Personal Leadership

Guest blog post by Paul Mallory .

A few thoughts of my own on personal leadership from my Soul Work blog...

We hear all the time that we are living through a period of furious pace of change. One take on this can be seen in the (technology-centric) 'shift happens' video. (See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q)

Clearly, we can't stop change happening, nor slow it's pace...
Change is not a bad thing. It is inevitable, and it is fast.
Some things change and some things don't...

For me, personal leadership is about knowing who you are and what you are for, having a beacon to guide you through the storm of change. Many people today are clear what they are against... many people today find purpose and fulfillment from being against something, whether it be wind farms, nuclear energy or the prospect of an eco-town being built near their home. Another perspective is to decide what you are for in this world.

The good news is, we needn't be like a cork bobbing on the tide of popular opinion and ever-changing (not always for the better) societal values. Indeed, there is little virtue in just 'going along with the others'. As philosopher Edmund Burke is reputed to have said: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".

We have the option to decide who we are, who we will be, what we are for, what difference we will make in this world. This is effortful work, requiring much contemplation and deep personal honesty (it comes from within). However, deciding our purpose and reason for being is the first step to discovering a level of passion and inspiration within ourselves that can lead to an extraordinary quality of life.

And, guess what, change begins with ourselves, as Gandhi memorably remarked: "Be the change you want to see in the world".

How much more fulfilling such a life is than living the life of a grazing cow...

Personal opinion! Paul


Paul Mallory is the host of the “Soul Work Blog” - http://soulworkblog.blogspot.com/

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What’s normal to you?

The Parlor Mob is not the typical band you would take your seven-year-old daughter to see. They play some serious alternative tunes and bring in the twenty-something crowd. I learned of them at the Austin City Limits this past October. While listening, I noticed this kid also enjoying the event.

But, what if you did grow up as a child experiencing major international music shows? You would learn many kinds of music, meet all types of people and view unusual forms of art. Your perspective on crowds, volume, self-expression and tolerance would be different than the typical kid.

The reason this question even occurred to me after seeing this kids enjoying the concert was it clearly demonstrated the differences among people. As leaders, we need to be very careful not to stereotype people into categories that might not fit. The more interest you take in the people you lead, the more likely you will learn something they can contribute that nobody else can. Ask questions and actually listen to the answers. It will pay off in the end.

Have you ever had a boss take an interest and have it result in a better assignment? Have you ever learned a detail about one of your teammates that allowed you to better use their unique skills?

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From the General

I have had the opportunity to work for and with a number of retired military generals who transitioned into industry during my career. Some have made the move relatively seamlessly and others it took a little more effort. Whenever I’ve had the opportunity, in a casual setting, I like to ask them, “What are the major differences you notice between leading major military operations and leading as a business executive?” As you might guess, the responses range from very insightful to rather bizarre.

The other evening, I had my first opportunity to ask the same question to a retired general from outside the United States. His answers were so insightful and honest I thought we all could learn from them. He said there were four main differences: 1) Decisions in the military tend to be more black and white:;2) The overall goal or mission is clearer to everyone in the military; 3) Teamwork is more natural and built into the military process; and 4) There is no runner up in a military operation! He shared that his role in business is to help instill these things within the business environment and gave some examples.

What do you think of these insights? Is there something we can all take from them?

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Thanksgiving in NYC

NYC, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Jingdezhen, Beijing, Jingdezhen, Shanghai, Chicago, NYC.

Travel, business and building operations are great fun, but Thanksgiving weekend in NYC after all that is fantastic. Today’s is a lesson of remembering to have fun and recharge with friends and family.

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Locked out

So where the heck has John been? LiaV has not had a new post in days.

Greetings from Jingdezhen, China this evening (the porcelain capital). After days of being blocked from my own blog, I figured out a way of getting in. Sure many of the things you read about are true, many others are not. The team I’m with has been working many hours, hand-in-hand, with our business partners in the factory to achieve a major milestone. I’ve been providing “top cover” with senior leadership.

I’ve also met some locals. I tried my hand at an outdoor ping pong park for pick-up games and got my butt kicked by an old lady (she were good). I visited a student art exhibit and had tea with an English professor. Like many places, the people and the people in charge do not always share the exact same opinion. The same is true in the USA. We should not generalize or stereotype.

When you travel, do you take the time to meet locals and understand?

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“They have chocolate in the States”

After walking a new plant construction site in Hyderabad, India, we were hosted to share a traditional Indian lunch. The location was a nice hotel and the service was fantastic. There was a nice variety of desserts and I selected one. My traveling partner returned to his seat with a much more interesting and aggressive choice of desserts. He looked at my plate and said, “You can get chocolate in the States!” He was quite right and I caught myself following habit (yes, I got up and tried things I did not recognize).

The same can be true in how you lead and what solutions you apply to problems. Learning, wisdom and habits have many benefits, but if they cause a leader to avoid trying new techniques, styles and approaches, they become a hindrance. We all need to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and sometimes others do it for us. We just need to listen and hear them when they do.

When have you been reminded in a to stretch out of your comfort zone? How did you respond?

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Where is this “new place we are going?”

As leaders, every so often one of your team members asks you an honest question that makes you stop in your tracks and reconsider exactly what messages you are sending. Most of our LiaV community knows that I recently accepted a new executive assignment on the East Coast. It’s a great chance to use all I’ve learned in the last 30 years of aerospace manufacturing, supply chain and program management.

I arrived on the scene asking many questions, listening, meeting people and internalizing what I was hearing. These are all the things we talk about so often. After a fair amount of time, I came to conclusions of what was needed and started to point a vector in that direction. While we worked hard to find and deploy tools and processes, I also talked about the journey we are about to start. Progress was slow, but acceptable. That was until one of my long-time leaders, Tim, walked into my office very frustrated and said, “John, we understand that you are here to take us to some new place and we accept that, but can you just tell us what you expect from us?”

In a flash, it occurred to me that I was working hard within the organization on the detailed mechanics and with the leaders on the vision, but I was not as clear as I could be on what I expected differently on a day-to-day basis. It was an easy thing to correct by writing out some top-level expectations and having a team discussion. Thank goodness I took the time to build trust with Tim early so he knew he could share his frustration without risk.

Have you ever been “leading” so fast and hard that when you looked back, the team was not as close behind you as you thought? What did you do?

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Pioneers are lonely

Have you ever noticed that the first people to try something new are treated as outcasts? Think about it. This is particularly true as it pertains to teenagers, music and fashion. Think about the kids with the long hair, then the short hair, then the colored hair and the no hair. The first kids to wear grunge were considered bums. Nobody understood rap or gangsta to start and now it is some of the fastest selling music.

The same thing is true in business. Those who believed the internet would change the world were thought to be wasting their time. The first leaders that believed people could work from home were considered crazy. How would we ever keep track of them? The forward-looking leaders that first understood the importance of executing flawless complex supply chains were exiled. Now we all know the supplier chain management is a competitive discriminator. There are still many leaders that have not embraced the impact web 2.0 can have. Many of us already use it as the norm.

If you accept that these pioneers are lonely front liners, then that is exactly where we should always be looking for talent. Leaders need to look for what is new and where trends are headed.

How do you stay current and find fresh ideas, talent and trends?

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“Wal-Mart killed the country store”

It was about 1:15 in the afternoon and another rain shower was starting. There was only one stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival that was fully covered by a tent, and we headed that direction. I had never heard of Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band before that time, but I’ll remember them from now on. The band only includes Peyton, his brother and his wife, and they play an eclectic brand of self-published bluegrass “truths,” as they call them.

When they performed their single that is downloaded the most, “Wal-Mart killed the country store,” the crowd really responded. Even the people like me that had never heard the sound before were curious. I thought to myself, “I wonder if Wal-Mart leadership knows of this song?” They should. It is feedback. Then I wondered if many companies really make the effort to move beyond the recognized media to see what their reputation really is. There are plenty of blogs, chat rooms, web sites. There are even web sites like www.jobvent.com that specialize in allowing employees to expose culture and environmental factors about their companies. I know a businesswoman that uses information like this during the due diligence process when considering a merger or purchase of a company.

Do you believe this information reaches senior leaders? Have you ever found and used such information?

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Dunk your leader

Many companies have team building or charity fund raising events that include a dunk tank. There are typically all different kinds of people sitting on the dunk board. People pay small fees for the opportunity to throw a couple of balls at the target, resulting in the person dropping into the tank of water. It is always a fun undertaking, particularly if you are the one on the dry side of the tank!

My sister recently had the opportunity to dunk her boss in one of the events and posted some pretty funny pictures on our family web page. That started an interesting dialog on “boss dunking.” Many comments revolved around the idea of dunking the boss to gain some sort of equity for the way the boss treats others. Others thought the idea of boss dunking was all in fun.

I was asked if I would allow myself to be boss dunked if I knew the dunking was because I was not liked. Wow! That was hard to consider. While I know it is not reasonable to be liked by everyone, a leader has certain hopes they are at least respected. Having participated in dunk tanks in the past, I know the team building value. My guess is that managers that are generally not liked would not volunteer for this potential embarrassment.

Are you the leader that gets dunked for fun or pay-back?

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Culture comes from someplace

Whenever you travel a foreign country, there is the challenge of language. For some, this is so intimidating that they will never travel someplace too far off the beaten path. It does not seem to bother others.

While on a 3 country operations program review (including about 15 city stops) the importance of having a healthy curiosity cultures occurred to me. During one of my many flights, I debated which was more important – the language skills of the country visited or a healthy curiosity of the culture and history associated with the country. While the language helps you directly communicate, learning the culture helps you understand everyone. I concluded that language is a skill and culture is an attitude. A leader can hire or teach and skill, but it is more difficult to develop a curious nature. For this reason I chose cultural curiosity as most important.

Which do you believe is more improve for an international business person – language or cultural curiosity?

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It’s the people stupid!

New York, Munich, Ankara, Eskisehir, Ankara, Munich, Warsaw, Rzeszow, Mielec, Krakow, Krosno, Rzeszow, Warsaw, Helsinki. I’m half way through a half globe-trotting It has been a few months since I’ve been on a global supply building review trip, but like riding a bike, one does not forget. There are always plenty of planes, airports, factories, conference rooms and dinners. Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t do this profession if that was all I remembered.

It is about the people you meet with and along the way. The striped haired girl with piercings in the Rzeszow airport that explained to me what was being announced during the fog delay. The two young professionals in Poland that are taking the lead developing complex supply chain management metrics. The highly trained, Turkish machinist demonstrating the improvements on his statistical process control charts. And, the well intentioned waitress in Turkey that brought the boss a martini that was like no other. Sometimes we forget through the meetings and shop tours, but it is all about the people.

Have you found yourself at times focusing more on the task that the people? How do you remind yourself to refocus?

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The road from Bethel

A couple weeks ago, we took a motorcycle for a ride to a popular 2009 pilgrimage. Yes, this would be to Bethel, NY for the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. While it was an enlightening opportunity and the people of Bethel have a great job restoring the grounds and presenting the museum, it reminded me of an old blog posting titled “Freeze.”

“Freeze!

Leaders, stop! Freeze! Close your eyes. Go back for just a moment to 1969, or whenever you were entering the workforce. Do you think for a moment that the leaders of American industry were feeling comfortable about turning over the keys to us? Not likely. Well, they did and we are in charge. Some might argue, but it seems like we are doing an ok job. We are now ready because people took chances and put us in charge of projects, programs, work groups and teams to learn the leadership skills we need. We made early mistakes and learned from them.

We need to do the same with the Gen X and Y’s on our teams. You might believe your hands are tied by Human Resources or some other authority. They are guidelines and expect you to select the most qualified candidates. It is absolutely critical we follow our respective selection processes and select the best qualified candidate, but it is up to us to develop the skills to make these teammates ready. I personally disagree when people generalize that these folks are not loyal. They are loyal to being challenged, and it is our job to keep them stretched beyond what they even think is possible. This is fun stuff if you change your paradigm on what is possible.

Do you have an example of a Gen X and Y that over delivered in a leadership role?”

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Half Century

For the first time in almost two years, LiaV was not updated last week. While I had plenty of lessons and learning to share, I made a decision not to post as I was on a road trip celebrating my half century birthday. I was coached almost thirty years ago not to work on my birthday and years later started taking the full week off. Now this has matured to major travel and festivals where I can learn and experience new environments and cultures.

This year it was the Austin City Limits music festival. It was an amazing collection of bluegrass, country, rock, alternative, metal, folk, jazz and soul musicians. It also had a lot of rain and five inches of mud this year. Once you conceded that you were going to be a little wet and muddy, it was a blast. Even more important was the people we met and the experiences. We were learning all the time. Learning about Texas, music, people and crowd behavior.

Thanks for the week off and you’ll see some of the learning mentioned in upcoming posts.

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Follow Virginia

A very nice old woman in our building invited Barb and I to her art gallery a while back. We put it on our list and this past Saturday rode the motorcycle there. It was a nice, but odd, selection of art. But Virginia was extremely knowledgeable and nice as can be. The more we talked and listened, the more it became clear that Virginia was fairly famous in the NYC art and modeling world. She shared old news clippings of herself with famous artists of the times, and she was a beautiful young woman. She had that Marilyn Monroe look all dressed up.

As we talked more, she shared that her father was one of the first WWI Naval Air pilots flying amphibious planes out of Long Island, NY and then Pensacola, FL. POW. There it was! There were very few WWI pilots and most knew each other. Having just assembled a museum nomination for my grandfather (Fitzwilliam Dalrymple), I had a lot of information on this topic. We were both so excited to explore this topic more.

It makes me wonder how many people would have skipped the gallery invitation and never met such a fascinating lady and then made a family connection! Would you have?

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Culture versus Climate

A recent LiaV post entitled “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” resulted in over one hundred community comments. It was a record. They went in many directions, but one particular comment by Gail Johnson Morris made me think. Gail asked us to think about the difference between culture and climate.

This concept really caught my attention because in my last position, we took the results of employee surveys seriously. The team I led worked hard taking into account the real time “environmental factors” that would have an impact on our scores that were often outside the control of the team. Complex topics like the economy, company employment status, stock price, news articles and customer feedback on products fell into this category. Gail’s insight now provided me the ability to clearly rationalize the difference.

When you work on improving your workplace culture, do you consider climate? Have you confused good climate as good culture in the past?

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Titans of leadership?

It was a simple family home. A mere seventy-five rooms, walls gilded in gold and platinum, an entry way larger than many places of employment, enough exotic marble to be a place of worship, and fresh and salt running water to the bath tubs. While this was the biggest home in the neighborhood, it is among others of similar peers.

The mansion is called “The Breakers” and was the family summer “cottage” of the William Vanderbilt family in Newport, Rhode Island. We visited this fantastic location this past weekend and learned more of the accomplishments of the Vanderbilt family. William was the grandson of founder Cornelius Vanderbilt who created the shipping and railroad empire.

After the tour, I thought to myself, “what a great leaders the Vanderbilt’s must have been.” As I thought and walked around, it occurred to me that they were great businessmen, family patriarchs and community influences. But leaders, I wondered. If critical roles of leadership is building ongoing compelling visions and developing people, then the Vanderbilt’s do not measure up. If their initial vision of controlling the shipping and railroad lines had true life, it would not have faded once monopoly laws and alternative modes of transportation evolved. I looked more and was unable to find clear examples of great achievers that developed under the Vanderbilt system.

While paying respect to their achievements, do you feel vision and developing people are compelling enough reasons to keep the Vanderbilt’s out of the Leadership Hall of Fame?

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137 MPH

It started with the 9:12 AM train to Grand Central. Then the 9:56 to Long Island. Exit at Flushing Meadows. The net had the distinctive 6-inch center slope, there were six official line judges, six ball chasers stood at attention when not darting to recover wild balls, seventeen cameras focused from all angles and high-powered microphones picked up every whisper (yes, if they wanted us to know what Venus Williams actually said; we could know).

I’m not a serious tennis fan, but I was given the opportunity to attend the US Open last Sunday at Flushing Meadows, Long Island. It was a stark reminder that we should all take opportunities to try new things. The crowd was into tennis. They were polite and knew the competitors. It seemed like many of them had been there multiple times in the past. I even got to see Juan Martin del Potro crush a 137 MPH serve a few times.

I have blogged often about “staying out of the white aisles” and trying new things. Whether it is new work projects, making new friends or trying a new sporting event, all of us need to continuously expand our environment. Going to the US Open reminded me to follow my own advice.

What things are you doing to continuously expand your world?

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Passion or money?

“Take exit 29 off I95 North, turn right on Stratford, travel about a mile and turn left on Freeman, go a block and cross Connecticut Ave into the parking lot. Don’t mind the neighborhood, it looks more intimidating than is actually is. I’m on the 4th floor of the old brick building. I’ll have to come down and get you in the parking lot.”

From the parking lot, we walked up an old staircase, by many art, yoga, music and small business studios. We waited for the freight elevator a moment and decided to walk up the remaining stairs to Debbie’s fourth floor studio operation (Art Bags). It was not the cleanest I’ve ever seen but produced a quality product. The product was not something I totally understood, but one that has raving fans. The building’s tenants each did their own thing and lived special lives.

I have not seen Debbie in fifteen years. She was an aerospace executive colleague with the usual executive tendencies. I recently reconnected with her and visited her Bridgeport, CT studio. It was so refreshing to talk to someone with so much passion and personal fulfillment. Debbie shared that the business she was forging was not the most profitable in the world but brought her more enjoyment and personal satisfaction than any career up to this point.

Driving home that night, I could not help but feel good about Debbie and Art Bags. I also could not help but wonder how business leaders could assist their teammates find such passion in their professions and careers.

How do you help your teams feel Debbie’s passion in their work?

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Who are your Whos?

Independent of your role in life, we are all interested in gaining insights from those who have already achieved what we are trying to do. Over the last year, I have learned to stop asking people how to do things. The problem with this question is people are inherently helpful and will try to answer even if they don't always know the correct response. I have moved to asking do you know someone "who" has done something. This is one of the learnings from John Strelecky's "Big Five for Life” book.

"Dr. Sharon" is one of my whos. I originally met her in her executive coach role as she was working with a couple of my colleagues. We had mutual leadership interests, so when I starting building this blog and preparing material for a book, she was a multi-role “who.” I recently listened to her free download on discovering your purpose. I answered her five questions to determine WHO I was and WHO I was becoming. It was short, simple, fun and enlightening. I highly recommend you try it.

From the experience, I believe her “Heart's Way” Tele-workshop Program, Discover your Passionate Calling in nine weeks could be very helpful for anyone asking: 1) What am I here to do? 2) What is my next step? or 3) Why do I feel something is missing in my life? Her Tele-workshop begins September 24th - November 19th on Thursday evenings from 6:00 - 7:30 pst (all workshops are recorded in case you miss a class). It is an interactive 9-week transformative experience using an innovative telephone workshop format and and an even greater value if you use the website coupon.

So - I've shared a "who" with you. What "whos" would you like to share with others?

Note - Dr. Sharon Lamm-Hartman is the CEO, Inside Out Learning Inc., and adjunct faculty member with Columbia University. She was recently quoted in The New York Times and The Oprah Magazine. 480-502-4766.

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