Another Switzerland

Coming from very large families and generally staying out of the fray of disputes has granted our home the status of Switzerland. It is a neutral place where all baggage is left behind and good time can be had by all.

This weekend we attended the graduation ceremony for my nephew from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams. MA. It was a nice celebration in the gymnasium of the Trailblazers. As with most graduations, the bleachers were full of family and friends. In our case, my nephew’s father drove up for the event from Tennessee and participated in the graduation party thrown by my sister. While I’m always neutral, it was fantastic to see everyone drop their differences for the sake of a significant achievement and celebration.

It made me think about the environments we create for our people as leaders. Do our teams think of us as Switzerland? Do we foster environments that bring people of different thoughts and opinions together, or drive them apart?

What do you do to foster an environment of inclusion and safety?

Read More...

It’s Payback Time

Take yourself back to mid 2008 for just a moment. The great recession was in full bloom. Friends and relatives were losing their jobs. Hours were being cut back. Company 401K match contributions were being canceled. Insurance co-payments were being raised. Pensions were being eliminated. Employees were putting up with it all because they had to.

Fast forward to time now. While unemployment remains around 10%, companies have started to hire. Consumers have started to buy. Industrial orders have increased. The word “career” has crept back into our vocabulary. My college nephew even got a summer internship.

Why did companies and management do all those things over the past few years? Because they could! Employees did not have a choice. The power in this relationship is about to shift and employees are going to remember those decisions. While the definition of compensation may have changed, the way teammates were treated during hard times will not be forgotten. It’s payback time. Those unilateral decisions over the last two years are going to be paid back over the next ten years through attrition as teammates get options again.

Did you and your company play the game for the long term or take advantage of the temporary shift in power over?

Read More...

“If it’s not a good time, it’s a good story”

The last three weeks have been interesting global travels. The Poland and Czech Republic front end of the trip was rescheduled due to the volcanic ash cloud emitted from Iceland. The team was successful swapping all our events into virtual forums and we never missed a beat.

The China leg had the typical airplane delays. But, for the first time since I’ve been traveling internationally, a scheduled delay was canceled and the plane left on time. This really screwed up my quick rearrangements! The transition to India was relatively seamless. Of course that was when my traveling colleague lost her voice. She could only nod and smile for two days. That was when she wrote on a piece of paper, “If it’s not a good time, it’s a good story.” I thought this was a pretty positive perspective.

How do you keep a positive attitude during the worst of travels?

Read More...

Is PowerPoint the enemy?

Think of the last time you were completely bored in a PowerPoint presentation. If you are like me, your pulse lowers, your eyes glaze over, you think about other things and perhaps you do your email on the “crackberry.” Back in January 2009, I did a two part blog series on this topic entitled “The Heart Rate Test (Story-time Part I)” and “Death by Viewgraph…NOT (Story-time Part II).”

Last week a colleague emailed me an article from the New York Times (26 April 2010) entitled “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint“ by Elisabeth Bumiller. It discussed the use of PowerPoint in the military and how it does not properly articulate the message to leadership. While the article does present the topic in a fair manner, I do not agree PowerPoint is the issue. It is the user that over uses the tool to avoid really engaging. The presentations you give are far more than the charts presented. You need to understand your audience and their motivations. You need to appeal to all of the audience’s senses and make them be a part of the session.

Is PowerPoint running a “muck” in your organization? What have you done to correct it?

Read More...

Respecting Babe’s House

We went to the New York Yankees – Texas Rangers game this weekend in the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Yep – home of the Bronx Bombers. The House that Babe built. Wait a minute. We were in the new stadium and walked by the demolished remains of the old stadium that Babe built in 1923.

I will say up front that I understand many people have an affinity to the old stadium and the many important things happened there. That as a given, I thought the designers and builders of the new stadium did an outstanding job respecting the past and incorporating it into the design while providing a world class, modern sporting venue.

It made me think that evening about what a leader’s role is when they follow a legend into the position. It is likely the team loved your predecessor and they were not looking for someone new. In a situation like this, it would seem the best approach would be the same as the new Yankee Stadium. Incorporate the history and best elements of the past, speak well about what was and the future that will be, and go boldly to a new place.

What lessons can you share about following a great leader into a position?

Read More...

Unwanted milestones

LiaV (Leadership is a Verb) reached a couple interesting new milestones in the past weeks. Unlike the competition last year where we placed 2nd in the “Best Leadership Blogs of 2009,” we were informed that an independent researcher identified LiaV as in “Top 150 Management & Leadership Blogs. It is an ordered list, created using statistics from Google PageRank, Bing, Alexa, Technorati, Twitter Grader, PostRank and FeedBurner.” I guess this is ok enough.

The second category we achieved was the arrival of multiple public relations firms volunteering to send me free copies of their client’s recently released books to read and blog about. First, LiaV is not for sale or influence. You can bank on the fact that the posts you will read on LiaV are original, uninfluenced and simply the way I observe the world.

All in all, these were unwanted milestones and ones you achieved more than me based on your hits and comments. I respectfully declined each of the offers, but suspect they will continue.

What would you do with these if you were me?

Read More...

Boomer 61, Gen X 59

I know a few of you cringe when I use a sports analogy, but having attended last night’s NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis you are about to read one.

Coach K (Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University) is a 63 year old boomer that teaches classic basketball fundamentals. His team came out for pre-game warm-ups all wearing the exact same attire, doing the consistent team drills and acting very disciplined. He has now won four national championships and is a legend. Coach Brad (Coach Brad Stevens of Butler University) is a 33 year old Gen X that is on his second career (he started in corporate America in advertising for Eli Lilly). He understands basketball and really grasps how to build teams. His team participated in pre-game warm-ups dressed in all varieties of Butler wear, preparing in their individual ways, many wearing iPods and enjoying the moment.

While I’m probably more “old school” when it comes to sports fundamentals, I was reminded last night how important it is to adjust my believes as a leader based on who I am leading. While Coach K won, Coach Brad gave Duke more of a game than anyone thought they would. Teaching is one thing, but building a cohesive team is often more than simply providing direction. Sometimes you have to bend and let the team do some of “their” thing.

Have you needed to make adjustments to your leadership style to effectively lead Gen Y’s? What did you do differently?

Read More...

Have you clarified your expectations?

In November 2009, I shared a story about the downfall of not clarifying your expectations as a leader. The post was about Tim and was titled “Where is this new place that we are going?” I thought I would share the actual publication I produced. Have you clearly articulated your expectation? How do you react to the ones below?

JPB Expectations for team members (8 Nov 2009)

Leadership - Leadership is a verb, not a position. Everyone has a responsibility to lead.

Talent - Build world class teams of multi-functional, culturally diverse, multi-lingual talent. Develop/hire people more capable than ourselves. “A’s hire B’s. B’s hire C’s.”

Trust - Be honest. Don’t blame. Build the team. Help each other succeed.

Dependability - “Do what you say, when you say you will do it.” Over-deliver on commitments.

Virtual - Develop and demonstrate excellence in leading virtual teams. Master technology and improve people skills daily. Virtual is 10% technology and 90% people. “A successful virtual team is a geographically dispersed team that thinks and acts as if they were in one place.”

Relationships - Supplier and customer relationships are valued and proactively maintained. “Our performance is that of our supplier/teammates.”

Consistent - Predictable performance, rhythm, reviews, reports and meetings are valued. People can plan on our results.

Innovation - Continuous improvement is valued and lean is our toolbox.

Fact Based - Measure everything important using Malcolm Baldrige metric criteria. Have S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant & Time Phased). Make decisions based on a healthy balance of facts and intuition.

Standard Work - Once agreed, standard tools and templates are to be used. They save time and confusion. Improvements should be coordinated and deployed.

Recognition - Reward great results in a timely manner. Say “thank you.” Coach each other. Everyone should recognize everyone.

Have Fun - We are fortunate to be able to work on these amazing assignments. Everyone deserves to enjoy what they do. If someone is not having fun, help them find something they will enjoy doing.

Read More...

Amazing what you don’t need

Did you know that a full 50 gallon water heater can last for five brief hot showers and a few shaves without refill? Did you know that in a time of need, a standard window screen can be slipped into slots cut into a couple short of 2x4’s to create a fireplace screen? Did you know if you keep a fair amount of ice in your freezer that it will keep your food frozen for many days if you don’t open the door during a power outage?

Many of you know that I’m in the first year of our “Connecticut Adventura” (or as a SoCal friend calls it, living in the “upper right”). If you saw the news last weekend, many parts of Fairfield County CT was heavily hit by the storm and lost power. New Canaan lost power to over 56% of households. It was interesting at first, a pain later on and just life by the third and fourth day. There was a generator sign in the center of town providing residents with updates. It mostly said that schools remained closed.

What does this have to do with leadership? I was reminded how much we have we really do not need. America is a consumer nation. While power is something we do need, I was able to solve each of the challenges presented once I thought about it. I imagine the same is true in the workplace. We need to provide our teams with the tools to accomplish their jobs in an efficient manner. Some nice to haves are important. Too many are not required.

What types of things have you found fall into the “excess” category?

PS – Maybe later in the week I’ll share my staple inventory blog post.

Read More...

“3 hots and a cot”

Entitlement. It has been a topic we have discussed many times on LiaV. Generally, I’ve coached that the trappings of success for many can be the same things that cause them to lose touch with their teams and the real work being done in an organization. Big offices, reserved parking, office administrators and separate entrances are all motes disguised as perks.

The other day a colleague, a retired Marine gone executive, told me the only thing he needed was “3 hots and a cot.” The most basic needs to him were 3 hot meals and a place to sleep. It was such a simple statement and concept I thought I would share it more widely. Can you imagine how much more productive everyone would be if there was no effort expended on items of status?

Read More...

Explorer or navigator?

During a recent trip to India for business, I was reminded of the importance of trying things that have not been tried before. We were trying to determine how a certain business problem that we had not encountered before would be solved. We brainstormed and hypothesized. We negotiated and decided (over and over again).

In the misted of our session, my Indian counterpart shared that in times like this it is important to remember the most significant discoveries happened when the person was lost. They shared a common Indian quote, “the best explorers are the worst navigators.” They referenced Christopher Columbus discovering America as a prime example. It occurred to me that the same e the same is true in our personal lives. The things you discover on vacation when you get lost are often the most interesting and memorable.

How often do you allow yourself to get lost? Does it most always work out for the better?

Read More...

Real cheese

I am not a big Domino’s Pizza fan, but just might try it again. Can you imagine taking a successful product franchise and admitting to it being unacceptable? That is what the president of Domino’s has done. Now compare that to the situation facing Toyota. In the face of clear product safety concerns, the president has yet to emerge and speak to the public. Patrick Lencioni of Business Week noted that in his February 2010 article The Power of Saying ‘We Blew It’ that the common topic is vulnerability. Note how each leader is dealing with it differently.

Different leaders deal with vulnerability in the workplace differently, too. Leaders who are open to new ideas, ask questions, allow tough discussions and allow debate build loyalty among their teams. Command and control type managers might see these traits as weak and indecisive. This might have been true long ago, but the time has gone.

Have you seen a leader successfully place him or herself in vulnerable situations? How did it turn out?

Read More...

Beware the indispensible!

Tara was by far the most experienced and knowledgeable. She had the tribal knowledge of what happened since the project started. Everyone depended on her for everything. When she got an internal job offer to leave the department my management team said we must stop it and make a counter offer. I listened and tried to talk her out of leaving. It did not work. She left. And you know what happened? The performance of the total department increased. I learned a valuable lesson – sometimes the person that makes themselves indispensible actually holds everyone else back.

I saw it again a few years later at the senior levels above me. There was a SVP that was considered the indispensible and the next potential president. When he left because he did not get the job, the whole company grew and performed better. I thought about this and realized the leaders that make themselves indispensible hoard information, limit people’s potential and don’t allow teammates to make mistakes and learn from them. They instill fear to make themselves more powerful. For that time on, I study the dynamics of all organizations and when I find that so called indispensible person, I visualize how much the team is being held back and how well the team might be performing. Dispensable beware.

Can you remember a time when someone the organization just could not lose left and the whole team benefited from the exit?

Read More...

Let them fly

“... they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible, logical, responsible, practical...and they showed me a world where I could be dependable, clinical, intellectual, cynical…” These lyrics from the 1979 Supertramp Breakfast in America album (yes, back when an album was vinyl) stuck me while running the other day. The Logical Song was a hit single that questioned the idea we gain from the structure we learn in school and society. While we all certainly benefit, from this conformity and knowledge, there is something to be said for thought leaders.

Someone told me once that true leaders are lonely. They tend to be thought leaders and ahead of the pack. Is it possible that all the conformity the workplace requires actually causes the leader’s within us to cave to the organizational norms? We have all seen the fantastic things people can accomplish when management gives them license and let them fly. Often, our toughest job is getting out of the way.

What was the most impressive accomplishment you have seen achieved by empowering your team?

Read More...

Your flight is canceled

The wind and rain was so hard that it woke me a couple times during the night. It did not get any better in the morning as I caught up on email and prepared to leave. I checked the flight status on the airline website prior to checking in and driving to White Plains airport. What a surprise, the incoming airplane was diverted to JFK airport and our flight would be delayed “40 minutes.” Sure!

Then the all too common winter announcement, “flight 579 to West Palm Beach has been canceled.” For those of us that are people watchers, it is Super Bowl time. As if one could not have guessed it would happen, people got all spun up and pointed their aggression at each other and particularly the airline ticket personnel. As if they had something to do with the weather in New York state in the winter. As I remained in my normal state of “travel calmness,” the worst of people emerged. Does anyone really believe they get better service when they treat the service employee badly? If you were the airline personnel behind the counter, would you prefer to help the friendly customer in distress or the one yelling at you?

As leaders, we all have a choice of how we react to circumstances beyond our control. Do you let the situation control you or do you control your reaction in situations like this?


PS – Guess what – the same people were arguing with the luggage team upon arrival.

Read More...

“I’m alright if you’re alright”

The Felice Brothers are a folksy group of musicians that I learned about at the Austin City Limits Music and Arts Festival in October. Their song, “Take This Bread,” had a different spin that many of us in leadership could learn from.

In today’s diverse work world, we cannot assume that others want to be treated the same way that we do. It is important to take the time to understand the individual and to tailor your approach based on the priorities and desires of that person. I still remember the time we were thanking a college professor for his help during the summer. We thought he would like a company jacket. Come to find out, at his university, the professors all displayed the plagues and certificates they “earned” from their achievements. We quickly adjusted and the recognition went smoothly. It was important to realize that the better off he was, the better we were too.

When have you adjusted your plans to successfully meet an individual’s desires?

Read More...

“Don’t take the bait”

Joe was a talented guy on international assignment leading a factory start-up. He had years of experience and worked as hard as anyone I know. Betty was the actual leader responsible for the project overall. The project was behind schedule and the pressure was on. On a number of occasions, Betty became very frustrated with the implementation team and fired off finger pointing emails. On one occasion, Joe was the target of a particularly pointed email and many senior leaders were copied. As you might imagine, Joe was upset and about to flame out on email. The most senior leader on copy, forwarded the email back Joe and said four words, “Don’t take the bait.”

When Joe looks back on that sequence, he told me that those were the four most empowering words ever said to him. He knew from the statement that senior leadership knew he was doing the right things. He shared with me that this confirmation from management gave him license to make timely decisions, take risks and achieve objectives. This story made me think about the small comments leaders make on an hourly basis that either empower our people or create dissatisfaction. It is unlikely this senior leader even knows he had such an impact.

What little things do you say to empower your people on intense assignments?

Read More...

"Where's the Gift?"

It’s January. Plus or minus a few weeks and many people will sit with their boss and have a performance review discussion. Hopefully this was preceded by many candid conversations and career exploratory talks. While we will all be focused on the numbers or ratings, I’d encourage you to look for the real gift in the discussion – those 1 or 2 things you can do differently or better to really excel your performance. Nigel J.A. Bristow (“Where's the Gift? How to achieve phenomenal success by discovering the gift in all feedback”) shares that we often are not looking for the gift, sometimes do not like the way it is wrapped or we find it hard to identify in the packaging.

The two worst types of feedback are “you’re doing great, keep doing what you’re doing” or “you need to step it up” but without anything specific to improve. We need to want candid feedback. If your boss does not automatically provide it, ask for your “gift”. Just as important and as uncomfortable as it may seem, we need to make sure we make bosses feel the feedback is desired and we are going to do something with it.

How do you make sure you get real performance feedback?

Read More...

“Where’s the Gift?”

It’s January. Plus or minus a few weeks and many people will sit with their boss and have a performance review discussion. Hopefully this was preceded by many candid conversations and career exploratory talks. While we will all be focused on the numbers or ratings, I’d encourage you to look for the real gift in the discussion – those 1 or 2 things you can do differently or better to really excel your performance. Nigel J.A. Bristow (“Where's the Gift? How to achieve phenomenal success by discovering the gift in all feedback”) shares that we often are not looking for the gift, sometimes do not like the way it is wrapped or we find it hard to identify in the packaging.

The two worst types of feedback are “you’re doing great, keep doing what you’re doing” or “you need to step it up” but without anything specific to improve. We need to want candid feedback. If your boss does not automatically provide it, ask for your “gift”. Just as important and as uncomfortable as it may seem, we need to make sure we make bosses feel the feedback is desired and we are going to do something with it.

How do you make sure you get real performance feedback?

Read More...

Enjoying the DMV?

I put it off for as long as possible. It is something we all dread. I asked for and got plenty of advice on strategy to make the process as aimless as can be. Get there early. Go mid-week. Bring reading material. Don’t forget any documents. Be flexible.

People like to complain about the DMV. After putting it off for months, I had to get my new CT driver’s license and register the vehicles. It was not nearly as bad as I thought. The reason was simple. Anytime you approach a situation with an open mind and maintain a good attitude, things go fine. The workers generally knew their job. They probably treat customers in direct relation to how they are treated. People in the lines were friendly and were having a shared experience. For those that know me, you can be assured I was interviewing and recruiting talent during the waiting time.

Have you successfully approached a dreaded situation with a good attitude and found a good result?

Read More...