Leadership

What is the importance of diversity in leadership?

diversity choicesInformation, knowledge, wisdom – while they all have a slightly different meaning, the overarching theme is it’s good to learn and good to understand different options when you make choices – especially in leadership.  Abraham Maslow said, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you are likely to perceive every problem as a nail.” What he meant by that oft-used phrase is that an individual is limited by their talents and experience in their ability to offer ideas to solve problems.

Talents

There is a great book titled Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.  The theme of this book is that each of us is born with natural talent, or strengths.  Now this doesn’t say what job or career you can or cannot undertake, but it does identify how you will be naturally good at what you do if you use your strengths.

The book discusses the thirty-four possible strengths that people have.  When you take the online assessment offered in the book your top five strengths are identified in order from one to five.   Here is where the idea of diversity really stands out.  The number of possible combinations of top five strengths in order from one to five out of a possible thirty-four strengths is amazingly high.  There are over thirty three million combinations – 33,390,720 to be exact. 

Imagine, the people who work with you have a very high probability of having a completely different set of strengths – or talents.  It would be a waste to just pick the hammer you know when you have so many other available talents to draw on. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Hide not your talents.  They for use were made.  What’s a sundial in the shade?”

Experience

Now you know that your team has a broad set of talents to bring to the forefront in decision making.  Added to their talent is their experience.  While talent is the foundation of what someone is naturally good at, experience gives people a front row seat at what has worked, and likely more important, what hasn’t worked before.  In other words, when you have experience you have made mistakes and seen other people make mistakes. 

As a leader you want every person on your team to share their experience when evaluating options.  Not that you would reject every possible solution just because it didn’t work before, but knowing this information might give you an edge if you decide to try it again.

“Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.” Franklin P. Jones

Ideas

Diverse talents combined with diverse experiences will lead to diverse ideas – that is what every leader needs.  Remember, your job as a leader is not to have all the good ideas, but to find all the good ideas.  As former Yale University President Alfred Whitney Griswold once said, “The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.”

Finally, I really like the way Michael Abrashoff, the former commander of the USS Benfold describes diversity by asking this question, “In what way can someone be a superstar?”

How many managers does a company really need?

too many managers not enough workersIs there an ideal percentage of managers in a company? Yes, but it depends on the situation.

“The organization chart will initially reflect the first system design, which is almost surely not the right one.  As one learns, the design changes.  Management structure also needs to be changed as the system changes.” – Fred Brooks

So how many managers does a company really need?  In the Human Resource arena this is called analyzing the Span of Control; this means the number of employees that directly report to a single manager.  On one end you can have a narrow span where each manager has few employees – this results in very close supervision and allows for greater coaching and mentoring one on one.  This is useful in situations where either the employees or the team is new, or where the tasks are highly specialized and require frequent interactions.  On the opposite end is a broad span where each manager has many employees – this model has less direct oversight from the manager and is usually used when managing simple repetitive tasks and/or an experienced team.

The trick to picking the right span of control model, is to fit the model to the task and the people performing the task. Which means there is no one right answer. 

Situational Leadership

In the 1970’s Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey developed what they called the Situational Leadership Model.   This is a four box model that matches the leadership style and span of control needs with the task and competence level of the people performing the task.

“Effective leaders need to be flexible, and must adapt themselves according to the situation.” – Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey

situational leadership chart 1Leadership Style

S1: Telling – Is the most basic of leadership styles. It is used when managing a new and often repetitive task where the employees are likely to be novices.  In this quadrant the manager can handle many employees as their role is simply telling the team what, how, when to perform the tasks.  The manager can oversee the entire group at once.

S2: Selling – In this quadrant, the manager is still working with employees that are on the more junior experience side.  But now, the role has changed from just getting the work done, to training the employees to become more proficient, learning why the work is done the way it is, and gaining their buy-in to the process.  The manager will have a smaller team so they can invest time coaching, mentoring and selling the process.

S3: Participating – The manager now moves from directing how the work is done as in the prior two quadrants, to partnering with the employees to develop the best methods.  These managers will have smaller teams as they invest significant time discussing methods and drawing out ideas from their employees.

S4: Delegating – In this final quadrant, the manager can once again can handle a larger team as the highly experienced team has been delegated responsibility and authority to perform the tasks and make decisions about the best methods to accomplish the tasks.  The manager’s role is once again to monitor the entire team’s results.

Keep in mind that employees can move amongst the quadrants as they take on new opportunities where they have less experience.  That is why this is called situational leadership – the right style and right span of control depends on the situation.

 

Leading a company the military way

patton on leadershipI was recently asked if a military model of leadership was adequate to run a company.  When I responded seeking the definition of military leadership, I understood why the question was being asked.

There is a misperception of what military leadership really is: marching and drills, marching and drills…This initial response is usually taken from a movie, or television show that focused on basic training (boot camp) where the very beginning of military leadership is formed. Even children’s stories are filled with these ideas: Colonel Hathi’s March (The Elephant Song) from The Jungle Book says it this way: “The aim of our patrol,  Is a question rather droll,  For to march and drill, Over field and hill,  Is a military goal!” 

But the military wouldn’t be successful if this was the full extent of its leadership. The military has eleven principles of leadership.  I have summarized them below with a reference to how each of these is viewed in non-military professions.  You will see from these principles that the answer that a military model of leadership is not just adequate to run a company it is essential.

ELEVEN PRINCIPLES OF MILITARY LEADERSHIP 

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement – Learning is a lifelong task that you should continue no matter what you are doing. 

“Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise.  View life as a continuous learning experience.” – Denis Waitley

2. Be tactically and technically proficient – In whatever business or profession you are in, aim to be the best.

“I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.” Abraham Lincoln

3. Know your soldiers and look out for their welfare – Take time to get to know them and look out for their health and well being. They will notice you genuinely care about them and probably perform better.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell

4. Keep your soldiers informed – Tell those you follow you what your plans are, accept their insight and suggestions, make them a part of the planning.

“We must open the doors of opportunity.  But we must also equip our people to walk through those doors.” – Lyndon B. Johnson

5. Set the example – In everything you do you must do it well and set a good example.

“What you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you are saying.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished – Make sure you give clear instructions, ask for feedback on what your followers think you said.

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins

7. Train your soldiers as a team – Create community and teamwork.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

8. Make sound and timely decisions – Look at the options and then make the best choice.

“If a decision-making process is flawed and dysfunctional, decisions will go awry.” – Carly Fiorina

9. Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates – Delegate certain jobs and tasks, training up new leaders.

“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important that hiring and developing people.  At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.” – Larry Bossidy

10. Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities – Align strengths with responsibilities.

“The key to any game is to use your strengths” – Paul Westphal

11. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions –Taking responsibility for things is a key trait of a leader

“Success on any major scale require you to accept responsibility…In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take on responsibility.” – Michael Korda

Communicating expectations

communicate expectationsThere are four steps that successful leaders take in communicating expectations:

Write them out – Clearly define your expectations

Hand them out – Overtly explain your expectations

Point them out – Verbally reinforce your expectations

Live them out – Openly demonstrate your expectations

Imagine you start a new job.  You are anxious to hear communication from the top; what is the vision of company?  The head of your division steps up to the front of the room, clears his throat and says, “You are all doing a great job, keep it up.  If you need me I will be in my office.”

Do you have any idea what is expected of you?  What will you do first? How will you know if you are on the right track for success? Was there any communication at all?

Now imagine you are a rookie wide receiver on the 1980 San Francisco 49ers.  In walks Bill Walsh, the head coach, who hands you a playbook and the first twenty-five plays of the next game fully scripted.  He also hands out something called his “Standards of Performance” which lists requirements for your job such as: a commitment to learning and teaching, self-control under pressure, a positive attitude, and continuous improvement.

You read the playbook and your handouts overnight to prepare for your first day of practice.  Later in the week you are surprised when Bill Walsh himself runs over in the middle of a drill to correct your squad and the assistant coach.  He fully explains the route you were supposed to run and why it is important that it be carried out just as it was scripted. 

Now that was leadership communication.  You were given written communication that described exactly what was expected.  This was followed up by verbal communication to reinforce expectations.

Theodore Hesburgh said, “The very essence of leadership is that you have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.”

Leaders shouldn’t expect their teams to achieve unseen and unheard expectations.  

Now let’s examine the last step, the one where the best leaders spend most of their time – how to demonstrate your expectations. This one is a very quick discussion.

Leaders must realize that their team will do what the leader says until the leader doesn’t do what the leader says.

Ralph Waldo Emerson described the last step like this, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Communicating as a leader

art of communicationDo you have to be good at communicating to be a successful leader? The simple answer is yes you do.  When asked about the importance of communication in leadership here is what a few past leaders had to say:

Gilbert Amelio, a pioneer in the U.S. technology industry and former President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp. said, “Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership.”

Author and former presidential speech writer James Humes answered the question succinctly when he said, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.”

And Lee Iacocca, former Chrysler CEO said, “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”

So you are a leader or you want to be a leader someday but you have trouble communicating.  Can a person who has trouble communicating be a leader?  Again the simple answer is yes you can.

Listed below are the four areas that all great communicators focus on.  Learn them and you will be successfully communicating as a leader.

Communicating with a purpose. Can you summarize the purpose of your message in one sentence?  If you can’t, then your audience won’t understand the main point.  You have heard some speakers say, “If you only take away one thing this is it…”  Before you start any form of communication you have to know the purpose.  It’s like Stephen Covey said, “Start with the end in mind.”

The purpose of communication is always to elicit an emotional response meant to inspire action.

That action may be very short term, like getting a laugh or tugging at the heart.  The action could be longer term like embarking on the first step of a life changing journey.

Knowing the purpose of your communication is foundational if you want to communicate like a leader.

Communicating with a plan. Now that you clearly defined the purpose of your communication it’s time to plan how you will accomplish that purpose.

Here a few keys to include in your plan:

Be an expert in the facts before you share the facts. This is not a new concept.  First century Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.“

Carefully select your words.  As Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”

Entertain, encourage, and end on time. Not only will the current audience appreciate you, they might also be a future audience.  The great British leader Benjamin Disraeli had advice for communicators: “Be amusing: never tell unkind stories; above all, never tell long ones.”

Communicating with practice.  Once you have your purpose and plan, it’s time to practice. The more you communicate the better you will get. According to master communicator Brian Tracy, “Communication is a skill like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life”

Even after communicating as a leader myself for over twenty-five years, I never step in front of an audience without reviewing and practicing what I am going to communicate.

Communicating with passion Your communication is not complete unless the people who heard it feel enlightened, equipped, and energized to do something with your message right now. 

If you want your audience to have passion about your message then you need to have passion about your message first.  You may be an expert in the facts, but are you committed to the message.  Do you believe it? More importantly do you live it?

Jim Rohn said it like this, “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”

 

Should you be the boss or the leader?

boss adds to load leader lessens the loadYou’re in charge.  You are responsible for delivering the results.  Does it matter if you are called the Boss or the Leader? As long as your team performs and hits the bottom line should you be concerned with such trivial matters?

If you are new to this area of being in charge, you will quickly find that,

“How you achieve the results matters as much as if you achieve the results.”  – Denis G. McLaughlin

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The most powerful leader is one part of the team

orchestra conductor one part of the teamThe truly powerful leader understands that they are joining the individual strengths of a team into a common purpose.

The leader is the organizer, the arranger, the conductor. Like a world class symphony orchestra, it takes a group of individuals playing their part of the same song with their particular instrument to create beautiful music. The musicians have the violins, oboes, trumpets, and tympani – the conductor has the baton.

“The great leaders are like the best conductors – they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.” – Blaine Lee

 Leadership is achieving success through the actions of others. The truly powerful leaders set the stage so the strengths of the team can ring loud and clear.  The leader’s success is the success of each member of the team.

 “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” – Max Lucado

 

Does a leader need power to lead?

leadership power - John MaxwellThe simple answer –Yes, leaders need power to lead.  John Maxwell said, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” Therefore, you need power in order to influence others if you want to be an effective leader.

The follow up question that we will explore is what kind of power does a leader need to lead?

There are two kinds of leadership power: those that fade and those that last.

Leadership Power that fades

These are the most often discussed, and unfortunately sometimes the most relied upon forms of Leadership Power. Let’s look at them and see why their effectiveness fades away in time if they are the only method used to influence others.

The Power of Position.  In this case, the leader has influence because of their position in the company.  They are in charge and can ask others to take actions based on that position.  This type of power fades as there is no sense of commitment or connection to a greater good. People only follow because they have to, not because they want to. 

“Leadership is action, not position.” – Donald H. McGannon

The Power of Perks.  All leaders can give away perks: raises, bonuses, vacation etc… None of these is bad in and of itself but realize as a leader, you will get the behavior you incent.  Your influence with this type of power fades as the commitment isn’t to the ultimate outcome, but to the immediate individual benefits.  When you rely too much on rewards you may find that people are working only for their rewards, which means decisions may be made that do not reflect the best answer for the team, company, customer, or shareholder.

 “The reward of a thing well done is having done it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Power of Punishment.  This is the opposite of the power of perks.  This enforces consequences for behavior you don’t want.  While your influence with this power will lead to short-term compliance, it will eventually create an atmosphere of insecurity and fear. People will become so afraid to make a mistake they will cease to make decisions and only do what they are specifically told by the leader.

“Nothing is more deflating to morale than to have a poor outcome pinned on someone who doesn’t deserve it.  It lacks integrity and overvalues the outcome at the expense of the people.” – Tony Dungy

Leadership Power that lasts

The types of Leadership Power which last, are not often seen as power.  In Leadership Power that lasts, the power is shared with others and not maintained by the leader.

The Power of Empowerment.  The true measure of a successful leader isn’t what they have – power, possessions, prestige – it is the legacy of empowering other leaders to achieve their own success.  Your success as a leader is defined by how many successful leaders you have helped grow.  Your influence as a leader will grow because of the success of those you influenced.

 “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” – John Maxwell

The Power of Character.  This is who you are inside.  Your intentions and your actions point in the same direction – helping others’ succeed.  With the power of your character you can influence people because of their respect for you.

“A leader…has authority due to their role, but their positional power will not bring about good for individuals or organizations unless it is backed up by the capital of character.” — Dan B. Allender

The Power of Conduct.  As a leader you and your team will face many tough circumstances.  You will need to influence them to not just survive, but thrive through these times.  Your conduct will be the key to their success.  When you remain calm, focused on the vision, and help your team find a plan the power of your conduct will be evident.

 “Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is our power.” – Benjamin Disraeli

Lead with integrity

toungue in mouth and shoeYour example is the best teacher of integrity for those who are watching – and believe me, your followers are watching.  They may hear every word of advice you give, but unless they see you living out your own advice it won’t stick. 

“Make sure the tongue in your shoes goes the same direction as the tongue in your mouth.” – Ken Whitten

Your example is also the best teacher for yourself.  Unless you keep the bar of success high; you will never know what you are capable of achieving.

“Remember that the bigger the goal, the stronger a person you must become to achieve that goal.”  – Robin Sharma

What does it mean then to lead with integrity – even when you don’t want to, have to, or need to?

What if I don’t want to lead with integrity? It will be difficult. You will face challenges.  Isn’t there anyone else who can do this?

There are times in our careers and our lives, when we wish someone else would step up and lead.  “Don’t I deserve to just sit this one out?” We say. You’re in charge for a reason my friend – you are good at it.  You are gifted in your ability to lead.  If you are the leader, then you have to lead. 

“Leadership – it’s not about rights, it’s about responsibility.”  – Denis G. McLaughlin

What if I don’t have to lead with integrity? No one will know. It’s only once and you will do it next time.

Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” Brian Alden learned how to lead by studying great leaders like Lombardi.  He found that “Leaders with a history of success have developed a habit of working hard to achieve their success.” Don’t make choices based on other’s knowledge of your choices; make them based on your habit of hard work.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

What if I don’t need to lead with integrity? Everyone will understand. No one expects you to be perfect.

It’s true that no one really expects anyone to be perfect, you included.  Will everyone understand if I make a mistake? For the most part, yes.  But you want your legacy to be more than “He wasn’t perfect.”  I would rather my epitaph be something like, “He always gave his best effort.”  If I let someone down, it won’t be because I didn’t try to do my best. That is the example I want to set for my team.

“The proof of your character comes through in the lives of those on whom you have an impact.”– Denis G. McLaughlin

Leaders: Faced with an ethical dilemma?

ethics picture Potter StewartHow do you lead when you are faced with a decision where the option that works in favor of the bottom line is not the most ethical?  Here are three thoughts that will lead you to the right decision:

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.  Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, former said, “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.”  A man who invested twenty-three years of his life deciding cases on the foundation of law, had strong opinions on doing the right thing not just the lawful thing. 

Never decide what you should do based on what you can do – it’s not the same.  Your decisions should always be based on what is right for all involved.  This is not to say that everyone will like your decision.  But if you can say you were honest and forthright in your dealings and provided opportunity for everyone to succeed, than you did what you should.

You’re not just in this for the money – it’s about the people.  Singularly focusing on maximizing short term profits is not the sole intent of business.  Are you providing a balanced life for your employees?  Are you giving back to the community in which you conduct business?  Are you’re shareholders proud to be associated with your company? You could even ask if people are seen wearing t-shirts with your company logo embroidered on it – now that says something.  What is the total impact of your company’s existence?

 “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.”­ – Henry Ford

 Short term gain achieved with less than ethical behavior will lead to long term failure.  Never underestimate the memory of people who were impacted by unethical decisions – either benefiting or losing in the end.  No matter the outcome, you will have lost the trust and confidence of everyone involved.  If you made an unethical choice in this area, what’s to stop you from making an unethical choice somewhere else?

 “If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.” – Abraham Lincoln

So, how do you lead when you are faced with a decision where the option that works in favor of the bottom line is not the most ethical? You make the ethical decision – end of story.

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