{"id":6219,"date":"2018-09-04T20:42:54","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T01:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=6219"},"modified":"2018-09-04T20:42:54","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T01:42:54","slug":"why-leaders-must-know-how-to-seize-an-ice-cream-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/04\/why-leaders-must-know-how-to-seize-an-ice-cream-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Leaders Must Know How To Seize An Ice Cream Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a huge difference between generating momentum, and simply enjoying momentum.<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s a lesson I learned in my days as a younger leader, serving as the chair person of a non-profit organization. During a board meeting, as we reviewed some\u00a0very strong accomplishments of the charity, I said to the board, \u201cThis board has achieved incredible results. Just keep doing what you\u2019re doing!\u201d<\/p>\n

But a more seasoned member of board chimed in with this pearl of wisdom. \u201cScott, we should be pleased with these results. But from a leadership point of view, I think we\u2019re just scooping out ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained, \u201cSometimes an organization can have so much momentum going for it, that the leaders really just get to enjoy the ride. Nothing wrong with that. But let\u2019s not think that our current efforts will be enough when the going gets tougher.\u201d<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve looked more closely at this over the years, I\u2019ve seen that there are at least three ways that leaders can find themselves scooping out ice cream\u2026<\/p>\n

1. When they\u2019ve inherited a great team<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ever been appointed to lead a team who were already crushing it before you even showed up? That\u2019s scooping out ice cream.<\/p>\n

2. When they’ve received a \u201cblue bird\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In sales terms, this is when a big account just drops into your lap, with essentially no effort on your part. When you reap such benefits with minimal effort, you\u2019re scooping out ice cream.<\/p>\n

3. When the waters part for the team<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sometimes, external forces just combine to make conditions ideal for your team\u2019s success. Recognize the \u201cscooping ice cream\u201d moments when everything around you seemingly lines up perfectly to ensure success.<\/p>\n

So, in order to position yourself for long-term results, how\u00a0should you respond during these\u00a0ice cream scooping seasons?<\/p>\n

1. Respond with humility<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You didn\u2019t generate these conditions. Lead with gratitude.<\/p>\n

2. Prepare for a rainy day<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Take advantage of the season of plenty to fortify your organization for the inevitable downturn.<\/p>\n

3. Lead with ruthless discipline<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s easy for bad habits to creep in during these seasons. Double down on personal and corporate disciplines.<\/p>\n

Just be honest. If you didn\u2019t really contribute to the current season of momentum, keep these 3 responses in mind.<\/p>\n

Then, enjoy the season. Just grab a scoop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a huge difference between generating momentum, and simply enjoying momentum. That\u2019s a lesson I learned in my days as a younger leader, serving as the chair person of a non-profit organization. During a board meeting, as we reviewed some\u00a0very strong accomplishments of the charity, I said to the board, \u201cThis board has achieved incredible…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,738,478,7,581,585],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discipline2","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-leadership","category-self-assessment","category-wisdom-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6219"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6225,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6219\/revisions\/6225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}