Got Leaders?

So who's an author whose books I most look out for? Mark Miller is right about the top of

the list. His new book, Leaders Made Here, was just released and I happen to be hosting his blog this week.

So many leadership books talk about theories . . . sorry, dozed off there for a second. Mark writes in a way that keeps your interest and makes it easier to sink in. Want to learn quickly? Tell stories. That's exactly what Mark does. Through parables, he tells leadership stories that strike a cord. Here, we learn about building leaders - not one at a time or as needed - so there's always a leadership pipeline . . . a real culture of successful leadership.

My favorite quote from the book sums it up and goes like this: "A leadership culture exists when leaders are routinely and systematically developed, AND when you have a surplus of leaders."

Got Leaders?

Mark Miller - originally published on GreatLeadersServe.com

What do you talk about at work? Recently, I’ve come to appreciate how many conversations I have every week about leadership issues… dozens, scores – probably thousands of these discussions over the past decade.

What do you believe about a leadership pipeline? Do you think this is something only big companies do? Do you wonder why you don’t have one? Do you want to know the secret to creating a never-ending supply of qualified leaders? Keep reading…

I’m more convinced than ever when it comes to leadership, an organization has only two real choices: Hire leaders or grow leaders. And, over the long haul, I believe the right answer is a combination of the two.

I want to address the more challenging and probably more productive method – Grow your own.  Here are a few questions for your consideration if your current pipeline is not producing enough leaders to satisfy demand.

How do you define leadership? This is the most common mistake I see in organizations struggling to develop leaders. Without an agreed upon operational definition of leadership, creating a pipeline is virtually impossible. What do you want your leaders to be able to do? What character traits are you looking for in leaders? These are non-trivial questions! They represent the foundation for any legitimate attempt to systematically grow leaders.

Who are your emerging leaders? You cannot, nor should you, invest equally in the development of all your people. Targeted and strategic investments will pay the greatest dividends. Where do you place your bet? Emerging leaders. Before you can move forward with this approach, you must know who they are.

What stretch assignments can you give them? After you’ve identified emerging leaders, you can begin to shape their development. One powerful approach is to match individuals with appropriate stretch assignments. If selected carefully, these can be opportunities to test and strengthen future leaders.

What experiences do you want emerging leaders to have? When we think about developing leaders, our first thought is often about the skills of leadership. This is important. However, experiences can add depth to a leader’s resume and contribute greatly to his or her confidence. Experiences can include such diverse situations as working in a union environment, turning around a struggling division, launching a start-up, and more. You decide.

Who can you ask to mentor or coach emerging leaders? I am a fan of mentoring and coaching. There is something that happens in the context of a relationship that rarely happens when we attempt to go it alone. When done well, coaching and mentoring can unlock vast reserves of untapped potential in people. I realize you may not be able to afford external coaching for all your people, but you can assign an internal mentor to guide, challenge and encourage emerging leaders. You’ll be glad you did. Oh, before I finish here, I did promise you the secret to a successful leadership pipeline…Leadership.

You will never find a successful leadership pipeline without leadership. A vibrant process for developing leaders will not emerge spontaneously. When leaders decide to make leadership a competitive advantage and invest accordingly, that’s the day the construction of your pipeline begins.

How strong is your process for growing leaders?

Mark Miller is the best-selling author of 6 books, an in-demand speaker and the Vice President of High-Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. His latest book, Leaders Made Here, describes how to nurture leaders throughout the organization, from the front lines to the executive ranks and outlines a clear and replicable approach to creating the leadership bench every organization needs.

A Leadership Kick in the A**

Do leaders sometimes need a kick in the ass? You bet they do . . . even if they don’t think

so. I’m referring to the new book, A Leadership Kick in the Ass, by Bill Treasurer. It's been awhile since my last post but a perfect time to start up again. I’ve been waiting months to be able to read this book, and I was NOT disappointed.

Bill’s book should be a wake-up call and a learning experience for any leader. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and how to make much-needed corrections (kicks) to become the leader you were meant to be.

In addition to realizing that mistakes are GREAT opportunities to learn from and to improve, there are other things to look at. Case in point is Bill’s definitions of two types of leaders, Pigheads and Weaklings. We all know those people, and we probably fall into one or both categories at least on occasion. Sometimes we need a kick to get realigned. To fall into one of these categories causes damage to yourself, your team, and your organization. In addition to discussing all of the ins and outs of each, Bill gives us types of “butt kicks needed”.

Pigheads

• Kicks that shatter the oversized ego.
• Kicks that instigate humility.

Weaklings

• Kicks that expose the withheld potential.
• Kicks that inspire assertiveness.

This should be an eye-opener for some of you or people you work with. Realize what went wrong, fix it, learn from it, move on.

No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, this book WILL open your eyes. Do you have a book club where you work? This would be an excellent read to be able to share with others.

Chasing Relevance

So this may be one of the most important business books of the year - Chasing

Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage, and Maximize Next-Generation Leaders in the Workplace, by Dan Negroni.

Today we live in a world of multi-generational workforces. As Dan says, by 2025 the number of millennials in the workforce will grow to 75%. That's a BIG number and leadership must begin learning from and teaching them now.

Two things struck a cord with me outright. First is his profile of a millennial:

• Days filled with scheduled activities.
• Trophies for everyone on the team.
• Families of all different shapes and sizes.
• Socially connected every minute to everyone.
• Information at their fingertips.
• Multitasking is the norm.
• Center of attention.
• Family technologists.

As soon as I read this, the wheels immediately began turning. This is a great starting point for understanding how millennials fit into our society and office staff.

The second thing that hit me outright is the B.R.I.D.G.E model. Using this model will "build genuine and caring relationships that increase engagement, productivity, innovation, results, and profits". To bridge the gap, the B.R.I.D.G.E model consists of:

• Bust Myths - to break through assumptions.
• Real Deal - to create authentic relationships.
• I Own It - to become personally responsible for results.
• Deliver Value - by understanding and mentoring.
• Goals in Mind - with shared vision.
• Empower Success - with feedback and recognition.

If you're a new supervisor . . . or even a baby-boomer supervisor, you're going to want to read this book and implement the ideology. There's a big difference between the 55+ era and the millennial era. Now is the time to take hold of the reigns.

The Missing Dab

Well, I'm sure you've seen it by now. I'm talking, of course, about Carolina Panthers QB,

Cam Newton's post-game press conference. It was the perfect example of an inexperienced leader. It's all fun and games while he's winning, but talk about a 180 when he loses.

Keep in mind that Newton was drafted just five years ago and although he's had some great success on the field, he still has much experience to gain in the off-field leadership arena. He's the face of not only his own brand but of the Panthers. What he displayed, no matter how painful, was the wrong picture. I've seen high school state championship losers act better.

A leader can't dab and dance while things are going well and then turn over when things don't go your way. That sets the tone for the rest of the team. The people that look up to you and respond off of your cue's. A leader is a role model, which can go either way, positively or negatively.

So hopefully Newton learns a lot from this experience - his first of multiple Super Bowls - and takes some cue's from QB's that "aren't like him, such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and even rookie Jameis Winston (I've been totally impressed with his attitude during his first year). The Super Bowl is a HUGE stage and no matter what happens, sometimes, as a leader, we just have to suck-it-up.

BTW. Congratulations to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

The Serving Leader

The newly updated edition of The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform

Your Team, Business, and Community, by Kenneth R. Jennings and John Stahl-Wert is one for your bookshelf.  Better yet, keep it on your desk.  It’s a small (154 pages) read with a big message.

The authors take you through their leadership model via parable, stopping throughout to discuss in more detail the five actions of transformation,

• Upend the Pyramid - You qualify to be first by putting other people first.
• Raise the Bar - To serve the many, you first serve the few.
• Blaze the Trail - To protect your value, you must give it all away.
• Build on Strength - To address your weaknesses, focus on your strengths.
• Run to Great Purpose - Arrange each person in the team to contribute what he/she is best at.

This all adds up to becoming the serving leader.  It’s time to step away for self-centeredness.  The book provides the traits and actions that are needed.  All that needs to be done is take it all to heart (there’s a lot of heart in this book) and put it into play.  This is a caring and sharing book for your team, family, and colleagues.

The 3 Gaps

I knew there was going to be something special about the new book, The 3 Gaps: Are You Making a Difference?, by Hyrum W. Smith, once I realized that he was one of the original co-founders of Franklin Covey.  I surely wasn’t disappointed.

Just reading a short description of each of the 3 gaps was an indication that I needed to read this book.  Unless you actually sit down and realize what these gaps are, and how big they are, you’ll never live up to your potential.  Without action, the gaps will stay open.

Within each chapter are personal accounts from people throughout Hyrum’s life that drive the messages home.  The Beliefs Gap shows the difference between what we believe is true and what actually is.  The Values Gap shows the difference between what we most value and what we actually do.  The Time Gap shows the difference between what we plan on doing and what we actually do.  It sounds so simple, but we all have gaps that need help closing.  I can see it in myself, in my friends, and in the people I work with.

We constantly hear people saying they want inner peace.  Here’s your chance. This is a book that everyone should read as a guide to managing ourselves to be our very best.  It would be a great book to add to book club or to share with others.

Mastering Leadership

Wow, how time flies.  It's been about a month since I posted last, but what a way to come back, with a guest

post from Bob Anderson and Bill Adams.  Their new book Mastering Leadership, was released yesterday.  You should definitely pick one up.  I'm sure you won't regret it.

From Taxi Team to Team Captain

The most powerful beliefs are the beliefs and internal assumptions by which we establish our identity. These powerful self-defining beliefs get incorporated into the core of our IOS throughout our life from emotionally powerful, positive, or painful experience. They also are installed by important people in our lives—parents, teachers, coaches, bosses, mentors, political leaders—and by institutional, national, and cultural affiliations. As we adopt these assumptions, we live by them and reinforce them. The brain puts them on autopilot so that we do not have to think about them anymore. They are just seen as true.

Bob: One of my deeply embedded assumptions is that I must be perfectly successful in order to be okay. I come by this belief honestly, and most of the experience that created this belief was positive. For example, when I was 13, I tried out for the football team. I had never played football, and most of the guys on the team had been playing for a few years. I did not know that you needed to work hard to get noticed by the coaches, so I stood patiently on the sidelines waiting to be put on the practice field. As such, I was not seen as a player. Since the coaches did not have the heart to cut me, I ended up on the “Taxi Squad.” The few of us on this squad practiced together on another field. The real team had eight male coaches. We had Mrs. Dixon, a nice lady who knew nothing about football.

At this time, I was not moving in the circles in which I wanted to move. The cool kids were on the football team, and as long as I was on this Taxi Squad, I had little chance of getting accepted into their group. To make matters worse, all the cheerleaders practiced near where the team practiced, and I did not have their attention either. I was a nobody.

One day, Mrs. Dixon did not show up and the coaches were forced to allow the Taxi Squad to practice with the team. What happened that day changed my life. I was playing left defensive tackle and after a play in which I must have done something right, one of the coaches picked me up, lifted me up above his head and screamed into my face, “That was great! Do that again.”

I was so unaware of what I just did that I asked him what I had done.

He took a personal interest in me for the rest of the practice. He taught me how to play that position. Soon, I was wreaking havoc on the offense. That week I went from Taxi Squad to captain of the team. I started on offense and defense for the rest of the season. I also moved into the center of the boys with whom I wanted to be friends. I even piqued the interest of the cheerleaders. I went from nobody to somebody in one practice.

I learned that day that I am somebody if I am first string, captain of the team. I learned that I had to be the best, first string or else I would be a nobody.

This story illustrates how the driven nature of my personality began to form. I could tell other stories about how this drive was refined into the need to be flawless at everything I did. So, I entered adult life believing that my worth and self-esteem, the success and security of my future, depended utterly on being flawlessly successful all the time.

Of course, I assumed I would be a good mentor; however, that was not the case. My perfectionist standards and fear of failure combined to make me inept at letting go to others so that they might learn. What made this so difficult for me was that I had to let go when we were working with key clients. I did not do this gracefully. Every time one of my colleagues was not performing well enough, I became terrified that I would lose the client. Consequently, I took over the session and later pointed out all the ways my colleague could have done better. This approach so undermined their confidence that no one could learn from me, and I was failing to scale the business.

My perfectionism and need to be successful had me. I did not have them. I did not start to face this belief until after two years of failing to scale the business. Once I saw how I was the problem, as I dropped into this belief structure to see its illusion, and as I began to see my fear-driven perfectionism as resulting from another irrational belief, I began to mentor more effectively and the business began to scale nicely.

These beliefs form the core of the Reactive operating system—the mechanisms by which we form our externally validated identity. Because we need to be seen by others as X, our self-esteem, security, and future are in their hands. They make us up. How they see us defines us. We depend on external validation, living within the confines of a Socialized Self, as the Self-Authoring, Creative Self lives beyond the bounds of these Reactive beliefs. We tend to oscillate and return to normal as we react to meet the expectations of these beliefs. This is how Reactive Mind is structured and, since structure determines performance, how it performs.

*****

Excerpted from Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results, by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams (Wiley, 2015)

Bob Anderson is Chairman and Chief Development Officer and Bill Adams is CEO of The Leadership Circle and the Full Circle Group. They are coauthors of Mastering Leadership (Wiley). Visit www.fcg-global.com or http://www.theleadershipcircle.com.

Time for Co-Active Leadership

Easy to read.  Quick to read.  Powerful learning.  Unlike so many leadership books, Co-Active Leadership: Five Ways to Lead, by Karen and Henry Kimsey-House breaks down

leadership into an easy to understand and implement model.  The Co-Active Leadership Model is broken down into the Co-Active Leader Within, in Front, Behind, Beside, and in the Field.  Before you even start reading, you have a good idea where it’s going which helps you understand even better.  A big focus on who we are, what matters, and making connections.

Leadership is not just about standing within your own bubble and outwardly directing.  This book shows us how to get over that, and to become a complete responsible leader that others want. It's just the size and type of book that's perfect to use for a leadership development program full of people who "don't have time". Once they read Co-Active Leadership they'll be asking for more. . . . . Maybe Co-Active Coaching?

Soft As A Brick and The Anatomy of Peace

The Anatomy of Peace, by The Arbinger Institute . . . what a great new (revised) book, for business

AND personal life.  I hear a lot about trying to separate work and home and the more I hear and read the more I’ve come to realize that it’s impossible.  This book will help with that balance.  After reading, you’ll look at everyday things and people so differently.  We cause conflict.  We hold on to conflict.  But we also have the ability to solve conflict.  It all comes from within and how WE relate to OTHERS.  We can’t sit back and wait for someone else to take the first step.  Be proactive and read this book and learn from deep within about the person that you can, and should be.

Today I have the honor of hosting Sam Whitney, Client Solutions Manager at The Arbinger Institute, with a great lesson for us all.

Soft As A Brick

Some time ago I worked as a trainer for a fairly large organization. As a trainer I had to coordinate with employee supervisors in order to obtain training topics and schedule training. One of my supervisors was not helping me; in fact he was sabotaging my trainings. And, it seemed clear, he was doing it on purpose. He would “forget” to schedule the sessions, not give me proper topics, and then undermine what I was saying during the training sessions. I was very close to making a formal complaint and I was hopeful I could get him fired.  I had been working with my training supervisor for months looking for a solution to all the problems he was causing me. I wasn’t treating him poorly, and I felt I was doing a great job as a trainer; I had no clue as to why he was being such a problem.

Soon the book The Anatomy of Peace fell into my lap with a recommendation that it might help solve my problem. My first reaction was “I don’t need this, I just need to get this supervisor out of my way.” But I was wrong. As I read the book I was impressed how the ideas challenged me to get outside of my own way of seeing. This was really hard for me to do because it forced me to see this supervisor as a person. There was one line in the book that changed the whole game for me, “We invite in others the very behaviors we say we hate.” When I read that I realized I needed to be responsible for my contribution to the problem I was having. I was finally able to see how I was actually provoking negative behavior from this supervisor. It turns out the way I was going about scheduling was not working for the supervisor; it was hindering his own scheduling. I was also training in a way that was not taking into account what the employees needed and what the supervisor needed. I found out that he thought I was the problem.

I decided to have a meeting. In this meeting I told the supervisor all the things I was doing that I thought were getting in his way or making his life harder. He was impressed and after discussing both of our needs and objectives we saw that neither of us was worthy of firing. We both were trying our best but had been blind to how we were affecting each other.

From that moment on our work changed dramatically. Training's improved. We held them more often and with better topics. The employees benefited, sales increased overall, and the company was able to see improved engagement from its employees.

Here at Arbinger we have a saying about The Anatomy of Peace—it’s about as soft as a brick. It hit me hard when I needed it most.

Sam Whitney is Client Solutions Manager at the Arbinger Institute, the organization-author of the bestsellers Leadership and Self-Deception and The Anatomy of Peace, which teach concepts and models designed around the idea that seeing people as people can dramatically impact the results we achieve in organizations, in relationships, and in the world. Click here to learn more.

Dare to Serve . . . I Dare You

As soon as I read the table of contents I could tell I was going to like this book.  Part 1 -Whom will we serve? What is the daring destination?  Why do we do this work?  How will we work together?

I’m talking about Cheryl Bachelder’s new book, Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others.  You may know her as the CEO of Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen.  A CEO with a new way to lead that, in seven years, increased profits by 40%.  Leadership style.  No fancy gimmicks.  Just Dare to Serve leadership.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the Starship exercise that "revealed some remarkably simple lessons in leading high-performance teams." These are five things that make me stop and shake my head, thinking, why don't more leaders do this? Focus on team member strengths, determine skill gaps, respect different talents. This is why Popeyes Franchise Owner Survey results changed so dramatically in five years.

With reflection questions throughout to keep you engaged and thinking, this is a book that any leader will gain insight from.  Some people just don’t grasp the idea of servant leadership, thinking they have to roll over and become submissive.  If this is you, pick up Dare to Serve and see what it’s really about.  Learn to serve others with humility, courage, and passion.  All while increasing productivity and profits.

As Cheryl says in the book, “avoid the spotlight”.  “A leader without personal responsibility remains stuck in the spotlight and fails to serve others well.”  Look at yourself in the mirror, and Dare to Serve others.

Don't Forget the Thanks

As Christmas quickly approaches don't forget to thank the people that have supported you all year. If you think about it for a minute you'll probably come up with a much bigger list than you thought you would. Thank your:

• supervisor/manager,
• team members,
• assistants,
• customers,
• confidant,
• mentors,
• spouse,
• family members,
• friends,
• business associates,
• students/learners,
• office mates,
• Military,
• first responders,
• financier,
• lawyer,
• dry cleaner,
• insurance agent,
• the kid that cuts your grass,
• dog walker,
• mail delivery/newspaper delivery, and
• God.

A pretty long list, right? You're probably starting to get the picture now. You have a pretty extensive "supporting cast". I bet you can think of more.

You didn't get where you are, all by yourself. You can't do what you do, all by yourself. You can't live the way you do, all by yourself. Skip to the end of the Scrooge movie and go right to the thanks!

I'm Not Accountable

Most people view accountability as something that happens to them when performance

falls off, problems arise, or results fail to come about.  The fact is, many think accountability only crops up when something goes wrong or when someone else wants to pinpoint the cause of the problem - all for the sake of pinning blame and pointing the finger.  When things are sailing along smoothly, people rarely ask, “Who's accountable for this success?”  Typically, no one starts looking around for the responsible party until something adverse happens.

If you take a look at dictionaries, most provide a definition of accountability that promotes a pretty negative view.  Webster’s defines accountability as: “subject to having to report, explain, or justify; being answerable, responsible.”  Notice how the definition begins with the words, subject to, implying little choice in the matter.  This confession and powerless definition suggests that accountability is viewed as a consequence for poor performance, something you should fear because it can only end up hurting you.

Since most people experience accountability this way, it’s no wonder they spend so much time shunning it and explaining and justifying poor results.

Would You Rather Keep the Rules or the People?

This week I'm happy, and honored, to relinquish my blog to guest bloggers, Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, the authors of the newly revised book, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em.

If innovation is so important, why is it so hard to support? Why is it so easy to say no before saying yes? Why is it easier to see if there is a precedent for what an employee wants to do?

When your employees come to you with new ideas, concepts, or rule breakers, they want to hear “You’ve got a point” or “Let’s give it a try” or “Maybe that will work.” They want you to (at least occasionally) go to bat for them – to truly advocate for the change they want.  What prevents you from doing that?

Are You Boxed In?

You have no doubt been asked (probably more than once) to think “outside the box.” How ironic that most managers feel like the box has been handed to them (often by their bosses) and that they are supposed to think and act inside it. The box typically feels fairly rigid, as if it were made up of concrete walls—the rules. But with a shift in thinking, your box can be composed of different materials, each with unique properties. Here is an example:

This box has walls made of four materials.

Concrete. This wall represents rules that are truly rigid. It cannot be broken, pushed, bent, or shattered. “You must have a medical degree to practice medicine in this hospital.”

Glass. This wall is strong and sturdy, but if you hit it just the right way with just the right instrument at the right time, it will break. It represents the rules that may seem unbreakable but actually can be broken. “A woman will never be CEO of a major corporation.”

Rubber. This wall is thick and strong, but it has some give to it if you are willing to push hard. It represents rules that might be pliable. “We all put in a 40-hour week, from eight to five, five days a week.”

Vapor. This wall is made up of our beliefs, assumptions, and perceptions about the rules. “People will never fly.”

If you examine the rules you operate by, you will find that few of them are truly concrete. They just feel that way. The most formidable aspect of the box is often the vapor wall. Your beliefs and assumptions— or the company’s—often prevent you from questioning the rules. They may also keep you from hearing your employees’ questions.

Try this:

·         - The next time your employees question you about the rules (about their jobs, the organization, or the work at hand), stop before you say, “It can’t be done.”

·        - Check to see which wall is holding you (and others?) in the box. 

·         - Unless it is truly the concrete wall, work with your employees to bend or break the rules. Test the vapor wall and the beliefs that box you in. Evaluate new ideas fairly before you discard them.

Your talented people want you to recognize their good ideas and innovative solutions, and they want you to support their questioning. You will increase the odds of engaging and keeping them if you allow them to question the rules about their jobs, the workplace, and even the business.

Beverly Kaye is the Founder of Career Systems International. Sharon Jordan-Evans is the President of the Jordan Evans Group. This blog post is based on concepts from Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans. This bestselling book provides twenty-six strategies to keep talented employees happy and productive. In addition to updating and revising all information for the fifth edition, the authors have included more international stories and statistics. Available January 2014 on Amazon and in bookstores everywhere!

Leading Valiantly in Healthcare

Healthcare leaders are typically a different type of breed from say, manufacturing, financial, or retail leaders.  There is more often than not, a much bigger sense of intrinsic motivation.  But even that begins to take a back seat sometimes.

If you are new to healthcare – it is never too early to start charting your course.  If you are a seasoned leader - you still have room to learn and refresh.  This is where the new book, Leading Valiantly in Healthcare: Four Steps to Sustainable Success, by Catherine Robinson-Walker is going to make a difference.

With so many – and continual - changes in healthcare regulations and technologies, it is easy these days to be caught up in the “bottom line” mode.  Robinson-Walker’s book gives you the tools and references to spark that passion and courage that is so desired by today’s staff, patients, and customers.  She pulls from her years of experiences and interviews to show you how to “adjust our leadership strategies based on new circumstances, additional information, and new learning” in order to lead with valor.

Robinson-Walker’s six leadership seductions and cycle of leadership valor combine to help you to pause and look at the various challenges you may find yourself in and to increase your self-awareness - thus making better quality decisions.  In part, leading with valor means responding to challenges thoughtfully, individually, and fully.  In leadership – especially in healthcare - there are no one-size-fits-all decisions.  It really requires an open heart and mind.

This book will help you to become a more confident and courageous leader, fostering integrity, self-control, and character.  If you are motivated to sharpen your skills and open to trying new approaches (stepping out of your comfort zone), this book is the guide that you will want to read, practice, and learn from.  It just may make the difference that you have been looking for.

Promises, Promises

Trust, honesty, integrity . . . a promise is a promise.

For those "leaders" who don't have those three things, promises will never mean a thing to employee's.  You've probably heard of "the boy who cried wolf"?  The more lies he told, the more no one believed him, until it was too late.  Same thing with leaders.  If you're not honest and carry through with your promises to your employee's, you're just blowing smoke.  It's an easy way to lose respect . . . but it's hard to get it back.

I try not to get into politics, but this timely and is just a great example (and no I'm not going to debate it).  I saw a graph today on how many people have lost their current insurance due to the Affordable Care Act - millions.  This was after the country was told, by the President, that if people were happy with their insurance they could keep it.  As I began writing this blog post I got a CNN tweet headlined, "Obama apologizes for some people losing health coverage despite his promise".  What do you think that apology means to those millions of people?  Nothing. Nothing but lost trust.

It doesn't matter who you are or where you land on the totem pole - bottom or top - a promise is a promise.  And people - employees - WILL remember when you break those promises.  It's kind of like the silent customer.  If you give bad service, they may not say anything to you.  But they will tell others who you won't see and not return themselves.

A promise IS a promise.  Make it so.

And The Winner Is

How many times have you heard a "leader" say something like, "I told you I'd make it to the top"?  Then, how often do you hear them thank the "little people"?

NO ONE gets to the top by themselves.  No one even gets to the next level, by themselves.  One of the first things that leaders should do when they move up is, in some way, thank the people that helped them there - specialists, admin assistants, coordinators, etc.

The best example of this is done very publically a few times a year . . . Academy Awards, Oscars, CMA's . . . the list goes on.  These shows aren't held just to recognize the overall winners.  It's also a public opportunity for them to thank the many people that made it possible for them to be standing there holding that award.  These "behind the scenes" people may otherwise, have no recognition.  Or in some cases, it's the people that got their career started.  They love it and you can see it on their expressions, if they're attending.

So next time you're risen up to the next level, don't forget a few "thank you's" for the people who helped you there.

What The Heck Is Going On?

What ever happened to, "innocent until proven guilty"?  Why has it morphed into just the opposite?

When Paula Deen was recently reported to have used the N-word - she was immediately chastised by losing sponsors before all the facts and issues came out.  When Trayvon Martin was shot, people immediately took to the streets in protest - without knowing ANY of the facts.

These two cases are currently being scrutinized in the media and legal system, meaning, we don't yet know the full extent of guilt to any of the parties involved.

Don't we find this in our everyday business life also?  How many have had leaders that jump to the conclusion and react instead of act?  It's the "easy" way out.  Sweep it under the rug and hope it goes away.  Problem is, that often makes it an even bigger issue to deal with and it ends up taking on a life of it's own, sucking up time and resources on it's way.

Leaders.  Stop.  Look at all the facts.  Act instead of react, and put yourself on the right track to making the right decision.

Keep It Out

As we get closer and closer to election time, we hear more and more "stuff".  And that's exactly what it is.

Have you ever wondered how no one is ever wrong when it comes to politics?  Why is that?  Because we never know ALL of the facts on why someone did this or didn't do that or thought this or that . . . NEVER.

Politics boils down to one thing - opinion.  Anytime someone speaks of politics, it's mostly the way they've developed "information" in their own head.  No matter what, you can't win the argument.  So what purpose is there to purposely bringing non-winnable arguments into the office?

I say, go ahead and have your opinion.  Everyone's entitled to it.  But don't bring it in the form of a controversy   There are so many other things in the office that we can constructively put that effort towards.

Oh, by the way . . . the same goes about religion.

Cliques Gone Organized

I first learned of "tribal leadership" while reviewing the pre-launch book by Tony Hsieh, Delivering Happiness. I was curious to find out more about it when low-and-behold I received an email from the publisher of Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization (Dave Logan, John King & Halee Fischer-Wright) asking me to review the updated re-release (June 7) of the book. Awesome!

At first glance tribal leadership reminds me of cliques in school. There are various groups of kids who hang around together - preps, jocks, etc. - which you have to belong to in order to "hang" with them. As the school year progresses, so do the groups . . . or not.

LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman described Tribal Leadership as "a clear road map for the new reality of managing organizations, careers, and life". The key words here are, "new reality of managing organizations". In today's world, leaders must manage all aspects of the organization including the tribes. We have to help our people go from "they" or "I" attitudes to "we" attitudes.

The authors of Tribal Leadership take us through the five stages of building relationships between leaders, tribes and culture. It's, at times, comical because of the way tribes and leaders are described is sadly so true - reality check.

The goal of tribal leadership is to "upgrade as many people, and clusters of people, as are willing and able to move forward to Stage Four, the zone of tribal pride". A tribal leader is "someone who artfully builds his corporate tribes, then gets out of the way so people can achieve greatness".

By developing the tribe you'll create loyalty, hard workers, innovation and collaboration. Helllooo. Doesn't that make your job a bit easier? Sure it does. And just as importantly, it contributes more effectively to the success of the organization . . . and doesn't exactly hurt your own chances for advancement.

Tribes - culture - is not something that you want to "just happen". There's guidance and building that needs to be done in order for them to jive with your organization in order to create overall success.

Reading this book really opened my eyes to what was happening in my own organization. Pick up a copy of Tribal Leadership and learn how to become the leader of the tribe - go from "life sucks" to "life is great" - and you'll have that success.

"Oh yeah"

This past weekend, right up the street from me in Seminole, FL, we lost a great example of personal “branding”. “Macho Man” Randy Savage suffered a fatal heart attack while driving and hit head on into a tree.

“Macho Man”, as he is affectionately referred to the world around by young and old, grew up in Downers Grove, IL where he dreamed about becoming a baseball player. He would eventually do just that, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. You don’t remember that? That’s okay. I don’t either. However I do remember “Macho Man” Randy Savage - the wrestler.

After his baseball career took a sudden downfall, Randall Poffo of Downers Grove, IL took to professional (you be the judge) wrestling. He completely re-made himself with a new look, a new name, flamboyant attire, an ‘I will succeed’ attitude, and a flair for business.

Through Savage’s wrestling career, he was a “good guy” and a “bad guy” - but always likeable. But no matter what he did or who he teamed up with (like Hulk Hogan), he’s always going to be remembered as the “Macho Man” – good, bad, or indifferent. He’s still very well known and his image can be seen, and bought, all over the world.

His wrestling career began in 1974 and ran until 2004. “Oh yeah!” Randy Savage knew how to play the game and use it to his advantage.

RIP “Macho Man”.