LEADERSHIP - AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART!!

Leadership is not an affair of the Head.....but of the Heart!! 

What does this mean?  It is not about thinking of being a leader.....but what is your passion and what do you care about!   With my CEO Group of Vistage leaders, I recently shared a video presentation by Jim Kouzes around this topic.  He is the author, along with Barry Posner of The Leadership Challenge.  A very well received business book and based on research from thousands of executives.     (check their website at:   http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/)  

Kouzes asks the audience a fascinating question.  Among the various categories below, who would you choose to model or follow key principles of leadership?

   - Politician
   - Community leader
   - Business Exec
   - Celebrity or entertainer
   - Family member or friend
   - Pastor or religious leader
   - Teacher or Coach  

Who would you?  What do you think the highest categories are?   Maybe not surprisingly....the highest % was for Family member/friend and Teacher/Coach.    Not  Business leader?  Are you surprised?    What do we glean from this?   It is someone close to you as a person.....  i.e. someone you know well.   Someone who can make a difference with you.   So Kouzes point is that  the job of leadership is for every manager....not just the top executives.  

He then goes on to describe that the foundation of leadership is based on being credible & believable.    Somebody who walks the talk....who models the way....who you would willingly follow.  Makes sense.

Another key attribute is regarding sharing an important vision.  Not dictating one to your people, but laying out in a compelling way a path to a better future.  Key is that they, your people, can see themselves in this future....and it is worth doing.  It creates a better place for themself. 

The 5 practices then, for exemplary leadership include:

   Model the way
   Inspire a shared vision
  Challenge the process
  Enable others to act
  Encourage the heart

These are the keys to their principles.....good stuff.  You can listen to this presentation and hear the explanation by going to YouTube.   Click on:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt3hTGpfrSE 

Hope you find it valuable.  Then look at your own leadership practices and see what needs to be changed. 

What can leaders learn from the U.S. Navy Seals?

I recently had the privilege, along with a small group of award winning CEO Coaches, to listen to and engage in a leadership conversation with one of the past leaders of the U.S. Navy Seals program in San Diego, CA. 

The program is phenomenally impressive.....as you would imagine.  The most elite fighting men....the best of the best.  A grueling 25 wk program to determine who can make it through to become a Seal.  A view from the inside was quite rare and led to some eyeopening insights that can certainly apply to the needs of leadership for most organizations. 

Just a few of the numerous insights:

1.  Two is one......and One is none
   All of the training and exercises are done in PAIRS.  For support, for cross-training, to avoid a vulnerability if someone is injured or lost.   If you do things alone.....image the increased risk and loss of effectiveness.
Might this apply to your organization?  Can you afford the duplication?  Can you really afford not to consider this? 

2.  The main determinant of who succeeds.....who makes it through....is not about the most talented, or skilled, or the best athlete!!  It's based on who has the spirit or heart to make it through. 

This was HUGE to me!!  It's not the fastest or strongest that determines success.  It is who wants it the most and who will endure literal HELL to overcome what seem to be superhuman odds.  We asked the Admiral....in all of your pre-screening, tests or assessments, you could predict this in advance......right?
He indicated it is not for a lack of trying to determine this.  They have never been able to accurately predict which candidate will make it to succeed.

Sure seemed to parallel what we try to do in organizations.  We interview for talents or intelligence or past relevant job experience and success.  Well why then, do so many new hires not seem to fit the needs to create success after they are hired?  Do we focus too much on the talents and not the spirit or heart?  Then again.....how would we test or assess for the spirit or the big enough heart or motivation?  Seems the same problem that the Seals have.   Except they spend 25 wks in actual situations to determine who will make it.

What would be the parallel in our organizations for the 25 wk environment tests to determine success?  How many make the investment to do this type of in-depth effort?  Maybe we should if we want the same success rate that the Navy Seals have achieved!!  Worth some serious thought, I believe.

Thank you, Admiral, for these valuable insights. 

Edward Deming's 14 Steps to Quality

Eliminate grades in school.  Eliminate merit increases.  Eliminate quotas and numerical goals. 
Sounds pretty dramatic.....would you agree with this? 

These are some of the key principles from the father of Quality......Edward Deming. 
Take a look at the steps below and consider how it just might drive continuous improvement into your organization and remove some of the inter-department conflicts.  Worth considering.....I think. 

14  Steps  to Quality

1.    Drive out fear

2.    Eliminate quotas and numerical goals

3.    Break down all barriers between departments

4.    Eliminate inspection.  Learn to build products right the first time.

5.    Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

6.    Remove barriers that rob workers of their right to pride of workmanship.

7.    Institute leadership:  the aim of leadership should be to help people do a better job.

8.    Eliminate slogans, exhortations and production targets.

9.    Adopt a new philosophy.  This is a new economic age.  Western managers must awaken to the challenge, learn their responsibilities and take on leadership of change.

10. End the practice of awarding business based on the price tag.  Move toward a single supplier for any one item.  Base this long-term relationship on loyalty and trust.

11. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service.

12. Put everybody to work to accomplish the transformation.

13. Institute job training.

14. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service to become competitive and to stay in business and to provide jobs.

Harnessing Your Strengths

......Do you know what your strengths are?  Read this approach from Author Marcus Buckingham.

5 Questions with Marcus Buckingham: Harnessing Your Strengths and True Genius

 

Q: Can you start by sharing one simple step or tool that Vistage members can use to help them stay open to opportunities and on a "strengths path"? A:   I would say that the most obvious thing to do is to realize that you are the person in charge of what your strengths are. And we'll be talking about this a fair bit on the call itself. But most people seem to think that a strength is what you're good at, and a weakness is what you're bad at. And if we think that, then, we are not the best judge of our strengths because somebody else probably is the best judge of what you're good at and what you're bad at. But actually, that's not a very good definition of a strength. A strength is an activity that makes you feel strong—it's an activity that strengthens you. And of course, if that's true, if strengths really are an antecedent to performance, there are activities that strengthen you, that invigorate you, that you have an appetite for, that cause you to practice more, that then drive your performance.  If that's what a strength is, then there are signs that you can see all around you, if you've got the eyes to see them and the ears to hear them.  And I think that's one of the most basic rituals that we can all do, to stay on our strengths path.  To keep our eyes peeled for the most obvious signs of which activities strengthen us and which don't. There are a number of signs, but probably the two most obvious signs of a strength that you could pay attention to and really give your full attention to, is firstly, what do you find yourself positively anticipating, actively looking forward to? And then rapid learning: What do you pick up quickly? What do you find that you get so involved in, that you lose track of time? So in terms of a ritual, I think obviously, keep your mind open to opportunities on your career path. Keep experimenting. But as you're doing so, remember: You're always looking for those activities that strengthen you. The two most obvious signs are positive anticipation and rapid learning. And when you see those two signs pop up, it's a really good clue that you need to keep orienting yourself toward those activities and tilting your world toward them. Q: You've written an entire book on "The One Thing That You Need To Know…," which addresses great managing and great leading, as well as sustained individual success. What's the one imperative thing that everyone should know to be successful? A:   I think I would say that the thing we have to remember is that genius is precise. There are some areas in your job where you are probably better than 100,000 other people at those things.  And you are wired to be invigorated by that set of activities.  And it is non-transferable. So I move you even 5% in your job, and you go from A+ to B- so fast. Like for me, I'm a good presenter.  You put me in a room on a subject I know a lot about, where I'm prepared. And I know my subject. I'm a one in 100,000 presenter. You turn that into a teaching environment where I've got about the same number of people but now I'm not presenting.  Now I'm listening to the learners in the room trying to figure out where they're at with their learning.  Trying to tweak what they're picking up so that they can actually understand it better.  Responding to their questions.  Tailoring what I'm saying to accommodate that particular question.  And I'm a B-, maybe a C+. To an outside observer, it looks just the same.  It's just a room full of students trying to learn.  And there's a guy at the top and he's talking and it looks exactly the same.  But it isn't.  I go from A to C+ really quickly. Another example is with a sales person. A person in sales might say, "I'm a good sales person."  No you're not.  You happen to be a genius at opening up new accounts. You can go into a raw territory that hasn't had anybody in it forever and wake it up.  You're brilliant at, not just cold calling, you've got a way of getting people started, getting the momentum going.  And you just get invigorated by that.  To take something from zero to 10 miles an hour—you're just on fire. And then lo and behold, you get the territory running and you now have to build existing accounts. You've got to go into existing relationships that are already pretty sizable and turn them into something much bigger.  And you're average.  It's still the same job.  It's still the same job title.  You're a SALES person.  Same company, maybe.  Same product.  You're now average. Your genius, whatever it is, is really precise. Q: Is genius something that you can grow into?  Or is that just all part of the exploration? A:   Yeah.  I think that's how genius works. You're born with it.  And then you grow into it. You see a kid who's born with genius.  My daughter has genius in influence.  So she's brilliant at persuading people to do things for her. In first grade her teachers made her write her goals for next year. Her first goal is:  "Learn to read better," which is fine. It was misspelled, but you know, it was fine. The second goal is:  "Stop fooling the teachers."  And I was like, what?  I thought maybe ALL the kids are doing that.  That it might be generational.  But, no, my daughter is the only one.  "Stop fooling the teachers. What does she mean by that?"  They were like, "Well, she always tries to charm us into the fact that she doesn't know something or can't do something, and to 'please just give her the answer' because it would be easier. And she's just working it all of the time.  She's just working it, in a charming, lovely way." That's a gift.  It's a genius gift.  My son doesn't have it.  He doesn't even know he can fool teachers.   In his world that's an impossibility. And it's not a girl/boy thing because there are many girls that don't have it. There are some boys that DO have it.  It's just a thing. It's just a part of Lilia's genius. She's got to learn to channel that genius productively so that she becomes one. You have a genius and you become one by growing into it. Strengths are value-neutral. They can be used for very good ends and they can come out in obnoxious ways. Part of stepping into your strengths or channeling your genius is a growth process.  It's something you grow into as you experiment and learn how to best apply yourself. Q: In the upcoming Webinar, you're going to be addressing the opportunity that we all have as employees to apply our strengths at work to succeed.  Can you give us some insight into what it means to be a "strong manager"? A:   I'm going to draw a distinction between managing and leading. Leading is something you do with many people.  Managing is something you do with one. A great manager is good because that manager is able to take one person's personality and turn it into performance. So a great manager is somebody who is really good at generating performance out of an individual, one person at a time. And they do it through individualization.  Individualization is the key skill of a great manager.  Spotting how people are different, how people learn, how people are driven, how people communicate.  Knowing that some people don't communicate with email very well at all, some people love email, some people like face-to-face communication, or that some people like texting.  That's what a great manager is able to do. What is a strong manager?  Somebody who's able to realize that each person has unique strengths to offer and then is really good at figuring out how to capitalize on those strengths. Q: Any last thoughts you would like to share with our Vistage members? A:  I think the thing that we'll talk about a bit is, for us all to remember, that this is the responsibility of each individual person.  If you want to be a person who actually excels in your life and derives satisfaction from the work that you do in your life, there is no one who cares more about that than you. You can benefit from having a great mentor relationship, or a great manager relationship.  But what that person, that mentor, that manager, what they need from you, is they need you to walk in with a full sheet of paper.  Not a blank sheet of paper.  I think too many of us sit down with a blank sheet of paper and we look at the manager and we say, "Hey, develop me.  Help me.  Grow me.  Challenge me." And what we really should be doing is actually walking into that room and sitting down and going, "You know what; I know a fair bit about which activities strengthen me and which don't. I've done some really good thinking about it, not just theoretically, but practically.  I've looked to the activities that I'm feeling my week with.  I try to understand which of those activities strengthen me and which don't.  I've looked at the activities that drain me. And I'm going to sit down in front of you right now and I'm going to tell you in vivid detail what those are.  So that together we can think about course correction.  Together we can think about what kind of things I can do to fine tune where I'm spending my time or what new skills I might learn that can build upon what I now know about myself." As an individual, you're walking in there with the raw material.  You are the best judge of what I say invigorates you and what doesn't.  And it's YOUR responsibility to bring that to the conversation that you have with your manager or your mentor.  No one else is responsible for that.  And besides, you've got more insight into that than they ever will. So that's the thing I would leave everyone with is, that, it's not that people don't care about you.  They do.  But no one cares about you as much as you do.  And no one knows you as well as you do.  And it's your responsibility to bring that knowledge and that awareness to whomever you want to partner with in your growth and your development.

Interview with Vistage Intl 

 Nov 30, 2010 

Leading a Multi-Generational Workforce

Most of my clients and CEOs are not exactly in the Gen Y workforce. However, it's pretty important for you to understand how to lead these multi-generations today. It just might help lead to your success as a firm.

What do you need to know? How to behave and be flexible with this group?
Recently the Vistage Intl blog highlighted this importance with some valuable suggestions.

You can read more at    click here

The article also mentions a fascinating video from Gen. Stanley McChrystal making a presentation at TED with critical lessons from his military leadership for this same generation of soldiers.

Hope you find value in it.

54 Critical Sales & Career Questions

I recently saw a great list of 54 critical sales, career, service, & loyalty questions for your development. How could these help you?

Questions like.....How am I helping my customers build their business?

Why did the last 5 prospects say no to us?

Why did the last 5 prospects say yes to us?

How can we build on that?

This is from author, Jeff Gitomer and his book.....The Little Red Book of Selling.



Here is the complete list:

1. What are the five most important goals for me to achieve this year?

2. What is my plan for each?

3. Why am I watching TV reruns instead of working on my 5 major goals?

4. What would happen if I lost two of my top ten customers?

5. What am I doing to prevent that loss?

6. How often am I in front of my customers?

7. Suppose my competition was in front of my customer once a day with something of valuable, and all I had was literature about me?

8. What will my website do that will make my customers buy something?

9. What will my website do that will make my customers return?

10. What does my website look like compared to my competition?

11. Do they wish they had mine or do I wish I had theirs? Or do they both suck?

12. How easy is it to do business with me?

13. Am I available to my customers 24.7.365?

14. What's my plan to get there?

15. How much do I hate a computer that answers the phone?

16. Does my company have a computer that answers the phone?

17. What am I thinking?

18. How friendly are the employees at my company?

19. How friendly am I?

20. How's my attitude?

21. Do I try to do one positive mental attitude building exercise a day?

22. What value am I bringing to my customer beyond my product and service?

23. How am I helping my customers build their business?

24. What separates me from my competition in the eyes of a customer?

25. What am I doing to earn my customers loyalty?

26. How vulnerable am I to our competition?

27. How vulnerable am I to a price reduction from a competitor?

28. Will all my best employees or co-workers be here at the end of the year?

29. Why will some customers leave?

30. What am I "known" for?

31. What am I recognized as being "the BEST" at?

32. How excellent are my selling skills?

33. What questions am I asking my prospects and customers that my competition is not asking?

34. Why did the last five prospects say no?

35. What am I doing about it?

36. Why did the last five prospects say yes?

37. How am I building on that?

38. What does my voicemail say?

39. Is my voicemail message smart or dumb?

40. How many hours of TV a day do I watch?

41. How many hours would that be per year? (OUCH!)

42. How many of those hours are helping me succeed?

43. How many books on creativity have I read in the last 12 months?

44. How many books on sales or service have I read in the last 12 months?

45. How many books have I read in the past 12 months?

46. How many self help tapes have I listened to in the car last week?

47. How much time am I devoting to learning?

48. How much time am I investing in promoting and positioning my business?

49. How much am I spending to improve my image?

50. What do the leaders in my industry say about me?

51. How many people are spreading my "word" for me?

52. What's my plan to double my income over the next three years?

53. What will i need to learn to get it? What will I have to give up to get it?

54. How much do I love what I do?

(my questions to you)

54.5 If you don't love it, why are you doing it?

Free GitBit -- Want a great list of books that will build your success library -- and your success if you read them. Go to www.gitomer.com - register if you're a first time user, and enter the words SALES PILLS in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.

Want Better Answers? Try Better Questions

Answers to the future growth of your business depend on your ability to ask the right questions. These are the fundamental questions that underlie the core of your intention.

Why does your business exist? This question reveals your true purpose. It is the most powerful question, and all other questions revolve around this nucleus.

Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks, authored It’s Not About the Coffee and expressed “when organizations are clear about their purpose, they find the energy and passion to do great things.” This enabled his team to carry out the essence of their mission, “to inspire and nurture the human spirit.” The result: a place where people love to meet.

Go beyond just products and profits in expressing your purpose. What is your company’s unique value contribution to the world?

Which business are you really in? This question implies a choice among alternatives. Choosing wisely depends on the linkage you make to your core ideology.

For example, Steve Jobs’ core ideology at Apple is the intersection of technology and the arts. This strategic context led to iPods, iPhones and iPads. Each became blockbuster post-PC successes.

In exploring alternative choices you have for your business, identify which central theme will remain a predominant driver of your decisions. This answer may lead to a fresh examination of opportunities to pursue.

Who are you? This question focuses on your people and brand. Building great brands begins with your own expression of what you stand for, reinforced by the perspective of your customers.

For example, Disney spans amusement parks, movies, video games, music, cruises, and TV. Their brand focuses on one central theme successfully carried out by employees: making people happy.

How do you describe who you are? How does the marketplace describe who you are? Decide which aspects of your identity will remain constant and which aspects will evolve over time?

Where is your business headed? This question addresses your vision and future market position.

For example, Coca Cola’s vision is “to have a Coke within arm’s reach of everyone on the planet.” While perhaps not achievable, this image leads one to explore many possibilities.

Ten years from now, where could your business be positioned? Engage your executive team in “painting the canvass” of your future. With this end in mind, work backwards to determine what it takes to get there.

What are your company’s most important goals? This question demands measurable results over a set timeframe.

As humans, we are energized by a compelling goal. President Kennedy’s goal to land a man on the moon and return safely by the end of the 1960s moved an entire nation to action. His goal was simply stated and compelling.

What single goal, with a metric and timeframe, is moving your entire company to action?

How will you achieve your goals? This question deals with a process or methodology.

For example, GE holds an international reputation for nurturing extraordinary leadership talent in their many businesses. Their leadership development processes include extensive leadership training, constant executive reviews of leadership, top brass getting to know the families of upcoming leaders, 360 leadership assessment surveys, and a culture that revolves around leadership.

How do your business processes directly support your goals? Which areas need to be strengthened or eliminated?

When will you take steps to address critical issues facing your business? This question addresses the timing of taking action. Create a storyboard so that you know how each action step will lead to your desired outcome.

For example, in order for the Washington Business Alliance – a non-profit comprised of CEOs – to address critical issues in Washington State, their first action step is to demonstrate deep understanding of the issues. This leads to the other four elements of their work: collaboration, innovation, advocacy and achievement.

What is the sequence of steps your team must take in order to address the critical issues in your business?

Conclusion: These powerful questions serve as the core elements of inquiry that combine to form strategy. They reveal the fundamental dimensions of intention: purpose, choice, people, position, goals, process and action. If you routinely use The Seven Questions® as a model, you’ll discover better answers for growing your business.

Source: Chief Executive.net

May 10 2011 by Norm Levy