Author: Andrew Embry

If you mixed diet mountain dew, funk music, dragons, hip hop, superheroes, and lightning in a blender you’d end up with Andrew Embry. He is part wordsmith and part alchemist, able to use his Batman utility belt to turn anything and everything into a story worth telling that is equal parts insightful, memorable, inspiring, humorous, and entertaining. Andrew is comfortably creative in almost any setting, but especially when he is performing spoken word poetry. His enthusiasm for words comes from the way he loves people and the little nuances of life that make it worth living.

Inclusion, Safety, and Street Lights (9-9-15)

Last week was all about being aware of your biases, and then taking action. This week is also about taking action, but in a different context. This week’s entry is inspired by a conversation I had with a colleague.

Imagine for a moment that you are standing in the middle of an intersection at night and you need to pick which road you would feel the safest traveling on. You have 4 different directions you can take. To the north is pure darkness. You can’t even see a road. To the east there are street lamps, and sometimes they flicker on for a few seconds before the road goes dark again. To the south the street lights are all on, so you can see pretty well. To the west all of the street lights are on and you see a friend of yours who is calling you saying, “Come on. We’ll walk there together.” Which one do you choose?

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with anything. What if in the above situation you weren’t choosing a road, but you were choosing which person you would be willing to have a conversation with about diversity and inclusion topics? To the north the dark street is the person who seals off their personal self at work. To the east the flickering lamps are the people who show that they might be open, but they don’t give you enough to know for sure. To the south the well-lit street is the person who brings themselves to work and you are sure that it would be safe to have this conversation with them. To the west, the well-lit street with the friend is the individual who takes it a step further and puts in the effort to set aside time for them to have conversations with you. Which do you choose?

Recently I had a conversation with a colleague and he talked about how one of the biggest barriers to advancing in the realm of diversity and inclusion is that we don’t talk enough about these concepts with each other. We often don’t talk about these concepts, because we aren’t sure who is open to having the conversation and when we can have the conversation during the course of our regular work day. We might have all of this stuff on our minds, but bringing it up in the midst of other business meetings and during the rush of our day would feel out of place and not give the topics the time and attention they require. If we want this to change we need to find a way to create opportunities to have these conversations and we need to do this by making it easier for people to walk toward us and with us. If we are going to be open to having these conversations we need to be able to demonstrate this through our words and our actions.

Which path are you in the analogy? I would hope that people would see me as the south path. I hope that I’m giving all of the signals that tell people I’m open. At the same time, I recognize that I need to do better. I need to put in the work to be the welcoming west path. I can make the time to talk with people about these concepts to learn more and take more action to make things better. The challenge- How are you making yourself easier to walk toward?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Hair on Fire and Conversations about Bias (9-2-15)

Last week we talked about inclusion and superpowerment. This week we are going to look at bias, which is one of the biggest barriers we face. Pretend for a moment that you are looking in the mirror and have just uncovered your hair is on fire. What do you do? Option 1- Talk about it. Option 2- Take action to put the fire out. Which option do you choose?

I know this is a little over the top, but this is the way I feel we treat conversations about bias. We tell everyone it’s okay that we have biases. Then, we try to identify some of our biases and where they come from, and then the conversation abruptly stops. In other words, we identify we are on fire, talk about how it happened, but then we never figure out how we are going to put the fire out. Mirror moment. Be honest with yourself. What is a bias you have and what are you DOING to fight that bias? Below is my example.

I am biased against people who don’t talk/contribute much during meetings. I figure that I’m comfortable speaking up and sharing ideas, so everyone else should be. If you aren’t talking at meetings you aren’t prepared or you lack confidence. I know this rationale isn’t true. There are a plethora of reasons why people might not speak up during meetings. They might be more introverted or want the time to process alone. They might not want to be “that guy/gal” who just repeats what other people say. Maybe they don’t feel safe for a variety of reasons. Bottom line, my bias is wrong.

How I fight this (lessons learned from other leaders, Six Sigma, The Six Thinking Hats, and other articles)

Keep reminding myself that just because I’m comfortable doesn’t mean everyone else is.
If I’m leading the meeting I send out the questions we are going to tackle ahead of time. This gives everyone a chance to process on their own.
I changed the way I run brainstorming sessions.

I used to brainstorm entirely unstructured. We would bring up ideas, kill them, and move on. This was fine with me, but it didn’t lead to the superpowerment of others. Now I do more of a Six Sigma structure. First, all we do is brainstorm ideas. This is about quantity, not quality. I don’t let anyone judge the ideas. If people try to judge ideas, I remind them that we aren’t doing this right now 😉 This makes things safer, because there is no right or wrong at this point. Then we affinitize. Finally we prioritize and weigh the ideas. Combine this with the above bullets, and I believe this process create a safer environment and empowers people to participate.

I’ve found that doing a combination of the above things, paying better attention to body language, and being a better listener have helped us have better sessions and helped me fight a bias I have. Your hair is on fire. What’s your bias and what are you DOING to fight it?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

From Inclusion to Superempowerment (8-26-15)

This week’s blog was partially inspired by an article written by Dr. Gates, “Inclusion is bad for business”. Click HERE for the article. Last week we talked about the silent questions we ask such as: Can I be myself? Does this person value different people and thoughts? Can I trust this person? We also spent time thinking about the difference between diversity and inclusion. Often when people talk about inclusion they talk about creating a safe environment, but I want to challenge us to do more. How can we take inclusion to the next level?

I want you to think about the teams you’ve been on throughout your life. I’ve been on teams where it was safe to jump in and people tiptoed into the waters. I’ll call this an inclusive team. I’ve also been on teams that had some kind of extra magic where you jumped in, cannonball style, unleashing your personality, talent, and abilities for the greater good. I’ll call this a team that practices superpowerment (Super+Empowerment). Which team would you rather be on?

By now you are probably trying to figure out what superpowerment looks like? These are the leaders who go one step further on everything. Inclusive leaders encourage you to be yourself. Superpowerment leaders go out of their way to make sure you understand how your uniqueness is valuable to them, the team, and the organization. Inclusive leaders give you the chance to be visible and Superpowerment leaders ensure you are seen. The bottom line is that an inclusive leader sees a spark and gives it room to flourish, while a superpowerment leader sees the spark and pours gas on it to make it burn brighter, bigger, and longer.

Is inclusion good enough for you? What kind of a leader do you want to be? How can you answer those silent questions and move from diversity to inclusion and then from inclusion to superpowerment?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Diversity, Inclusion, and Silent Questions (8-19-15)

Over the past few weeks I’ve found inspiration from various people, articles, and events, so I want us to spend a few weeks diving into concepts related to diversity and inclusion. This week’s entry is about the “silent” questions that we are always asking and their impact on inclusion.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is that we often use the words diversity and inclusion interchangeably, but they don’t mean the same things. Diversity is about having a group of different people. Inclusion is about creating an environment for that group where people all freely participate.

If we want diversity we can go and grab a bunch of different people and throw them in a room, but this doesn’t mean that we will have inclusion. This doesn’t mean we will have teamwork. This doesn’t mean we will have any synergy. One of the reasons things like inclusion, teamwork, and synergy never occur is because of the way others react to the “silent” questions that we are always asking.

Imagine for a moment that you are in a room full of people. You know some of them, but not all of them. What are some of the silent questions you are asking? In situations like these I’m always asking a few key questions: Can I be myself with this person? Does this person really value different people and thoughts? Can I trust this person? Why should I trust them? What will happen if I do put my trust in them?

I’m going to be very honest and forthright about my skepticism. I don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt on the above questions. Instead, the entire time I’m spending time with them I’m looking for things that they say and more importantly things that they do that answer those questions. Positive answers lead to my engagement and an inclusive environment. Negative answers take all of the energy out of the room.

It doesn’t matter if you are a peer, a manager, or an upper level leader, people are always asking these questions when they are around you to see if you really believe in inclusion. I think we know people in all levels of the organization who fail and who pass this important test.

The challenge: How are you answering these “silent” questions?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Be Bold. Own it. (8-12-15)

This is going to be the last entry in the bold leadership series. We’ve talked about how bold ideas challenge the status quo (starting a country) and why we need to be bold (Frogger). We’ve talked about challenging the world and assumptions around us (Copernicus). We’ve also talked about self-doubt and doubt from others (Be a dragon), which are two of the biggest barriers to being bold. This week we are going to tie everything together with the key mindset shift we need to make in order to be bold. If we want to be bold we need to believe that WE own the problems we face and that WE can influence the area around us. This sounds really simple, but it’s not.

Recently I was talking to someone about workplace culture and they were talking about various barriers they faced. When I asked them what they could do to help the problem they basically told me that it wasn’t up to them, but it was something that leadership needed to do. On a different note, I’m working on a project about decision making. When I talk to people many of them say they can’t do anything, because it’s the process’s fault. How many times have you heard something like this from people? I know I’ve said things like this and felt this way before. Have you? Too often people wait around for others to solve problems. How often are we just standing there waiting?

Here is what I’ve learned over the years. It doesn’t matter if the topic is culture, the future, the approval process, etc. we can’t be bold unless we are willing to own the problems we face and are willing to try and influence our surroundings. As soon as we decide we are responsible for making things happen we begin to think boldly and start challenging the status quo.

Now I understand that I can’t change everything. I can’t snap my fingers and magically make things happen. What I am saying is that we are responsible for “our dirt”. We are responsible for the pieces of us that come in contact with the people, culture, processes, and work that we do. It is our job to ensure that all of these people and things are better because we are a part of them. If we are all bold enough to own our dirt, then some pretty powerful change can happen.

Own it->Think Bold-> Move past your own doubt->Be a dragon and spit fire->Lead boldly!

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Be Bold. Be a Dragon. Breathe Fire. (8-5-15)

Last week we talked about having the guts to challenge our assumptions about the way the world works. What happens when that is met with resistance? That’s when we need to be dragons to protect and build up fledgling bold ideas.

We’ve all been there. Someone challenges the status quo with the initial concept for a bold idea, and it gets shot down by people who say things like, “We’ve never done it that way. We do it this way. That would never work.” The idea gets rejected before it even has a chance to be tested. I believe that many people start out with bold ideas but when they are met with resistance, individuals either give up on them or water them down until they aren’t bold anymore. I know that I’ve done this before. Have you?

People give up or water down the idea, because it is “safer” or easier than challenging the status quo. However, as we talked about with the Frogger story, “safe” isn’t exactly safe anymore when time is running out and obstacles are racing around you. The fact is easy doesn’t exactly get the job done anymore. This is why we need to be dragons.

I have this motto, “Be a dragon. Breathe fire.” I say this to psyche myself up when I get ready to share a different idea or do something unique. Here is how this motto connects to our work. Dragons are strong creatures with impenetrable skin that attack with fierce, powerful flames. We have to be the same. We have to have the strength to carry the burden of challenging the status quo and the thick skin to handle criticism, so we don’t fold under initial scrutiny. We have to be brave enough to breathe fire and share the idea in all of its boldness with all of our passion, reason, data, etc. instead of some watered down version. Obviously, after we share the idea we should test it to ensure it’s a good idea and that it will work, but we can’t afford to let it get shot down before it’s even developed.

Now think back to that situation where you saw a bold idea get shot down prematurely. What do you think would have happened if that person would have been a dragon in that situation? Here’s to being bold, strong, and spitting flames.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Be Bold- Doubt, Challenge, Embrace (7-29-15)

This week’s blog entry is inspired by a colleague who works in market research. She is one of those people who always finds a way to ask a question or share a thought that rearranges your universe like when you found out Pluto was no longer a planet. In this case, she shared some thoughts with me about doubt and being bold that I think are worth digging into.

Last week we talked about the negative impact of self-doubt. However, as Belinda pointed out, not all doubt is bad. In fact doubt can be very useful. It can make you question and keep you from making big mistakes. Here is a quote from her that stuck out to me, “I am a believer in doubt, challenge, and then decide and embrace.” How often do we do this vs. deciding on our opinion and searching for data to support our conclusions? The moral of today’s story is to be bold and use doubt to challenge your assumptions about the way the world works, this is the only way we can challenge the status quo.

Let’s pretend it’s the late 1400s. I tell you that the sun revolves around the earth. We are the center of the universe after all. Then all of a sudden this guy named Copernicus (see pic for awesome hair) comes around and says that the earth actually revolves around the sun. How could that guy be serious? I know that the sun revolves around the earth. That’s a given. That’s the way it’s always been. Fast forward to today, and if I told you the sun revolved around the earth you’d think I was crazy. See, Copernicus had the guts to use his doubt to challenge, decide, and then embrace truth.

Be bold and use doubt to challenge your assumptions about the way the world works.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Self-doubt and being Bold (7-22-15)

This week I want to talk about self-doubt, one of the biggest barriers to bold leadership. Bold ideas lead to bold actions, which lead to change. Wherever there is change, there is doubt nearby ready to rain on the parade. Can I do this? Am I making impact?

Doubt can lead to fear, but it can also give you the chance to be strong and vulnerable enough to face these fears. As I work on becoming a better leader I try to be strong enough to face these doubts and be vulnerable enough to share my doubts with others to get a little help. Here is a story about sharing this doubt with someone.

Two months ago, I had a meeting with a colleague. During the conversation she gave me a couple of compliments and I said, “Thanks. You don’t know how much I needed that today.” I then continued to tell her about how Doubt had been on my shoulder for the past few weeks whispering. It didn’t make any sense. I should have been flying high after killing it at TEDx and making great progress on work that could change the way we do things. Instead, Doubt was there whispering, bringing me down.

My Doubt said, “What are you doing here kid? You don’t belong here. You’re not a business guy. You know they just keep you around as a distraction right? They don’t need you. The emails, the jokes, the energy, the creativity, all of that crap you like, all of that stuff you think is important… well none of that stuff you do actually means anything to anybody. We’re here to run a business and none of that stuff you do hits the bottom line. If you left tomorrow it wouldn’t matter. You are nothing more than a smiling DISTRACTION. That’s what they keep you around for…”

I’m human. Doubt happens. So I share that stuff with my co-worker and we talk through it. We talked about the insecurity and how it’s hard for me sometimes in this role because there isn’t a clear scoreboard to help me understand if anything I am doing is making a difference. We also talked about whole list of other topics relating to my doubt and insecurities, and I found that talking through it made it go away.

Be bold long enough and Doubt will come. When it does, remember how strong you are. When it does, remember your friends make you stronger.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Frogger and being Bold (7-15-15)

Last week we talked a little bit about what it means to be bold, and this week we’ll talk about what the videogame Frogger can teach us about why we need to be bold. Do you remember Frogger? The premise of the video game is that you have to move the frog across all of the traffic and through the obstacles in order to make it to the other side to advance, score points, and win.

There is no safe space in Frogger. There is no reward for the person who plays it safe and waits for the time to run out. You either find a way to make it across or you don’t. If you run out of time or if you get hit by a car, you still lose. In Frogger you don’t ask permission to move. You don’t evaluate every single insignificant detail to chart the correct path. You don’t wait for a committee to make you feel good about your decisions. You look at the situation, choose what you think is the best path based on the info you have, and then you move. Bottom line is that you have to move or you won’t ever be able to win.

Have you ever realized that we are playing a live action game of Frogger? The cars trying to hit us are disease and competitors. The obstacles we have to navigate are the changing healthcare environment, patient activation, patient adherence, and growing through volume. Our time limit is patent expirations and windows of opportunity that are closing faster and faster each day. Our victory is financial success and helping patients. We are playing live action Frogger, and the only difference is the way we play Lilly Frogger. Here, we spend a fair amount of time hesitating. We wait for permission. We wait for people to confirm all of our ideas. We keep holding out to make sure we analyze every single little thing to ensure we don’t have buyer’s remorse later because of a decision we made. All of the while, the time bar is going down and cars and obstacles are swirling around us.

Just like in the real Frogger, you have to move fast or you won’t ever be able to win. Why do we need bold leadership? Bold ideas lead to action. Action leads to movement. Movement is the only thing that gives us a chance to win. Are you feeling froggy? Are you bold enough to leap?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Think bold. Be bold. (7-8-15)

Recently I had a conversation with a colleague about bold leadership. What is bold leadership? What does it take to be a bold leader? These are big questions that I’m going to tackle over the next few weeks.

Last week we celebrated Independence Day. It made me wonder what those initial conversations about starting a country were like. Imagine for a minute. It is the 1770s. We are living in the colonies. Then this guy comes up and says, “We are going to establish a new country free from the king!” That’s a bold statement. That requires bold leadership to make it happen.

We could get all philosophical on what makes something bold, but I think there is a pretty simple test. All leadership starts with vision, so take your vision and say it out loud to someone. If it is truly a bold vision/idea then their response will be one of two extremes. They will either become really enthusiastic and ready to work toward that vision or they will have a high degree of doubt and skepticism. If they are luke warm to the vision/idea, then it’s not bold. People have extreme responses to bold ideas, because bold ideas create ripples of change and people either get excited by change or they are doubtful.

Are your ideas bold? Bold ideas challenge the status quo. If your ideas aren’t bold, then YOU can’t be. You can’t be a bold leader when you are trying to lead from a world of vanilla. Bold ideas don’t necessarily have to be large earth shattering concepts like creating a new country. Bold ideas just need to challenge the status quo.

Here are some small bold ideas. I believe I can make people smile and help them think differently by sending emails on Wednesdays 😉 I believe we can lead through love and that we can be influential leaders without an official team. I believe there’s room for beauty and poetry in all of the work we do. I believe we get stronger by lifting others up to be seen. I believe that we all create and own the culture and that we shouldn’t have to wait for a person in authority to define the culture for us. Are these crazy earth shattering concepts? No. Do these go against the status quo? Yes. Are they bold? I’d say so.

What are some of your bold ideas? Send them my way and we’ll keep an anonymous list going to keep us thinking differently. Think bold. Be bold.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry