking Account” post I highlighted the new pilot testing that is happening in test markets in Arizona. Most of the article focused on the cost of having a checking account. This is because I looked exactly where the Big Bank marketing department wanted me to look. I was supposed to look at the checking account fee structure as it was the smoke that obscured what was really going on.

I Didn't Like the Song till I Saw the Video
This morning I saw another example of shifting peoples attention as I was watching a music video that came on TV. The video looked rather boring and I was about to change the channel until it cut to a scene with a dancer in a pirate or historical costume dancing and kicking up smoke. Suddenly I was no longer noticing that the singer in the video never moved or that I never saw the band. Instead my mind was focused on the "Cool Ninja Pirate Dancer" who was kicking up all the smoke. The same thing is happening as people are watching the changing trends in consumer fees and are focused on watching what the marketing department wants them to.

It is easy to miss with all the smoke being kicked up over checking accounts that the "silent shot in the dark" is actually on free online bill pay. Only this time around the Big Banks are not doing a major advertising campaign on the new fee structure like they did back in the day.


The Products Behind The Smoke
Below I have listed the two lowest cost accounts being offered in the test markets in Arizona:

·                     An “Essentials" checking account is a basic account with a monthly fee (six dollars) and a debit card. Sadly you do get online banking but you do not get bill pay with it. Bill pay, well that is 4 dollars more per month.

·                      An "eBanking" account has no fees if the customer opts for e-statements and makes deposits and withdrawals online or by ATM. Also includes mobile and bill pay for only nine dollars a month.  

Notice that online banking is free but the cost of actually having bill pay adds to the monthly charge. To pay bills online you have two options with the accounts listed above. Those options are listed below.

·                     Option #1: You can have the entry level “essentials account” and add bill pay as an ala carte item for 4 dollars a month. This brings the total expense for checking and online banking with bill pay to 10 dollars a month

·                     Option #2 is to upgrade to the “ebanking” account which has no monthly fee when you make all deposits and withdrawals online or at an ATM (not at a teller) and sign up for paperless statements. However if you walk into a branch or call someone that visit will cost you as you then get hit with a monthly service fee of 9 dollars.

The pricing on this is shady. They have positioned the lowest cost option first and then added an ala carte bill pay feature that is more expensive than the next product up the product line.

The sad fact is that the people who are in the most need of watching their balances, paying their bills on time, and having access to someone to talk to them about improving their financial lives are being discouraged by add on fees from ever talking to the very people who could help them.

There are around 130,000,000 consumer checking accounts in the United States and most of them belong to people who most of us would consider residents of Main Street society. Given this fact it is not hard to see that the smoke being kicked up is directed onto the lower and middle class households on Main Street that are in need. 

Migration of Checking Accounts 

If you were to look back to 2009 you would find that Big Banks and Regional Banks with deposits over $50 billion enjoyed about 45 percent of this market. Today you would find that about five million accounts in 2010 shifted from Big Banks to community banks and credit unions. This shift is expected to continue throughout this upcoming year as community banks and credit unions grab up to 65 percent of the checking account market. Looking back over the last several months, from July 2010 to February 2011, community banks offering free checking increased by one percent and credit unions by nine percent! 

This is great news for credit unions and small banks. When you stop and consider how hard it is to get someone to change their financial institution you really appreciate just how much resentment is out there on this topic. This migration tells us that this is an issue worth talking to your product managers and marketing experts about. Five million people saw past the smoke and went home to fill out a switch kit. They went through the trouble of changing their online banking bill pay recipients and their direct deposits. Bottom line they were aggravated enough to take action.  

The silent message being sent by the Big Banks is that free checking and free online bill payment are things of the past. In their drive to maintain fat margins they have kicked up smoke and fired a shot at every person who lives or works on Main Street. Big Banks taking aim at the consumer is nothing new. No, what is really interesting is that five million people saw through the smoke and shot back firing their Big Banks. 

Practical Application:

Now is the perfect time to tout your free services. Don't let Big Banks define the trend you follow or set for your membership. 

Source link: wall-street-banks-continue-to-drop-free-checking-lose-market-share-to-main-street-institutions

The "Billy The Kid" Checking Account

Church...Credit Unions...Stepping on Toes
I was having lunch with a group of people when the topic of friendship came up. As everyone was talking about what they liked or disliked about their friends one person said something that really took hold with the group.

The person said, “I need friends that when I get lost they tell me and are not afraid to step on my toes. I need to hear what I need to be doing no matter if I am doing it or not. I want that type of moral compass” Everyone at the table nodded in agreement and said that was exactly what they were looking for in their friends.

Keeping one's business moral compass can be difficult as you try to navigate changing regulatory landscapes. Just when you think you have it figured out some new piece of legislation is passed. Added to that is the challenge of all the unspoken rules for financial services that seem to be continuing to shift.

Wanted Dead or Alive - Free Checking

Most recently the latest unspoken rule to change seems to be the new trend of killing free checking. This basic vanilla product is on the most wanted list and clearly becoming a product of the past. Just as Main Street is trying to get their feet underneath them the Big Banks are looking for new ways to cash in.

The good news for credit union members according to Bankrate’s annual Credit Union Checking Study is that free checking accounts are alive at many of the nation's credit unions. The study revealed that of the 50 credit unions surveyed, 38 of them -- or 76 percent -- offer free checking accounts with no strings attached.

So why have The Big Banks suddenly targeted checking accounts? It is all about profit pure and simple. Big Banks are trying to earn more revenues from their existing customer base by requiring Main Street consumers to use more products and services in order to avoid monthly fees. One Big Bank is currently testing a variety of fees based checking programs in target markets. The options being tested fall under four types of checking accounts:

•  An “Essentials" type of account is a basic account with a monthly fee (six dollars) and a debit card. Sadly you do get online banking but you do not get bill pay with it. Want bill pay well that is 3 dollars more per month. 
• An "eBanking" account has no fees if the customer opts for e-statements and makes deposits and withdrawals online or by ATM. Also includes mobile and bill pay for only nine dollars a month.
•   An "Enhanced" account will have a fee (fifteen dollars) if a customer doesn't keep a minimum of $2,000 balance. It includes two checking accounts, savings, debit card, and bill pay.
• A "Premium" account requires a minimum of $20,000 balance and provides a tiered checking account with debit card, online banking, bill pay, free money orders and check printing. If you fall below the balance minimum then you are paying twenty five dollars a month.

No matter the option being tested the fact remains that for large banks free checking is becoming a product of the past. This rush to fee reminds me of someone who has lost their sense of direction as they think about their customer base.

Big Banks -No Loyalty  

If you check out the advertising in the target markets (Arizona is the one I checked) you see a picture of a smiling woman pondering which of her checking account options she will choose.  The tag line for the ad is “Checking that fits: Get a solution that fits your needs.” How can Big Banks roll this out in Arizona and not take into account the impact on the average person trying to make ends meet?

The last numbers I saw for Arizona indicated that the state had unemployment rates around 10 percent. This is an economy that lost about 300,000 jobs during the recession, or around 11 percent of the state's total.

In a recent article talking about the job market of Arizona Ioanna Morfessis, founding chief executive of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and an economic-development consultant, stated, “The Great Recession has redefined the standard of living for most Americans, and in Arizona it has really compelled people to adapt, change and lower expectations.”

I think it is sad that one of the things the people of Arizona have to lower their expectations on is on being able to avoid extraneous fees from their financial institution. I think there is an opportunity to gain market share from the Big Banks as people grow tired of having new fees for existing services. Remember back in 2009 when there was a flight to safety as people were worried about the Big Banks and credit unions gained new members? Today the banks have given credit unions another shot in the arm as they try to fee customers out of their branches. 

Free Moral Compass Moment

Recall my lunch time observation that people sometimes need a moral compass to let them know when they have lost sight of what is important? Well, in the spirit of reaching across the road to our misguided neighbors at the Big Banks here is your wake up call.

“Ahem, to any Big Banks reading the blog…feeing the middle class who are struggling to make ends meet for the same old services just so you can pay for the litigation cost of doing robo signatures on sub prime mortgages…that’s low….even for you guys. Really think of the mentality behind this strategy. Don’t call us…Don’t visit us… just give us your money and nobody gets hurt…that’s a little “Billy the Kid” don’t you think?"

Everyone Needs Some Work Place Passion

Recently I had the chance to attend a chamber of commerce  meeting in which the key note speaker mentioned that many financial institutions have paid a high tuition for a very painful education during this recession. That for many of us part of that education was in seeing what happens when people are extremely passionate in creating profit with no regard for how they make that profit. Sadly the lessons of Wall Street and the meltdown that followed are starting to cool on the political memory. TARP companies are back in the saddle and are moving forward with a renewed passion for finding ways to make more profit. 

While I do not approve of the means or methods of the Wall Street machine I do have to give them credit for being able to attract people who are willing to do anything to accomplish their goals. There is a zeal and energy you think of when you think of Wall Street titans and their hunter/skinners who are looking for the next big deal. No matter how poorly the industry is portrayed it is rarely portrayed as lazy or apathetic towards hitting business goals. 

What role does passion play in our work lives? All of us have seen them. Those coworkers who seem to light up when it’s time to get to work. I recall early in my career working with a lady who was the kindest, gentlest soul that I had ever seen. Not a harsh word or a sharp tone ever escaped her lips as she interacted with her coworkers. Her handbag had a cross-stitch of her grandchildren on the side.

Then the clock would hit the start time signaling that it was 8:30 am which meant it was now legal to call people at home and remind them of prior obligations that they had overlooked last paycheck (yep- Granny was a bill collector).  That sweet old lady was still sweet but her fingers were a blur on the phone, and as she spoke to each person she would light up as she would use her sweet voice and occasionally crack her knuckles and lean forward using hand gestures at the screen. Like some kind of auctioneer the sound of dollar figures would start going back and forth between her and the person on the other end of the phone. It was verbal swordplay to see who would get what they wanted. At the end of the call she would thank them and remind them in her sweet voice she was counting on them to not disappoint her. She loved the game and the challenge of the job and it showed. Each month this kind old granny took home the top collector incentive and top spot on the collections floor. 

That experience taught me a lot about not judging a book by its cover and what impact having passion for your work plays on your performance. It also taught me that in order to really obtain success you have to want to do more than the minimum. When you are passionate about what you are doing then you will find ways to do it better. On the other hand if it is a drudgery to do what you are doing then most of the time the minimum become the most you will do. Today companies need leaders who are strategic, proactive, principled, savvy, flexible, and authentic. All of that goes without saying. Yet, what often drives the business forward is the level of passion a leader feels and is able to inspire. Can anyone imagine Apple being the success it is today if its CEO was not passionate about its future and its products?

The power of passion cannot be over rated. Many of us have turned on the news each morning and seen the crowds of demonstrators who were passionately demanding change in Egypt. The ability of the people of Egypt to demand and receive political change is a stark reminder of the power passion can ignite. It brings diverse people together and pushes aside the boxes we like to put people into. Passion allows us to demand the ability to look forward. It ignites us to either fix some wrong or to pass along something we believe to be right. Passion helps us push past obstacles not because we have to but because we want to achieve that goal that fuels the passion we are feeling.

Consider your own teams. How would you gage the level of passion that is being displayed to accomplish the goals at hand?  Probably many of us work in jobs that do not appear to impact society in a manner that calls for passionate displays. After all, being a manager is hard enough without also having to be the official cheerleader for the group. Yet, what if…what if you could get people really excited about achieving that goal? What if you didn't have to do all the heavy lifting? What if you had someone on the team just waiting for the chance to do more?

Most of us are probably the type that when the goal is on the line we want to be the person in charge. We want to have control. Our internal passion to succeed blinds us to the potential passion in others. I remember one meeting in which I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself because I was feeling so overworked (que sad music for background). So I went and spoke to another leader (my mentor) about my situation. This leader offered sound advise but no matter what she said I kept hearing that I had to do more. Finally exasperated with me (I have that effect on people at times) she said, “ You are not that smart, not every answer has to come from you. You have extremely capable people around you and if you are telling me that none of them can help you then you are a sorry leader!” My pride in tatters I left that meeting angry with her lack of understanding. She obviously had no clue what it meant to be passionate about something and having to do it yourself. Luckily some hours later her words finally penetrated my fog of self pity and I was able to see what she was trying to tell me.

I took a fresh look at the staff roster and sure enough a name stood out. I scheduled a meeting with the person and explained that I wanted to place them on a special project to help me out. The person was thrilled and tackled it with fresh eyes and energy. Soon they had taken the project farther than my original expectations. To add to my lesson of personal humility the person sent me a thank you note for allowing them the opportunity to do more and made a small donation to a school in South America in my name. Clearly I had found the right person for the job.

Practical Application:

Who have you identified that could do more on your team?

How have you  encouraged a high level of autonomy on your team?

What assignment can you hand off to allow someone else to achieve success?  

Has your own level of passion ignited the potential passion in others?