Cooking, Messiness, and the Price of Greatness (4-22-20)

Last week was about mosaics, diversity, and inclusion. This week is about the art of cooking and the price of greatness. It was a Saturday morning. I woke up and cleaned the house from top to bottom with the help of my daughters. If they help they get more screen time, and that is a huge motivator (#parentinggenius). Anyway, that morning I had deep cleaned the kitchen. The counters were spotless. The sink was gleaming. The dishwasher was empty, and the stove looked like it was brand new.

Later that night my wife was baking. She looked at the ingredients she had spilled on the island, the dirty dishes littering the counters, the smudges on what I had perfected earlier that morning and she said, “I’m sorry I just ruined the kitchen you cleaned.” Without missing a beat, I responded, “That’s the price of deliciousness, and I’m happy to pay that.” (#smooth #getonmylevel) Sure, I had worked hard on cleaning the kitchen. Yes, she had completely ruined my hard work in a matter of minutes. However, my wife is an amazing baker, and I knew whatever she was creating was going to be incredible, and well worth the mess. I could always clean the kitchen again, but I can’t easily reproduce what my wife makes.

How does this connect with anything? Cooking, like any other art, is an expression of creativity that can lead to greatness. More importantly, in my experience creativity makes things messy on its way to greatness. Sometimes it’s messy in the form of a dirty kitchen or spilled paint. Sometimes it’s messy in the form of whiteboards with arrows everywhere and conversations where people are thinking out loud while wading through the mud to get somewhere.

Getting to greatness is always a bit messy, so it’s important to be aware of how you respond to this messiness. There are some individuals who get frustrated by the messiness and try to shut it down. They don’t want to allow things to move forward until they are perfect. This creates a stifling environment where people aren’t comfortable sharing and exploring ideas. There are other individuals who are comfortable with the messiness, because they know it is the price you have to pay for greatness. These individuals let things play out, ask questions to help others think through things, and ultimately are patient enough for the messiness to transform into something. What kind of person are you?

The challenge: Will you get frustrated by the messiness and stifle creativity? Or, will you recognize messiness is the price that must be paid for greatness?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Potatoes and Transformation (10-10-18)

This will be the final entry in the series about food and cooking. We started by thinking about playing our role in any given situation. From there, we reflected on leadership style vs. competency. Then, we shifted to think about flavor combinations, belonging, and inclusion. Additionally, we thought about following recipes to drive better engagement, and last week was about being daring enough to expand our flavor palettes. This week is about potatoes and transformation.

Before we talk about potatoes, let’s think about apples. Apples are delicious. I love a good honey crisp apple. With an apple, you pick it up, brush it off (or wash it if you’re into being clean), and you eat it. It’s instantly amazing. It doesn’t require any extra effort.

Potatoes don’t work like apples. You don’t pick a potato out of the dirt and start eating it right away. Potatoes take work. Potatoes are most delicious when they are transformed, and I would say that potatoes have a large range of things they can become. Clean a potato and throw it in the oven and it becomes a baked potato (add in some butter, cheese, and bacon, and you have magic). Slice a potato and fry it and you could have fried potatoes, one of my favorite breakfast foods. You could deep fry potatoes and turn them into French fries, waffle fries, or tater tots. Potatoes could be turned into all kind of different potato chips. You could turn a potato into smashed potatoes. You could dice potatoes and throw them in a casserole. You could turn potatoes into mashed potatoes, and then if you are awesome you could turn leftover mashed potatoes into potato cakes. Some potatoes even grow up to become vodkas. The variability is amazing! Bonus, potatoes can even power flashlights. Tell me that isn’t cool.

You might be wondering what this has to do with work. I’d argue that we aren’t apples. We aren’t ripe for picking already at a high level of instantaneous delicious awesomeness. We won’t become bruised and disgusting if we fall off a tree or are dropped. Instead, we are all potatoes. We are all pulled from the ground, covered in dirt, and filled with potential. All that is left for us is to figure out what kind of potato we are going to be. This won’t be easy. Potatoes require work, and so do humans. To reach our potential we have to go through a transformation. Often, these transformations are caused by some kind of challenges, and they are never easy. A potato gets beat up, smashed, cooked, and sliced, but it comes out better on the other side. In the same way, we get beat up, confused, lost, and hurt, but we have the chance to come out better on the other side. It’s up to us to make sure we transform into something better.

The challenge: Who and what are you transforming into?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Picky Eaters and Mindsets (10-3-18)

Last week was about cooking on instinct vs. following recipes. This week is about being a picky eater and mindsets.

My two girls are picky eaters. Alice (6) is growing out of it a bit, but Violet (4) is stuck in her stubborn picky ways (#punk). Here is how this plays out. We put something new in front of them. They come to the table knowing they aren’t going to like any food we put in front of them. They take a look at it and decide instantly that they don’t like it. We tell them that they haven’t even tried it, so they can’t judge it yet. They begin to poke the food with their forks and come up with reasons why they won’t like it before even tasting, so we make them try the food. Sometimes, they end up liking the meal. Sometimes, they don’t like it. It’s annoying that we go through this every time, when they could just try it without the hassle. Has anyone else out there experienced this with their kids?

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything. I’d say that are three connections to be made. First, the way you experience life is often dictated by your mindset going into it. My girls enter new food situations with the mindset of, “I don’t like this,” so they often don’t like new foods. On the other hand, if they approached a new meal with, “This is going to be interesting,” then they’d be more open to trying new things and would probably enjoy them more. What mindset do you have as you approach new situations? How open is your mindset?

Another connection is that I’d argue that people are often picky “eaters”. It may not be with food, but we get stuck in our routines, our habits, our thought process, our beliefs, etc. and we convince ourselves that is the only thing we should support. This happens all the time at work, with politics, and with disagreements of any sort. How often have you shared an idea with someone and it got shut down right away, just because it wasn’t what they were used to? Now be honest with yourself. How often do you shut down other ideas without really giving them a try, because they aren’t what you are used to?

The third connection comes back to what you are comfortable “eating”. My girls love mac and cheese. That is their comfort zone. It’s not bad having mac and cheese every now and then, but if it were up to them it’s all they would eat. Eating the same stuff, especially that stuff, doesn’t give their body the variety it needs. It’s not healthy. Likewise, people become engrained in their thoughts and world views, not realizing that only consuming their worldview doesn’t give them the variety it needs. In fact, it’s unhealthy. Be honest with yourself. When was the last time you had a disagreement and tried to move beyond your comfort zone to understand the other side of the issue? How much time do you spend merely reinforcing your worldview vs. exploring worldviews held by other people?

The challenge: Are you being a “picky eater” or are you giving other “dishes” a fair taste test?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Cooking on Instinct vs. Following a Reciple (9-26-18)

Last week was about flavor combinations and belonging. This week is about cooking from instinct vs. following a recipe.

Imagine for a moment that you are at Sam’s house. They have made you dinner. You think it tastes delicious. On a different day you go to Pat’s house for dinner. You think that meal is equally delicious. Here is the big reveal. Sam cooks on instinct. Everything Sam does is impromptu. Sam is one of those people who doesn’t need to measure anything, never looks at a recipe, etc. They just know exactly what they need to do in order to create great food. Cooking is natural and organic for Sam. Pat on the other hand isn’t as naturally gifted, so they intentionally follow recipes and guidance they’ve learned from other chefs. Does any of this matter? Does it matter that Sam cooked you a fabulous meal without following a recipe and that Pat had to follow a recipe to create great food? For me, it doesn’t matter one bit as long as the food is spectacular.

You might be wondering what this has to do with work. When it comes to the people side of leadership, I’d argue that there are a few people like Sam. There are some leaders who make magic purely based on instinct. They do things organically and naturally, and they are amazing at doing this. I’d argue that there are also people like Pat. In fact, I’d say that most people are like Pat. The people side of leadership doesn’t come as naturally and instinctually to them as it does to Sam. This doesn’t make Pat bad. It just means Pat needs to be a little more intentional about engaging with people and building a culture.

Here’s where things get interesting. Over the years I’ve had a lot of conversations about leadership, building a culture, and being intentional. Often, there is a fear from people that if they are more intentional about engagement (i.e. acting like a Pat) that it will seem fake or inauthentic. Essentially, they are saying that if they are intentional vs. doing everything naturally/organically/impromptu the food will be bad, because they don’t make it on instinct alone. I think these people are wrong. At the end of the day, I don’t think it matters if leaders have to make a concentrated effort to build a better culture vs. if leaders are the ones who create amazing cultures purely on instinct. Authenticity is NOT linked to whether or not you are impromptu or intentional about engaging with people. Authenticity is linked to whether or not you actually care. In fact, I think we would all benefit if we ALL acted a little more like Pat and were more deliberate and intentional about what we are doing. If we all acted like Pat, I’m willing to bet the food would be even better.

Being intentional and deliberate could take many forms. For example, let’s say you naturally and organically don’t do great with recognition. Since you aren’t great at doing this organically, you probably don’t provide your team with the recognition they deserve. In order to do better you’d need to become more intentional. There are a lot of different things you could do to address this issue. For instance, you could put a reminder on your calendar telling you to reach out to people to let them know you value them. Nobody would care about or notice the fact that it took you putting a reminder on your calendar to send them recognition. All they would notice is that you were recognizing them more for their work. They would taste great food, and not care about the fact you had to follow a recipe and make an effort to be more intentional. #Confession->I do this. When I see someone who needs to be recognized, I save time on my calendar with a note reminding me to reach out to them. Recognizing people officially goes on my to do list.

The challenge- I think we’d all be a little better off if we assumed that we were more like Pat and needed to be more intentional about engaging with others. How can you be more intentional about building an engaging culture/vibe with the people you work with?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Food Combinations and Belonging (9-19-18)

Last week was about leadership style vs. leadership competencies. This week is about food combinations and belonging. What are some of your favorite food pairings/combinations? There are classic combinations like peanut butter and jelly or steak and potatoes. There are dipping combinations like chips and salsa or pitas and hummus. There are dessert combinations like oreos and cold milk or a scoop of ice cream with apple pie. There are more experimental combinations you could try like a fried egg on a hamburger, bbq brisket on a pizza (my brother makes this and it’s amazing!), or cheese puffs on vanilla ice cream (my mom eats this sometimes. Yes, uniqueness runs in my family…)

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything. What I’ve often found about food combinations is that the foods do not have to necessarily be similar for the combination to be delicious. Peanut butter and jelly are two entirely different substances with very different tastes and textures. Oreos are a solid and milk is a liquid. Ice cream is cold while apple pie is usually served warm. Having a delicious food combination is not just about similarities. Instead, it’s about finding flavors that BELONG together, flavors that fit together and work with each other to create something amazing. Much like tasty food combinations, I believe inclusion is about belonging. It’s about helping different people feel they belong as part of the team, so they can create something amazing.

With all this said, I feel that when we talk about building positive cultures and inclusion we focus on finding similarities instead of creating belonging. For example, we might look at two different people and say, “At their core, they are both similar in many ways. They are both people. Both of them are dads. Both of them are marketers. Both of them like sports. Both of them like some of the same foods. Both of them have similar concerns and self-doubts, because they are both human. Etc.” While these things are true and it’s important to find common ground, I feel we often overemphasize finding similarities as a way to solve any inclusion problems. In reality, finding similarities is a small part of inclusion. Just because you have similarities doesn’t mean you have belonging or inclusion. I’d take it a step further to say, if you can’t find a way to create a sense of belonging, then the similarities don’t matter.

What exactly is belonging? I think belonging is about understanding the big picture and how you MEANINGFULLY fit into that picture. If people can demonstrate those things to you on a consistent basis, I believe that you will feel like you belong somewhere. Think about yourself for a moment. Do you feel like you belong on your current team? Do you feel like you belong in your broader organization? Have you had teams where you felt like you belonged and teams where you felt like an outsider? What was the difference? I’ve been in all of those situations. I’ve been in places where I felt I belonged, where it was evident I was part of something and that people cared about me, valued me, and wanted me to be there. I’ve also been on groups, where I felt like an outsider, where I was just another person. I know I always do my most magical work when I belong somewhere.

Challenge: What are you doing to help create a sense of belonging on your team and beyond? What are you doing to help people see what they are part of? What are you doing to show people how they meaningfully fit into the broader picture?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Cooking and Leadership- Style vs. Competence (9-12-18)

Last week was about a cooking competition and playing you role. This week is about cooking and leadership as it relates to style vs. competencies. Pretend Sam, Bob, and Susie invite you over for a cookout. They say that they can make hamburgers or hot dogs for you. You say that sounds great, but there’s a small catch. You are allergic to hot dogs. It’s nothing life threatening, but eating hot dogs kind of upsets your stomach, so it would be better if we ate hamburgers. They say that’s fine and they all agree to make hamburgers.

Bob serves you a classic burger with steak fries. Susie serves you a BBQ burger with onion rings You like both meals, but you give the edge to Susie, because you like that style better. Sam serve you hot dogs. You eat them out of politeness and eventually ask Sam why they didn’t serve burgers. Sam explains to you they are more comfortable making hot dogs, and can’t really make burgers. You go home and your stomach is a little upset. In this example, the expectation is that you will be served hamburgers. Which kind of hamburger you like best is a style preference. Either hamburger you choose fulfills your needs. Sam’s inability to cook hamburgers is a competency issue, which leads to Sam making hot dogs. Eating the hot dogs causes you to feel ill. In this situation, Sam needs to enhance their cooking skills.

So you’re probably wondering what this has to do with work. When it comes to leadership everyone has a different style. At the same time I’d argue that the best leaders I’ve seen demonstrate the same competencies. In the grand scheme of things, style isn’t as important as having the right skills, which is true for all roles. The reason why I bring up this point is that when it comes to leadership I believe that we are quick to label shortcomings as differences in styles as opposed to competencies that a leader needs to improve upon.

For example, creating an engaging team culture is a core part of being a leader. With that said, how many times have you heard something like, “Sam is really smart, talented, and gets stuff done. The people side of things just is not his style.”? I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard several kinds of variations of this about leaders who “don’t get the people side”. The thing is, this is NOT a style issue. It’s a competency issue. A style difference is saying, “Susie is high energy and builds team culture with infectious enthusiasm. Bob is quieter than Susie, so he builds teams through 1 on 1s and small meetings where he focuses on authenticity and sincerity.”

I’ve had both Susies and Bobs as bosses, and both create great cultures. They just happen to be doing it in different ways. You might have a style preference, but either way an engaging culture is being created. On the other hand, Sam isn’t creating a positive team culture. This is a lack of competency in a specific area. Sam either lacks the ability and/or the desire to build an engaging culture. Building an engaging culture is a big part of Sam’s job, so if they can’t do it then there is a problem because this will hinder team performance. If Sam can’t do it, they need to improve in this competency. At a cookout you could at least choose not to eat the food. At work, there’s no way to completely avoid leadership that isn’t up to snuff.

The challenge: We often believe we are better than we actually are, so the challenge is taking a second to honestly reflect on yourself as a leader. Where do you need to leverage your style? Where do you need to improve your competencies?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

A Cooking Competition and Playing Your Role (9-5-18)

This week we are going to start a series inspired by food and cooking. We’ll start with me sharing some reflections from a cooking competition I was part of last week at a team builder. I’ll dedicate this week’s entry to my cooking challenge team aka The Maniacs: Kelly Frankel, Tori Brown, Ericka Hooper, and Charity Williams.

The competition was pretty straight forward. There were four teams given the same ingredients and whoever made the best food would win. If you know the ladies on my team you know 2 things. First, they wanted to win. Second, they knew their stuff. Before the cooking began, we had a few minutes to plan the meal. My teammates were discussing all kinds of flavor combos and drizzling sauces. Finally, Kelly looks at me and says, “You haven’t said anything.” This is quite the miracle, because rarely am I at a loss for words or ideas. I’m usually one of the first to jump in and volunteer, but not the case that day because I know I’m a hot mess when it comes to cooking (pun intended). There are many things in life I’m good at, but cooking is not one of them. I’m self-conscious about cooking and always worried that I’ll ruin the food. So after pausing for a moment I replied by saying, “Cooking isn’t my thing. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, but don’t expect me to have any good ideas.” The team says okay and continues on with their plan and who will do what.

The cooking contest begins. During each round I’m essentially the “go for” and an extra set of hands. I grab stuff for people and give it to them, clean work spaces, knead dough, and do anything else I’m asked to do. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is unlocking their culinary genius, blending spices and sauces, creating beautiful presentations, and perfectly grilling all of the food. My team made some delicious food and we won the competition.

You’re probably wondering how all of this connects to work. After the competition our team talked about the experience, and one of the things we discussed is how we all stepped into and embraced different roles on the team based on our strengths and abilities. Kelly became our head chef, guiding us the entire way. Ericka stepped up and crushed it as the grill master. Tori was the flavor combiner. Charity was the food finisher and plater. I knew cooking wasn’t my thing, so I stepped into the background doing small things that didn’t require me to be a good cook or flavor expert. If I would have tried to play a larger role, I know I would have burnt something or ruined it somehow.

As I reflected further, I began to realize what a cool experience this was. We had an entire team of people dedicated to a purpose larger than ourselves (creating great food). In order to accomplish this we all had to find and embrace our roles to make this happen. All of the roles on the team each played their part, and it’s okay that my part was small because I gave what I could give to help us reach our goal. Finally, I loved watching my teammates in their elements absolutely crushing it.

While everything I’ve said so far has been about a team and a cooking competition, it’s the exact same thing at work. In order to achieve greatness, every team needs to have all of their teammates working toward the same purpose. Each of these teammates fills a unique role, and people need to be willing to step into their role based on their abilities. Finally, all roles on the team are valuable, even if all of the roles aren’t as high flying and visible.

Challenge 1: What role(s) do you play on the teams you are on?

Challenge 2: Are you willing to play your role, even if it’s a smaller one?

Challenge 3: Thank someone today for the role they play on your team.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry