Learning

Leaders: Troubling times require you to be present

presence of one we trustWhen there is trouble leaders need to be present.  Your team doesn’t want to receive an email or a phone call.  They want to know you really understand the situation and care enough to help – in person.

A team in crisis doesn’t want the one way communication of email instructions.  Even with emoticons and well placed capitalization there is no real EMOTION in an email 😉

A team wondering what to do next doesn’t need your cell phone call from the airport while you are catching a flight in the other direction.  They know you are busy, but imagine how busy you will be if this situation doesn’t get handled the right way.

Your team needs help.  You need to be there.  Here’s why:

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Learn from past mistakes, yours or other people’s

mistakesFred Brooks wrote about his experiences managing systems development at IBM in the book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering. In his book, he reviews many common software mistakes that he witnessed and even made himself.

The book coined what is known as “Brook’s Law,” which states “Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.”

Brooks discovered this law when he made the mistake of adding programmers to a project falling behind schedule, then concluded that it delayed the project even further. Using this and other examples of mistakes he witnessed in his career, Brooks is quoted as saying, “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.”

In my book, The Leadership GPS, Michael Tennyson, teaches his grandson Brian Alden, that those who have learned from mistakes – their own or others’ – are in the best position to lead.

What are you doing to prepare yourself for leadership?  Making some mistakes on your own is inevitable and one way to learn; but learning from the mistakes of others is the easier route. 

The Best Leaders Are The Ones With The Best Information

knowledge is powerBenjamin Disraeli was a prominent member of the British government during the 1800s. He served in leadership positions for three decades including twice as prime minister. Disraeli said:

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes…The more extensive a man’s knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do.”

In order for you to be a success as a leader you need to understand the conditions in and around your team:

  • What internal and external pressures HAS the team faced in the past?
  • What internal and external pressures IS the team facing now?
  • What internal and external pressures WILL the team face in the future?

Once you’ve obtained that knowledge – use it to enthusiastically go after your goals.

In my book, The Leadership GPS, Brian Alden learns the three step process to gain understanding and knowledge, and uses it to achieve success.

1) Look for information that already exists in books, surveys, or websites. This is a great place to learn what did happen and what is happening.

2) Listen to people with information gained through experience. Talk to your team, your boss, experts in the industry.

3) Learn what people need by analyzing the two together. Make a decision on how you will achieve your goals now that you understand the conditions.

The information you gather by looking, listening, and learning will be that on which you base all future steps to successful leadership.

The wisest leader acknowledges there is much to learn

wisdom wonderThe leader who seeks wisdom believes their vision is more than just a path to success; it is a calling, a moral imperative, and they must obtain the wisdom needed to insure its success.

For a vision to be successful it must be the single focus of the leader.  As the leader goes, so goes the team.  Any divided loyalty will divide the team.  Now there can and should be discussion on how to achieve the vision, that is how the best decisions are found.   But the vision itself must be non-negotiable.

How should the leader seek the wisdom needed for their vision?

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Purpose, plan, people, and priorities – there can be no leadership without them

DenispostWhether you are leading a team of thousands, hundreds, tens, or just yourself, these four P’s of leadership are essential for success. Without them you and your team are like a boat without a rudder, drifting on the sea in an unknown direction. Leadership is about choosing the destination and navigating the ship on the right course.

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The best leaders are only one step ahead

I love this story. I can’t reLeading_From_Behindmember where I first heard it, but it really stuck with me. I think its lesson is so applicable for leadership.

All hikers know that you can’t out run a bear. But these two guys were hiking in the deep woods one day. They got a bit off track and wandered into the part of the woods where bears have been known to live. ROAR! The frightening sound of a bear was heard. ROAR!! The sound grew closer. One of the guys bent down and started tightening his shoes. “What are you doing?” the other one asked. “Lacing up my shoes so I don’t trip when I run,” the first one answered. “Everyone knows you can’t out run a bear,” the second one said. To that the first guy replied, “I don’t have to out run the bear, I just have to out run you,” and he sped away.

Why do I love this story? Because so many people think they can’t be a leader until they know everything there is to know about leadership.

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Imitate or Innovate, that is the question.

fork-in-the-road2Leaders have a choice to make. Should they imitate what has already been successfully done, or innovate away from the past and chart their own course?

Can a career be summed up in three words: Imitate or Innovate?

In my career I have found that the answer to the question on whether to imitate or innovate is – it depends.

Imitation is preferred when you are following success. Innovation is preferred when you are defining success.

Sometimes your job is to do it the right way; sometimes it’s to invent the right way.

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Do you follow the rules?

There are always rules to be followed in life.  Most rules were put in place by well-meaning people who felt they were needed to right a wrong, protect from injury, or create agreement between two or more parties.

Over time, we can forget the wise words of Franklin D. Roosevelt who said, “Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.”

I call the principles the “Why’s” behind the rules.

But we need more than just the rules. Without the wisdom of why the rules were made – understanding of their intent, and knowledge of when to apply them – we rely on their strict wording instead of the spirit of the rules.

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The ABC’s of Successful Leaders: Get The Best Information

Benjamin Disraeli was a prominent member of the British government during the 1800s. He served in leadership positions for three decades including twice as prime minister. Disraeli said:

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes…The more extensive a man’s knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do.”

In order for you to be a success as a leader you need to understand the conditions in and around your team.

A) What internal and external pressures HAS the team faced in the past?

B) What internal and external pressures IS the team facing now?

C) What internal and external pressures WILL the team face in the future?

Here is the process to gain that understanding:

A) Look for information that already exists in books, surveys, or websites – This is a great place to learn what did happen and what is happening

B) Listen to people with information gained through experience -Talk to your team, your boss, experts in the industry

C) Learn what people need by analyzing the two together – Decide how you will achieve your goals now that you understand the conditions

The information you gather by looking, listening, and learning will be that on which you base all future steps to successful leadership.

 

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