Archive for June, 2011

New Leadership Lessons from Yoga June 30 2011

So, let me first assure you that the picture that comes with this post has not been Photoshopped.  That is me in my business clothes standing on my head alongside Melissa, one of my good buddies from yoga. The back story is that yesterday I went straight from a meeting with clients to the Down Dog Yoga studio to sneak in the lunch time class. The folks there are more used to seeing me in shorts and sandals than a jacket and slacks. As soon as I walked in, Alison, the instructor, said "We've got to take pictures of you doing poses in your suit. It will be the business power hour!" I have a hard time saying no to Alison and the next thing I knew, there we were going upside down.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you might remember a post I wrote about six months ago called Leadership Lessons from Yoga.  When I wrote it, I had been going to yoga for a couple of months and was about as flexible as your average 2×4. The fact that I was doing a headstand in my work clothes for a joke photo yesterday kind of blows me away when I think about it.  The first time I ever did a headstand in my life was in a yoga workshop a couple of weeks before I turned 50 years old. Now, a couple of months later, I'm cranking them out on request. 

Never imagined that I'd be doing that which brings me to a few new leadership lessons from yoga:

Three Things to Consider Before You Quit Your Job in a Huff June 27 2011

The big buzz in baseball last week was the sudden resignation of Washington Nationals manager, Jim Riggleman. As Dave Sheinin reported in the Washington Post, the Nats had just beaten the Seattle Mariners to go over .500 in June for the first time in six years. It was then that the team’s general manager walked into the club house to tell the players that their on-field skipper had just quit.

Apparently, Riggleman had been unhappy with both the salary and short term nature of his contract with the Nationals and told his GM before the game with the Mariners that he wanted a better deal by the end of the game or he was walking. He didn’t get the deal and he walked.

Everyone who has ever dreamed of telling their employer where to put it probably admires Riggleman at some level. You have to wonder, though, if Riggleman woke up the next day thinking, “Man, what have I done?”  The guy was perfectly within his rights to want a better deal. There’s nothing wrong with what he wanted. How he went about trying to get it is another story however. Is any other organization going to hire a manager who walked out on his team in the middle of the season?

Are you a leader who’s considering making a big statement like quitting your job on short notice?  The case of Jim Riggleman offers at least three things to consider before you do something you might regret in the morning:

Leadership in Action at the CDC June 24 2011

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to follow Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control, as a speaker to the leadership fellows of his agency.  His remarks were so fascinating that I was honestly a little disappointed when he wrapped up and it was time for me to speak. On the other hand, as the person who had been asked to deliver a keynote talk on leading at the next level, I couldn’t have had a better set-up than Dr. Frieden.

In his talk, Dr. Frieden did a great job of using stories to demonstrate to the fellows the impact of their work in the field of public health. Most of his stories emphasized the importance of gathering data to both define the problem you’re trying to solve and to measure your progress in solving it.  He also talked a lot about the importance of establishing human to human connection in leading people to make positive changes.

One story he told that really stuck with me was about the five years in he spent India earlier in his career working to rid the country of tuberculosis. Frieden seems like a pretty self aware guy and called himself out over how proud he was of the hours he put in working the TB problem. His typical day in the office, he said, was from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with additional hours working from home.  As his time in India drew to a close, he was meeting with his counterpart from the Indian government for a final review of their progress. In their conversation, his colleague acknowledged all the hours Frieden put in but said that really wasn’t his most important contribution. Frieden said he took a little umbrage at that until his friend said, “Tom, the most important thing you’ve done is to give us hope.”

Frieden’s story and the rest of his remarks really hit home with me because they so clearly illustrated one of my favorite definitions of leadership. The idea is that leadership is  a two part job. The first part is to define reality. The second part is to offer hope.

That’s what the people of the CDC get to do for a living. As public health professionals, they collect and use data to define reality. Then, through action, communication, influence, collaboration and other ways they offer the hope of healthier lives.

When you think about your organization and your role in it, what are your opportunities to lead by defining reality and offering hope?

What Can You Do with a Ten Minute Break? June 22 2011

Today’s post is short and sweet as I have about 10 minutes before they shut the door on my plane.  Which raises the question, “What can you do with a 10 minute break?”

That question is on my mind because I spent a good part of yesterday talking with rising executives in our group coaching program about how being so racked and stacked on their calendars leaves them with very little time to think ahead, reflect back or just recharge.

I’ve written here before about the running flat out until you crash syndrome that so many leaders are caught up in these days. It’s a big problem, but the good news is it doesn’t take as much time as you might think to sneak in a break. If you think about your typical day, you probably have 2 or 3 ten minute interludes between meetings or conversations. What do you do with them? Answer more emails or recharge your batteries? 

My hope is it’s the latter.  Looking for ideas on what to do in a 10 minute break?  Here’s a list of 10 ideas.

And here’s an 11th idea from a leader in the group coaching session yesterday.  Look for the laughter. When we were talking about taking breaks yesterday, this client said he listens for the laughter and walks toward it.  For him, it really is the best medicine.

His comment reminded me of an article I read recently in the New York Times, What to Say to Someone Who is Sick.   The idea that really caught my eye was asking:

“WOULD YOU LIKE SOME GOSSIP? One surefire tip: a slight change of topic goes a long way. Patients are often sick of talking about their illness. We have to do that with our doctors, nurses and insurance henchmen. By all means, follow the lead of the individual, but sometimes ignoring the elephant in the room is just the right medicine. Even someone recovering from surgery has an opinion about the starlet’s affair, the underdog in the playoffs or the big election around the corner. “

The principle is the same as walking toward the laughter. The goal in any break is to get your mind off of what’s been on your mind.  Any disruption in what you’ve been thinking about will help with that. 
What do you like to do with a ten minute break?

What I’ve Learned About Leadership From My Wife June 20 2011

Today is my 24th wedding anniversary.  You can accuse me of bias (and you might be right), but my wife, Diane, is one of the best leaders I know.  She may not be famous (although she’s increasingly becoming so to the people who follow her food blog and presence on social media) and is not running any organizations larger than our family, our business and the online communities she’s started.

She is, however, one heck of a leader.  I’ve learned a lot about leadership from Diane in 24 years. Here are just some of the reasons why she’s one of the best leaders I know:

Are You an IBM or a Dell? June 17 2011

The title of this post reminds me of the “I’m a Mac.  I’m a PC” TV commercials from a couple of years ago.  The question, “Are you an IBM or a Dell?” was inspired by an article I read this week in The Economist.

As it happens, this year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of IBM.  Lasting a hundred years is a pretty amazing accomplishment for any company.  For one in the ever changing field of technology, it’s especially impressive.  How has IBM managed to survive and, most of the time, thrive for that long?  Here’s how The Economist answers the question:

“IBM’s secret is that it is built around an idea that transcends any particular product or technology. Its strategy is to package technology for use by businesses. At first this meant making punch-card tabulators, but IBM moved on to magnetic-tape systems, mainframes, PCs, and most recently services and consulting. Building a company around an idea, rather than a specific technology, makes it easier to adapt when industry ‘platform shifts’ occur.”

That bold face sentence above, “Its strategy is to package technology for use by businesses,” hit me like a blinding flash of the obvious. So simple it’s brilliant, right? The authors compared the IBM strategy to Dell’s which was to build and ship personal computers more efficiently than anyone else.  That was a fantastic strategy on Dell’s part until it wasn’t. It wasn’t after more and more companies figured out how to do what Dell does and it especially wasn’t as the technology curve began to move away from PC’s.

Which gets me to the question, “Are you an IBM or a Dell?”  Your answer will turn on how you view yourself. Do you define yourself by your job or do you define yourself by the skills and talents you bring to party? If it’s the former, you’re more of a Dell. If it’s the latter, you’re more of an IBM.

My hope for you is that you’re an IBM. Here’s the truth. You are not your job. You are a leader and a human being with a unique set of experience and skills that can be applied to a range of opportunities.  A few years ago I wrote a post about a speech I heard NBA legend Bill Russell give in which he said, “I’m not a basketball player, I’m Bill Russell. I play basketball, but I’m Bill Russell.”  Bill Russell had it right. He was not his job.

So which is it for you? IBM or Dell? How does the way you view what you have to offer the world affect how you show up as a leader?

Introducing the Leadership Development Roundtable Challenge! June 15 2011

My always innovative blogging buddy, Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership, has assembled a group of leadership bloggers (including yours truly) to participate in a monthly Leadership Development Roundtable Challenge.  Welcome to the first edition of the Challenge. 

Each month, a core member of The Roundtable will introduce a leadership challenge and a solicit a 200 word maximum answer from the other core members plus one special guest. Readers can then contribute their own answers and/or vote for their favorite.

Here are your Roundtable hosts:

• Dan McCarthy, from Great Leadership
• Art Petty, from Management Excellence
• Mary Jo Asmus, from Mary Jo Asmus
• Steve Roesler, from All Things Workplace
• Jennifer Miller, from The People Equation
• Scott Eblin, from The Next Level
• This month’s special guest: John Baldoni, from Lead by Example

Here’s this month’s challenge:

Rob was recently brought in to take over as the new General Manager of Operations for a large, established, mid-size (4 billion in revenue) company. The unit has been under performing, and the Vice-President (his manager) thought it was time for a change. The incumbent “left to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with family” and it was determined there were no viable internal replacements (although a couple members of Rob’s team thought they should have been considered).

Rob has a stellar track record, impressive credentials, and appears to be the right person to drive change and get results. Rob’s manager loves his passion and aggressiveness.

After 30 days on the job, Rob has interviewed each of his direct report managers and reviewed their performance data, and has determined before he can do anything, he needs to get “the right people on the bus”, and do it ASAP. He feels that while two of the managers may someday be able to grow into the role and meet his expectations, the other four don’t stand a chance. It’s not that they are bad managers – in fact, all have over 10 years’ service with no significant performance issues. However, Rob feels none of them have had the necessary experience or skills needed to take the business where it needs to go, and he doesn’t have the luxury (or time) to get them there. After all, according to Rob “Jack Welch said one of his biggest mistakes as a leader was not moving fast enough”.

He’s gone to HR to explore removal options, and he’s running into resistance. HR says because there is no previous documentation of any performance problems, each of the managers must be put on six month action plans, with measurable improvement milestones, and given access to training and coaching. While his boss (the VP) supports Rob, his bosses boss is concerned Rob is being too aggressive. “That’s just not the way we do things around here”, he said.

Rob is frustrated. He thought he had a mandate to drive change and turn a poorly performing operation around. Now he’s not so sure, and doesn’t know what to do next.

What would you do if you were Rob? What, if anything did he do wrong? What advice would you give Rob, or any manager in a similar situation? Is there a “rule of thumb” regarding how long a manager should wait to make changes when taking over a new team?

Here’s the advice from “the experts”:

Conan O’Brien Explains How to Make Lemonade Out of Lemons June 15 2011

This is the time of year when commencement addresses are given at high schools and colleges across the country. The speech that’s getting a lot of buzz this year is the one that late night TV comic Conan O’Brien gave at Dartmouth College.

You may remember that last year O’Brien was more or less squeezed out of the job he had always wanted when Jay Leno decided that he really still wanted to be the host of The Tonight Show.  Conan hibernated for a few weeks to lick his wounds and then, as recounted in a great article in Fortune magazine, morphed into a social media comic juggernaut winding up with a new show on TBS.

Still, for all of his success on the rebound, it wasn’t what he had dreamed of doing all his life. In the Dartmouth commencement speech, O’Brien explains why he now realizes that “There are few more liberating things in life than having your worst fears realized. He says, “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for reinvention.”

One thing that’s for sure about leadership is that the circumstances around you are going to constantly change. You’re not going to get everything you want. That’s when it’s good to know how to make lemonade out of lemons. Conan O’Brien has figured out how to do that.  

His speech is about 25 minutes long. If you like his humor, watch the whole thing. It’s funny. If you just want the serious message part of the speech, pick it up around the 16:25 mark. Would love to hear what you think about it through your comments.

Five Signs That You’re So Busy Doing That You Don’t See What Needs To Be Done June 13 2011

One of the things I do on a regular basis is speak to groups of new and high potential executives about what they can do to succeed in bigger jobs. In the run-up to those sessions, I often ask them to complete a short self-assessment on how they think they stack up on some of the leadership behaviors outlined in The Next Level.

The average self assessment scores tell a pretty interesting story. The headline? 

Lots of leaders are so busy doing things that they don’t see what needs to be done.

In their self assessments, most of the leaders I’m working with think they’re doing a great job on action oriented behaviors. They give themselves relatively high marks on things like taking accountability, making timely decisions and being clear about communicating desired outcomes. 

Don’t get me wrong. That’s good stuff. Effective leaders demonstrate those strengths. You know what they say about strengths, though. A strength when overused can be a weakness. That’s where the lowest ranked behaviors in the self assessment come into play.  There are five of them that really stand out and, collectively, they’re signs that you’re so busy doing things you may not really see what needs to be done.

How do you stack up on these behaviors?

Is Your Risk to Reward Ratio Out of Whack? June 10 2011

Yesterday, I was in Pittsburgh talking with a group of executives from different companies headquartered there about what they had taken away from my book, The Next Level.  It was a really interesting conversation as everyone shared their lessons learned and ongoing challenges with taking on bigger leadership roles.

One of the things we talked about was “they,”  as in “They will never go for this, approve this, let us do this, etc.”  A pretty senior executive in the room started us on that line of discussion by saying that one of the things he’s been working on is questioning his assumptions about who they even are. He’s concluding that a lot of things that should be done don’t get done because leaders stop before they get started.  Since these leaders assume that “they” won’t go for it, they don’t go any further with their good ideas.

Everyone in the room agreed that they had seen this play out in their own real life experience. I shared that I certainly have in mine both as an executive years ago and as an executive coach for the last ten years.  My observation, which resonated with the folks in Pittsburgh, is that a lot of rising leaders overestimate the risk of stepping forth with a good idea or a big idea and underestimate the rewards of that idea being implemented.

Most everyone agreed that as long as the risks are grounded and calculated, it makes sense to take the risk of going to “them” with the good ideas. It’s probably not as big a risk as you think it is and it might just yield rewards that everyone associated with your organization can benefit from.

That was the take of some leaders in Pittsburgh about adjusting their personal risk to reward ratio.  What do you think about adjusting your risk to reward ratio?