Category Archives: Leadership

It’s What People Believe

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“People have a fair, intuitive sense of their own capability,” Pablo said. “And, they yearn for opportunity to exercise their full potential. To do otherwise causes people to wilt. A great deal of a person’s self-esteem, even identity, comes from the value they see in the work that they do.”

“So, the system in which they work has impact on how they behave?” I floated.

“It’s not just the system, it’s what people believe about the system. What we believe, our assumptions, the way we see the world is what drives our behavior. Look, the real question is, if we believe that people want to fully participate at their highest level of capability, spread their wings toward independence, that they do not need a carrot and stick to get on with their work, then what kind of managerial system would we create?”

“This sounds a bit idealistic, don’t you think?” I countered.

“Not at all,” Pablo replied. “This is about hard nosed work. Making decisions and solving problems, tough decisions and difficult problems.”

What Does It Mean?

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“So, when I try to get my team to understand what I mean, I have to look inside, at myself first?” Renata asked.

I nodded. “And making meaning is a bit of sticky wicket,” I replied, using my best croquet analogy.

“How so?”

“When we look inside to figure out what we mean, we are simply asking questions to help us interpret people, things, events, conversations,” I said. “Interpretation helps us understand the meaning. It’s not what the facts are, it’s the way we interpret the facts. And, then you have to ask the question, in relation to what?”

“Explain.”

“For a leader, at any level, it has a great deal to do with the objectives, goals or mission. How do we interpret these facts in relationship to our goals or our mission? That gives us insight into what it means.”

Conversations With Yourself

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“I am trying to figure out how to make my case to the team about our new process,” Renata nodded her head.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Sometimes, the way I say things gets the wrong reaction,” she replied. “I think I mean to say one thing, but they think I mean something else. I need to know better how to talk to them.”

“How are you talking to yourself?” I wanted to know.

“My turn to ask what do you mean?” she chuckled.

“How you talk to yourself, your inner private conversations indicate how you lead yourself. And, how you lead yourself will determine how you lead others. Most conversations are with yourself, often it just happens that other people are in the room.”
—
Homage to Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations

It’s a Great Book

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“I have been reading this book,” Hanna said, a bit frustrated. “It’s called Nine Principles, but I am having difficulty applying it to my executive team.”

“And, that’s a surprise?” I asked. “Is the author of the book in a leadership role?”

“Yes, he runs a very large company,” she replied. “In the same industry as us. That’s why I bought the book.”

“I see,” I said. “Tell me, do you think you are similar enough to the author and the author’s company and circumstances are similar enough to yours, that if you just copied the Nine Principles, you would get the same results?”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Hanna said with hope in her voice.

“The pattern for a great leader is rarely the pattern for another,” I said. “Usually when patterns are similar, it is simply a recipe for mediocrity. Mediocre leaders copy mediocre leaders and so the spiral goes. Tell me what is different about your circumstances. Tell me what is different about your team. Tell me what is different about you. That’s the book you should read.”

The Follower

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“I want to become a better leader,” Lawrence announced.

“Try becoming a better follower,” I suggested.

“I said Leader, not Follower,” he clarified.

“I heard you correctly. Become a better follower.”

“Follower of what? If I am a follower, who is the leader?” he pressed.

“This is not a chicken and egg game,” I said. “Every organization has its strategic intent. That is what you follow. You become a better leader by being a better follower of strategic intent. Your strength as a leader does not come from your position, but from your competence supporting strategic intent. An organization’s hierarchy does not come from position or power. Its strength comes from a hierarchy of competence.”

A Dollar More

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“Why do people work?” I asked.

It was an innocent question, but Shari knew I had an agenda. “Okay. I’ll bite,” she replied. “I was going to say they work for the money, but I know you too well.”

I laughed. “You are correct. People work because they need the money. But, if that is all they work for, then you will be hard pressed to keep them when a competitor comes knocking on their door, and offers a dollar more.”

Shari stared at me with a half smile.

“Would it surprise you,” I continued, “to find out that people need to work, more than they need the money? Don’t get me wrong, they need the money. But, they also need the work. To lead a happy, fulfilled life, people need to work, to make a contribution to a group which they hold in high regard. And, it takes somewhere between 35-40 hours per week to create that internal feeling of significance. If you can create a safe place, where they can do their best work, and that work is valued by their most important group, now you get the beginnings of engagement.”

Omission

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“What are the problems you create?” I asked.

“The problems I have, or the problems I create?” Paula stepped back. “I mean, I have problems, but I don’t try to create problems.”

“But, if you did create problems, what would they be?” I pressed.

Paula paused, searching. “I guess, it would be a problem of omission. It’s not that I did something that created a problem, more like something I didn’t do.”

“Example?”

“As the CEO, I notice things that others don’t notice,” she started. “A detail that got skipped, a hasty decision based solely on gut response, escalation of an emotion that makes things worse. I notice things like that.”

“And?”

“Sometimes, I let them go, hoping they will self-correct.”

“And, do they self correct?” I wanted to know.

Paula pursed her lips. “Actually, no. I mean sometimes by a quirk of fate, but mostly no.”

“Then, what happens?”

“Eventually, the problem gets bigger. Maybe the first time was with a small customer that didn’t notice. But, then, it’s a big customer who immediately sees the problem. It’s something I could have stopped in the beginning, but didn’t. Now, it’s a big problem. I could blame it on the team member, but I am the one who caused the problem, because I saw it and did nothing.”

Honor for the Game

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“Gentlemen, today is the day we play for the national championship. Today, I want to talk about honor. Honor for the University, honor for each player in this room and honor for the game.

“The university’s role is to be a part of a larger institution that collects intercollegiate athletes like yourself to play the game. We provide the uniforms, the playing field, the referees. It is our honor to create this space for you to play the game.

“And, also to honor you. It is your honor to wear the uniform, not to only to represent the university, but to represent yourself. Honor for yourself. This team did not arrive on this field today because we were good at trick plays. This team arrived here because of its discipline to fundamentals. You catch the ball because you are a half step faster than the defender. You run through a short gap because the linemen hold their blocks a half second longer. You do not get penalized because you are disciplined to focus.

“Finally, to honor the game. For some of you, this will be the last organized game you will play. And, you will remember this day for its joy that allowed you to play. It’s a game that required practice, individually and drills as a team. Mastery in synchronized movement. It is the game that collected these two teams today. The other team traveled the same journey to get here. They are meeting together, just like we are meeting together, huddled in a spirit to honor the game.”

A Day of Gratitude

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I started this blog in November 2004, so, by my count it looks like 21 laps around the circuit. For that longevity, I have to thank you, my readers. It is my hope that, not only do you read, but you shift the way you think about things related to your roles as managers and owners of organizations.

In the United State, this is a holiday week to celebrate gratitude in a day of Thanksgiving. Thank you for the opportunity, for me to think out loud. I raise a toast to you. I think I will have a beer. -Tom

Learned From a Book

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“You know I took three courses in leadership to prepare me for this role,” Rosalyn reminded me. “The company believed in me, committed the tuition to attend, allowed me time off work. I feel like I have let them down.”

“Indeed, you thought you had finished your preparation when you got your certificate from that last program,” I smiled. “But, that was just the beginning. I am also certain there are 20 books on leadership in your library, some for show, some dogeared, full of underlines and highlights.”

“You recommended some of those books,” she protested.

“Yes, I did,” I said in agreement. “But no concert pianist learned to play the piano by reading a book. No elite basketball player learned how to drill a 3-pointer by watching a video. Leadership is a learned sport in the school of experience.”