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Leadership
The Challenge of Leadership (Part One) - Clarifying What it Means
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One of the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership described in the book, The Leadership Challenge, is the practice of Challenge the Process. The practice refers to the active search for new opportunities to grow, change and innovate and the actions of experimentation, risk taking, generating small wins and learning from mistakes. It is one of my favorite practices for a couple of reasons. First, it is just great fun to see or read about some of the remarkable improvements and breakthroughs that people have made. I love the imagination of selling pre-cut lettuce in a bag or $300 iPods® in a vending machine. Some ideas work and some don't, but innovations like these sure keep the world interesting.
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The Challenge of Leadership (Part Two) - Challenging with Success
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In a previous article, I wrote about the importance of the leadership practice, Challenge the Process, described in the book, The Leadership Challenge. In my mind, it is the practice of business growth, as it is hard to remain successful over time by continuing to do things in the same old way. As they world changes (that is — changes in customer expectations and demands, technology, competition, etc.) so must organizations, or they will simply get left behind. Although it is easy to talk about the value of challenging and changing processes, procedures, product offerings and the like, it is not so easy to make it happen.
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Leadership... An Affair of the Heart
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For years we have stated that while management is an affair of the head, leadership is an affair of the heart. Today neuroscience is proving us right!
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The Heart of It All
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What do you believe is the most important aspect of leadership?
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A Key Ingredient for Enabling Others
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Over the years I have asked many people in supervisory positions what they believe their primary management responsibility is. Although there are variations, the most frequent answer provided has been "To ensure my people deliver on their results this year," or something similar. Not too surprising, is it?
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The Conundrum of Collaboration
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A lot of organizations have a publicly stated value or desire about getting better at collaboration. Breaking down the silos, working better together, being more inclusive, seeking more diverse opinions - all are examples of how companies go about articulating what they mean by collaboration.
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Ready, Fire, Aim!
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Ever heard the expression, "ready, fire, aim?" I frequently hear people use those words to describe how their organizations operate. Over time, I have become a bit surprised at the number of people who are almost boasting about being part of a ready, fire, aim culture. What do you think about that? Is ready, fire, aim, the best strategy for success?
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The Biggest Barrier
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Over the past couple of years we have been attempting to identify the most significant barriers that people face-that hold them back from being able to produce more or better results. Throughout the investigation we have encouraged them to think about their responses and not just provide the default reason of "not enough time."
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Leading Toward the Impossible: What People Believe Makes a Difference
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Have you ever heard other people complain about the size of the goals they have to achieve at work? There have been times in my past when I was certainly one of them. I figured if I was lucky enough to get someone to take pity on poor little me, my objective might be reduced, whether it was really too big or not. That might make it easier to exceed, which could result in a bigger bonus, or at least make it easier and less stressful to reach. Over the years, I have known or worked with many, who were able to turn this crafty complaining ritual into an art!
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Why Some Teams Never Measure Up
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In our work, we frequently hear leaders talk about the struggles they have with their teams. To some extent, teams should struggle, since they are often working on some pretty tough issues that seldom have easy answers.
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Taking a Stand
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Whether you agree with his politics or not, you must give President Bush credit for one thing that is a hallmark of leaders. He has demonstrated, most recently with Iraq, a willingness to put a stake in the ground on where he stands on certain issues, and to take action consistent with his beliefs. And as much as we look for this kind of conviction from those in other leadership positions, too few are courageous enough to show it.
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Leadership and Loyalty
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Loyalty is always a hot topic in tough economic times. We all know how difficult it is to pick up new business during downturns, and the cost of obtaining a new customer at any time is usually very high. Constantly churning employees also produces an ongoing drain on productivity and skyrocketing recruiting costs. Think about the implications of needing to shop for new long term banking relationship every six months. Business and profit growth is simply easier, when all your key stakeholders stay with you.
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The Practice of Leadership
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A few years ago, I bought a piano. I had always wanted to play. Yet, in a relatively short time, I determined that buying this marvelous instrument was most likely a blunder. Although I very much wanted to play the piano, I discovered that I did not want to learn to play the piano.
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Leadership is Truly An Art
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One of the operating definitions of leadership that International Leadership Associates (ILA) embraces is Vance Packard's - "Leadership appears to be the art of getting others to want to do something you are convinced should be done." It is a straightforward, inspirational definition that brings true clarity about leadership to most people. It says that people will respond and support leaders if they believe the leader is convicted about the importance of the work or project. This definition encourages leaders to invest the time and effort in gaining a commitment from their people about the project or initiative. Your efforts will be rewarded.
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The Distance of Leadership
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A few years ago, we conducted a survey asking people these two questions.
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Why Leadership/Why Now?
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Leadership provides the foundation on which excellence is built, so continuing to develop leaders in all areas must be a first priority in business today.
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Look at the People Around You
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A few years ago, I left the "friendly confines" of Deloitte & Touche to become a senior executive at a publicly-traded financial services company. I actually expected smooth sailing. We had been involved in some difficult, ground-breaking assignments at D&T. It was the most challenging years of my career and success was an important part of it. And so, why would it be any different in the future? Sure, I was prepared for cultural adjustment and for operating a business instead of a consulting practice. I was also ready for less resources to complete our work. What shocked me and threw me off stride for eighteen months was the talent gap and their questionable commitment to the work at hand. Success, I knew, was about having the right people in the right spots. I discovered we were not ready to "go on offense" because the skills were not in place. The job was in front of us, yet we lacked all of the skilled players to execute the strategy.
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Communicating/ Building Commitment
Tell It Like It Is
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I recently observed the president of an up-and-coming division of a major corporation give a speech to a group of his direct reporting vice presidents and directors about the future of their business. From a textbook perspective, he seemed to violate almost every rule of effective presentation techniques. His scribbling on an easel was preschool art; his words and language were sometimes condescending to his audience; he was disheveled in appearance and distracting in his movements; his posture was slumped and his eye contact was disjointed, as were many of his thoughts. Yet at the end, his audience applauded and cheered, because he had somehow managed to touch them in a very meaningful way.
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Communicate As A Leader: Getting Everyone Enlisted In The Vision
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How do the really effective leaders communicate with their followers? The answer is "very well!" If only it were that simple.
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True Commitment
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When people talk about some of their best work experiences, they always talk about the level of commitment that existed among hose doing the work. And we frequently hear managers lament today, "if only my people were committed to what we are doing."
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What People Need Most from Leaders: A Note to Senior Management
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In our work with many different organizations, we hear a lot of things that are going on at all levels of the business. Interestingly enough, we are now hearing some common issues repeated over and over at the middle manager and director level. We thought we would highlight them for you. There is nothing new in the issues, but there is a very important conclusion. People have consistently told us the one thing that will make the greatest difference in resolving these issues. We will share that with you too.
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Attributes and Action
Character - Sure and Certain
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We're in trouble. And it is of our own making. It should be no consolation to us (in business) that there is a character crisis everywhere in this country. Right now, the high beams are targeted on corporate America, and we are very ashamed of what we see. It is mostly a product of self-serving executives exploring whatever it takes to "improve their position." No doubt many positions have been significantly embellished through these shenanigans. Unfortunately, there seems to be little remorse for their actions.
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Passion and Courage
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What are you truly passionate about in your work? What do you really believe in? Is there anything that you will risk it all for? Or is financial security your "True North?"
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Is Confrontation the GOOD, the BAD or the UGLY?
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Can confrontation be a "leadership tool?" Or is it simply seen as a tactic to intimidate an individual? Why is confrontation viewed differently than open, honest communications? Or is it? Why is it viewed in some quarters as "a negative behavior?" Can confrontation "make or break a relationship." These are important questions to consider as you develop your leadership strategies and communication skills.
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Emptying Your Salt Shaker
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We often tell the groups we're facilitating or the executives we're coaching that Leadership is not a spectator sport. Standing on the sidelines watching while your people engage the customer or wrestle with an important problem is not what leaders do. They struggle right along with them. Being in the middle of the fray is where leaders are most comfortable. But, this advice usually falls on deaf ears because many senior managers are more concerned about giving orders or admiring their stock options or covering their butts. John LeCarre offers this warning to managers, "Your office is a dangerous place to view the world from." There comes a point in time that managers must become leaders, And this means that they will have to become more involved with their people.
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Stepping Up
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Have you ever listened to the coach or players of a team that has just "won it all?" Whether it is victory in the championship game, first place in a music competition or a debate tournament, or winning a major sale, there are always some very familiar remarks made about the achievement. There is talk about the great teamwork, staying focused on the goal, the hard work, and usually a reference or two about luck or getting some good breaks. But listen closely and you will hear one other factor, that is a cornerstone of winning teams. You will hear about how at crucial times, certain people "stepped up" and played beyond everyone's expectations. And getting people to step up their level of contribution is one of the hallmarks of great leadership.
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The Wall
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We have all experienced "walls" in our lives. This is truth for everyone who has challenged the process. If we are growing, walls will spring up to slow us down and divert our attention. Some are in front of us - raising their hands waiting to be recognized and tackled. Others are behind us - affecting our self-confidence and beliefs. Others are silent - reaching out and subverting our progress at strategic times. Whatever the situation, a wall's sole purpose is to be a "speed bump." It is about "slowing you down so work doesn't change too much." Comfort zones create complacency and resistance.
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Other Related Articles
Producing a Blockbuster
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Besides a long overdue family vacation, the arrival of summer signals something else of great anticipation for many people - the blockbuster movies arriving at the theaters. Somehow every year, a couple of these films rise up and actually deliver on all the hoopla and buzz surrounding them.
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Right or Responsibility
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"They should have shoveled the stadium."
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The Power For Change
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When asked about their biggest challenge, most managers cite the never-ending battle to get their employees to accept change. If this sounds all too familiar, read on.
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Cynicism and Its Impact
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During our leadership work, ILA spends a significant amount of time discussing cynicism and its negative impact on people, departments and organizations. Very rarely do we experience cynicism in our workshops or our consulting engagements. Recently, we had the "distinct pleasure" of engaging a cynic in a three day Leadership Challenge workshop. And it was everything that you have shared with us about cynics - negative, roadblock to success, wasted energy put forth in dealing with him, a downer, etc.
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