Blog Articles about Leadership
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May 25, 2009
The Sixty Percent Leader.
I was inspired to write this blog by a meeting with one particular client but I have to say that I had similar conversations with many people all week. Funny how lots of people seem to be thinking the same things at the same time.
This client was frustrated with the shortcomings of one of the leaders in his organization and spent a good part of the meeting complaining about the mistakes this leader had made. Rightly so, the leader is not perfect.
But who is perfect and why do we expect our leaders to be perfect? I'd like to suggest that there are two reasons for our high expectations. One, management literature has done a disservice to all of us in setting up standards around the "perfect leader". We all look for a leader who is inspirational and personally attractive to us. We look for a leader who knows what to do in every situation.
Two, there may be an answer rooted in psychology. We put leaders on pedestals and then are disappointed when they don't measure up. Sound like any teenagers you know? Sometimes when I listen to clients it reminds of Eric Bern and his theory of Transactional Analysis. He says we can analyze our transactions and determine if we are in either Parent-Child or Adult-Adult relationships with our peers. Our disappointment with leaders is much more closely aligned with Parent-Child than it is with Adult-Adult. An angry child might say to a parent "You let me down. You didn't give me what I wanted." An Adult relationship would look more like "Help me understand why you decided to implement this decision." Adult relationships according to Bern are relationships where both parties learn from one another.
There are probably other reasons for this "leader on a pedestal" phenomena. However, if you follow this blog, you'll know that the "why" for me is less important than the "what are you going to do about it?"
Here is what my client is going to do about it. Every time he feels frustrated with the inadequacies of leaders, he is going to think the following, "Sixty percent is good enough." Why did we pick sixty percent? It reminds us both that people (and leaders) are not perfect. Eighty percent seems too close to perfect. It also reminds us that leadership of a large group of people is complex and constantly changing. I work with a large number of very smart people. Not even a very smart person knows the right thing to do in every situation.
Sound like my standards aren't high enough? Maybe, but last time I checked leading an organization is very complex and no one, not even a leader, is perfect.
May 20, 2009
Get Over It
Last week I went to an emotional meeting at my kids' school. There were two groups of parents and two groups of teachers. Both sides were vested, both sides had valid but opposing opinions on a lingering issue, and everyone got more emotional as the evening wore on. Finally one of the parents stood up and said "get over it". It was the one comment that everyone needed to hear - no blame on either side, just get over it. The meeting progressed - we elected a new board, some decisions were made - we started to look ahead.
The evening reminded me of an article written by Marshall Goldsmith in 2008 called “The Best Leadership Advice I Ever Got”. In it, he talks about getting frustrated and bogged down by “stuff” you cannot change and turning into a complainer vs someone who moves forward. Leadership is not about pointing out everything that is wrong. That’s too easy. Leadership is about taking those imperfections and making things better.
So, instead of dwelling on the bad ... let’s just get over it.
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/goldsmith/2008/09/the_best_leadership_advice_i_e.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a38:g26:r13:c0.049112:b22125272
May 12, 2009
Give.
One of my clients sent the following comments to my most recent blog.
"Read your blog this morning about connecting with people – and I totally agree. I was at my networking meeting yesterday and we were discussing business development. One of our members brought a suggestion to the table, which I thought was so great. Instead of focusing your business development on selling yourself, focus it (particularly at this time given the tough economy) on helping others. Lending some free advice, listening to people’s issues and offering suggestions without any expectations of immediate work – I think this will pay off big in the long run."
I couldn't say it better myself. I am a big fan of free advice. Of course eventually you'll need to get paid but before you do, you should plan to be helpful. How else will people know if you are good? So, don't worry about what you are going to get from meetings. Think about what you can give. The more you give, the better you'll feel and the more your network will appreciate you and refer you to others. Nothing wrong with that.
April 14, 2009
Does Working Notice Work? Not Usually.
The downturn in the economy has pushed many of my clients away from paying severance and toward working notice. Employers are choosing to ask employees to work their notice rather than paying severance and letting them go immediately. One client asked me if I had an opinion on working notice. I do. It often doesn't work. Once you have decided to let someone go, you have mentally moved on. They have not. They can be bitter and demotivated and you can't really blame them. They were let go. It is tough for both parties to go to work each day and face one another.
When does working notice actually work?
- When it is short -- a few weeks for more junior positions and no more than three months for very senior positions.
- When the employee is reliable and professional. You can tell if they will be professional and reliable in the first few days after giving notice. If it doesn't go well, revert to severance and do it quickly.
- When the employee needs a place of work to help them look for another job.
When should you never use working notice?
- When the employee has a history of poor interpersonal skills. Bad behaviour is likely to get worse during working notice.
- When the employee can potentially hurt a client relationship or impact the security of others or of your organization.
As an employer, termination is a very difficult decision to make, even if it is the right decision. If you decide to use working notice try and park any guilt, anger or frustration and be pleasant and professional yourself. As much as possible, treat the employee the same as if you had not given notice. Continue to expect them to do their job while giving them plenty of time for job search and interviews. Keep the working notice short.
March 25, 2009
Shouldn’t customer benefits be simple and thank-you’s be unconditional?
This blog is a diversion from my usual thoughts on leadership. I am thinking more and more about how to treat customers. First and foremost keep it simple. I am sitting on a plane with 8 upgrades that should put me in business class. I am in economy. My upgrades were blue not red. The red ones are better. Who knew?
The result for me as a customer? I sit looking at the open seats in business class. I look at my useless business class upgrade certificates. what I once saw as a pleasant thank-you for my business with this airline now is a source of annoyance.
Everytime I look at the these offending blue upgrades I remember that they come with conditions. I remember the 5 hour flight in economy with open seats in business class. "Thanks for your business but only in certain circumstances that suit our airline. Please read the fine print."
Conditional thank-yous are worse than no thank-you at all. If you are going to offer a thank-you offer it unconditionally.
"Thank-you!". There that feels good.
February 04, 2009
Too Few Data Points
"Too few data points". That was a client's description of a leader in her group. She had just met with him to get to know him and to discuss her own career. I asked her how the meeting went and she said it was "fine". She further went on to say, "I think his instincts are good. I think his values are strong. He sometimes makes poor decisions because he takes too few data points. Sort of like George Bush -- not a bad guy, just took too few data points."
Whether or not you agree with my client on George Bush is not the point here. The point is that great leaders make decisions after taking in lots of data. As I coach leaders, I see that they often go with their "gut" on decisions. The really talented leaders take lots of data points and then go with their "gut".
January 18, 2009
Making Values Stick
As I discussed in my last blog, great leaders show an unwavering commitment to a clear set of values. It is relatively easy to have a set of values. We all do. The trick is to be clear on those values and to use those values as a means to mobilize others.
I hope you tried the exercise that I suggested to better clarify your own values or "leadership voice". If you didn’t click through to my last blog and try it.
Here is the next step--another short exercise that will help you determine if you are making your values stick. If you do this exercise you will be making your values exceptionally clear to all around you. Before the exercise, you’ll need a little background.
January 05, 2009
A Return to Values
If you have been reading my blogs, you'll already know that I am an optimist. I have always believed that change is good. As I have said previously, even this current change in the economy is good. See my blogs for my thinking on this, "Change is Good. Even When it is Bad." and A Bad Economy is Good. In these blogs I talked about the reasons I think change is good:
- a greater focus on personal values and less focus on consumption
- a "clearing of the market" where marginal service providers will leave and great service providers will survive
- the economy as a "burning platform" to drive change
There is an additional reason this current economic change is good. It will change how leaders lead. You will see that that this happening already.
December 02, 2008
Change is good. Even when it is bad.
Some would call me "the eternal optimist". In fact, I think I am.
I wake up early every morning, sit and read the paper look on the bright side. I love what I do. IMPACT is an organization of coaches who do really great work. I am really proud of the work we do. We have a diverse set of clients who seem to appreciate our work. I think about these things and I think, "We will be fine. Just keep focusing on quality work and stay in the market."
This morning I woke up and felt tired and frankly almost battered. The current Canadian political situation (there is a crisis of confidence in our current minority government) has tipped me over the edge. It is very difficult to remain an optimist in the face of relentless, negative press on the front page of the paper.
I am happy to report my exhaustion and pessimism was short lived. By the afternoon today, the optimist is back.
I read an article this afternoon from McKinsey and it helped me move back to the "bright side". This article reminded me of something I already knew but really needed to reminded of. Change is an opportunity even when it is bad. How is it an opportunity? Change "unfreezes the status quo" and is an opportunity to do what you've always wanted to do and fix what you've always wanted to fix. (See Kotter's 8 step change model for more on this)
November 16, 2008
Compensation is always a trade-off.
Once you come to terms with the fact that compensation is always a trade-off and never perfect, you are released from trying to justify compensation decisions. Wouldn't it be wonderful not to have to justify? I have coached many people on how to handle tough compensation discussions. It is rarely rewarding for either party.
In my last blog, "Performance Management is so Yesterday", I talked about how current performance management systems sap motivation and are often "widely inaccurate". I suggested changing to a true "coaching and development model". In this model conversations are frequent and focused on support and problem solving and not on assessment and ratings.
This blog resulted in lots of comments -- the vast majority of comments were supportive. Here's a sample.
"People are tired of the way we do performance management. It is cumbersome and the conversations are difficult." "It is unheard-of for the hockey coach to play his team for half the season and then sit down and spend an hour telling each player what he or she did right and what needs to be improved. He needs to be talking to his whole team and each of his players continuously."
I share this hockey analogy comment because it highlights how ludicrous our current approach is. I'll continue with this analogy as I move into the next question to be answered-- "if we can't rate them, how do we pay them?"
