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When It Comes to People, Perhaps You Can Judge the Book by its Cover

March 9, 2013 By

In a touch of irony, I read two quotations this week that lead me to believe that some books can be judged by their covers … if the “books” are the people we meet.  I’m not talking about the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, or the titles on their doors.  Rather, I’m talking about the way they treat others.  Consider this …

The Greek Orator, Demosthenes, wrote that a person “cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if (his) conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man’s actions are, such must be his spirit.”

Think for a moment about the leaders you have known.  How did they treat others.  In all probability, those that you consider to be great leaders are most likely those that you believe treated others fairly.  They played no favorites.  Every person received the same consideration and attention.  The ones for whom you have little regard for their leadership skills are very probably the ones who you believe treated some of their followers unfairly.  They could not be counted on to be impartial.  They only gave favorable treatment to those that they perceived to be in a position to provide some benefit to them.

Great leaders have the unique ability to set aside personal feelings and consider the well-being of ALL those that they lead, not just the favored few.  While we may not always like the decisions that these leaders make, we respect them and are confident that their verdicts are rendered with an eye toward the impact of their decisions on everyone.  Great leaders do not make decisions based on the preferences of “yes men”; the whims of those whose support they seek; the desires of those from whom they wish to curry favor.  Great leaders do what is best for all concerned; what is right.

This leads to the second quotation, attributed to Malcolm S. Forbes, that I read.  “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”

Every action each of us takes is viewed by someone and we are judged by it.  Will you be seen as a person of great character or as weak and self-important?

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

Can You Respect the Person in the Mirror?

February 24, 2013 By

I recently read a quote from Abraham Lincoln in which he stated his intention to conduct his administration in a manner such that, when it ended, he could like and respect the man he saw in the mirror.  This determination to do what is right is one of the hallmarks of a great leader.

Weak leaders and weaker followers do what is easy, what is expedient, that which is popular.  They are willing to compromise their ethics, their values, and their own sense of right and wrong simply to maintain their position.  They will go along to get along with no thought as to whether their actions will benefit or harm others.  In the end, they lose the respect of those who follow them and have no respect for themselves.

Strong leaders, on the other hand, know what they stand for and recognize an inviolate code of conduct that governs all that they do.  While they acknowledge the value of compromise when working for the common good, they also adhere to moral precepts that cannot be sacrificed without harming the world around them.  For these leaders, there is the proverbial “line in the sand” which cannot be crossed; principles that cannot be violated.

These leaders uphold their personal integrity so that, on any given day, they can look in the mirror and like the person that they see and respect the person that they are.

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , ,

Do You Have the Courage to Lead?

February 10, 2013 By

Several months ago, we met Michael, who had just been promoted into a leadership position, and Jake, his mentor.  Michael had been required to make a difficult decision, one that he knew would not be popular. Leadership often requires that the leader make those tough calls.  The leader can make the popular decision or the right decision … they are seldom both right and popular.  Often, those decisions require that the leader deal with individuals who will feel hurt and betrayed.

Consider two managers, both of whom were informed that they would have to let one employee go.  In both cases, the employee had been with the company for many years and was considered to be very good at his job.  In both cases, there was no option of finding another position within the company.  And, in both cases, the employee was traveling on business when the decision was made.  Now, let’s look at how each manager handled the situation.

Manager A knew that the employee would be angry and he, the manager, did not like confrontation.  So, in order to avoid confrontation, Manager A sent the employee an e-mail stating that his employment was being terminated at the conclusion of the trip; that there was no need for the employee to come into the office as his final paycheck would be mailed to his home and his personal belongings would be brought to him by a co-worker who lived nearby.

Manager B also knew that the employee would be angry and also would have preferred to avoid confrontation.  However, Manager B also recognized that he and the employee had worked together for over a decade and that the employee’s long service and commitment to the company demanded that the employee be treated with dignity and respect.  So, Manager B scheduled a face-to-face meeting with the employee as soon as the trip ended.  In that meeting, Manager B explained the reasons behind the downsizing and expressed regret that the employee would be leaving.  Finally, Manager B gave the employee a letter of reference citing the employee’s contributions to the company and notable accomplishments that had benefited the company.  This letter could be used in the employee’s search for new employment and explained how the new employer would be gaining a valuable, contributing member to their workforce.

As a leader, you may someday be called upon to make a difficult decision; to handle a difficult or unpleasant situation.  You can choose to lead with courage; or, you can opt for cowardice.  Choose wisely as your decision will determine how followers perceive you and your leadership; and, whether they choose to follow at all.

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , ,

Do Have to be a Boss to be a Leader?

February 2, 2013 By

Last week, my friend Nick shared a story with me about an individual (we’ll call him “Larry”) with whom he had worked.  He called the individual a true example of leadership even though Larry’s job was never thought of as a leadership position.

“Larry and I were on a jobsite when there was a lightning strike nearby and there were people in the area of the strike.  While it wasn’t really his job, Larry immediately ran to where the people were and began checking on the condition of the people.  Who was injured?  How badly were they hurt?  Who had called the  EMT’s?

“Larry took the initiative and dug right in, making sure everyone was OK, everyone was safe.  He took the initiative when he saw something that needed to be done and made sure it was done and done right.”

Nick concluded that Larry’s willingness to respond to a need and get to work made Larry a real leader.  As Nick said, “Larry didn’t want to stand on the sidelines and direct traffic; tell everybody else what to do.  He was willing to get his hands dirty and do what needed to be done, confident that others would follow his example.”

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , ,

You’re Being Watched … What Do Your Followers See?

October 28, 2012 By

Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, is often credited with saying that, “As the leader does, so do the boys.”  This is just as true in business as it is in scouting.

When people choose to follow a leader, they do so for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes, they perceive that the leader possesses qualities that they value.  Often, they choose to follow because they are seeking a guide who will show them how to navigate within the business, culture, or environment in which they find themselves.

Followers look to the leader for an example that they can emulate.  What they see is usually what they do.

I recently had lunch with a young man who was working for a leader he respected.  I asked him what that leader had done to earn his respect.  He answered,

“The company that I work for recently changed its calendar of recognized holidays and not everyone has the day after Thanksgiving off like we used to.  Being one of the low men on the totem pole, I had to work on that Friday after Thanksgiving.  I knew it was necessary and I knew why it was necessary.  I didn’t especially like it; but, I understood it.  When I got to the office on Friday morning, the first person I saw was my boss.  I guess my face showed my surprise at seeing her because she greeted me with a smile and told me it was a workday for her just like for me.  While she could have taken the day off, she did not do so and that enabled someone else on the team to spend the day with their family.  She didn’t see herself as someone who was better than the rest of the team members.  That earned my respect.”

When leaders walk their talk; when they demonstrate in all that they do the same level of commitment, dedication, and ethical behavior that they expect from their followers, they inspire those followers to commit, dedicate, and behave in the same manner.

The ones that you lead are watching you.  They always do.  What will they see; and, is it the behavior that you expect from them?

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , ,

VISION IS VALUABLE … BUT THE ABILITY TO MOTIVATE OTHERS TO WANT TO TURN THE VISION INTO REALITY IS PRICELESS

August 20, 2012 By

At a recent retreat, Board Members found signs on the walls … signs extolling the virtues of their organization; signs with motivational slogans; signs with parables.  One sign stood out from all the rest.  It simply said,

A Good Leader Creates A Shared Vision

One of the dictionary’s definitions of vision is the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be and it is this meaning that the sign was referencing.  A good leader creates a vision of what a business or the world will look like in the future if specific actions are taken today.  A good leader is able to describe this future in a way that enables others to see it as well.  This is what a good leader does.

A great leader, on the other hand, takes it a step or two farther.  Great leaders create a vision and lead their followers into it; first in the mind and then in reality.

Great leaders communicate their vision in terms that empower their followers to believe that it can become a reality.  They describe their vision in terms that enable their followers to see it; to smell it; to taste it; to feel it.  They use words that appeal to the senses of the listener.  Most importantly, great leaders communicate that vision so clearly that their followers can see themselves in that vision and know how great it will be when they turn the dream into a reality.  To illustrate, consider two individuals who qualified for the same incentive trip awarded to top sales people by the company that they worked for.  Both were asked by a colleague to describe a part of the trip and why they had both been willing to work so hard to win the trip.  Ironically, they both talked about the same part of the trip when they answered the question.

David’s answer:  “It was really great.  We went to this winery where they make champagne.  They gave each of us a glass of champagne.  We drank it out on the patio.”

Louie’s answer:  “We took the most awesome trip to a wine cellar where they make champagne.  After touring the winery and seeing how champagne is made, they gave each of us glasses of champagne and invited us to go out on their patio for champagne with sour dough bread and cheese.  It was amazing!  Here we are, sitting on this terra cotta patio with this huge fountain in the middle of it under a sky that was so blue and so bright that it hurt your eyes to look up at it.  When you looked across the patio, there were these little white cotton ball puffs of cloud floating over the hills.  When I closed my eyes, I could hear the breeze rustling the leaves in these huge eucalyptus trees and the water drops tinkling in the fountain.  When I took a bite of the bread, it had this really sharp bite to it from the sour dough.  Then, I put a piece of cheese in my mouth and it was so smooth it just melted in my mouth.  Finally, I took a sip of the champagne and felt the bubbles dancing across my tongue.  In that moment, I thought, ‘this is living … this is why I worked so hard … so I could savor this moment!”

As the people standing nearby listened to Louie’s description of that afternoon, they could see the sky; taste the bite of the sour dough and the melting cheese; feel the champagne bubbles dancing in their mouths.  Most importantly, they could see themselves qualifying for the next incentive trip and enjoying a similar moment.

Like Louie, great leaders communicate their vision so that others see it and see themselves being a part of it.  Great leaders inspire their followers to pursue the vision and build it as a reality.

As you share your vision with your followers, choose your words with care and make certain that you draw your listeners into the vision and help them not only see it, but help them feel the pride of success that comes from turning that dream into reality and being a part of the team that made it so.

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , ,

What Did You Learn From the Worst Leader You Ever Followed?

June 4, 2012 By

At one time or another, many of us have had that rare opportunity to follow a leader who personified the definition of leadership; someone who we would follow to the ends of the earth and beyond.  That individual had some trait, some characteristic, that sparked your passions and devotion to a cause and you were willing to do whatever it took to further the cause.  It’s easy to learn from leaders or this sort.  We recognize what they did that inspired us and resolve to do the same things to inspire others.

Unfortunately, each of us has also had that all too common experience of being lead by someone who did it all wrong; who failed to inspire; who, as one person put it, “couldn’t lead a bunch of kids into a candy store”.  It’s easy to adopt the initial reaction of “I don’t want to learn any of this person’s leadership skills”.  But, let’s think about that reaction for a moment and see if a different perspective helps us learn something positive.

What was it about the poor leader that “turned off” our willingness to follow?  Can we learn from this experience to determine behaviors that we don’t want to display when leading others?  To illustrate, let me give an example of two leaders I’ve had in my life at different times. To protect their privacy, I’ll simply refer to them as “Leader #1” and Leader #2.

Leader #1, when you asked if he would talk with you about something, would immediately set aside what he was working on, literally clearing his desk so that he could give you his undivided attention.  He’d instruct the receptionist to hold his calls.  While his door might still be open, anyone coming to that door would be waved away; a gesture understood by everyone in the office to mean “this person and I are talking; please don’t interrupt”.  Leader #1 spent time with you until you indicated that the conversation could be ended.

Leader #2, on the other hand, would invite you into his office when you asked for time; usher you to his conference table; and, take his cell phone from his pocket and sit it on the table where he could look at it simply by glancing down.  When his cell phone rang, he’d think nothing of answering it while you were talking.  If he received a text message, he’d read it and frequently respond to it while you were talking.  If the receptionist announced a call, he would often walk over to his desk and pick up his telephone to take the call … while you were talking.

Which leader made you feel important?  Which leader demonstrated that he was there to help you?  Which leader would you rather follow?

The answer to that third and last question tells you what kind of leader you want to be.  While Leader #2 was a poor leader, he taught you something about how to lead by showing you how not to lead.

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, Uncategorized, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , ,

Personality Types and Leadership – Do Leaders Have Multiple Personalities?

May 17, 2012 By
I had a fascinating conversation last week with a client who had recently completed a COREMAP assessment.  After discussing the outcomes of the assessment, we determined that his dominant personality was that of a Commander with highly developed Organizer traits as his secondary or back-up personality.  This is a relatively common combination, but what made him atypical was that he also had highly developed Relater traits as well and Relater was his tertiary personality.  When I told him about this, he was concerned that these different facets of the same person would create mental conflicts.  He laughingly asked if I was suggesting that he had some kind of “multiple personality thingy” … was I saying that “someday, someone would write a book or make a movie about the multiple faces of ME?”
After we both laughed, I explained that each of us contains all four personality types and that, at various times, we all call upon each of those personalities to help us deal with situations.  To explain how we use them, the following scenario was created —
Let’s assume that the team you lead at work has encountered a problem that must be solved.

• Your Relater tells your mind, “we have a problem that is causing disharmony … it must be resolved in order to restore harmony”.  Your Relater identifies the problem.

•Your Organizer tells your mind, “here are the steps that must be taken to solve the problem and restore harmony”.  It provides the details to the solution.

• Your Commander now instructs the team to take the steps necessary to solve the problem and the time frame in which they must be taken.  In essence, the Commander says, “here’s what must be done, let’s do it!”
Rather than creating conflict, each facet of our personality steps up and does what it does best helping us solve problems and resolve conflict.
Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, How personality type impacts leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, Personal Coaching, Personality Assessment, Personality types, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

Personality Types and Leadership – Part 4

May 9, 2012 By
Where Commander-Leaders don’t really want to be bothered by details and Entertainer-Leaders know that details exist but don’t know what they are, it takes a special kind of person to handle details.  COREMAP® calls these special people Organizer Personalities.
Organizer Personalities as Leaders
As a general rule, Organizer Personalities do not usually seek out positions of leadership.  However, when a job requires someone who excels in creating a structured, systematic environment, the Organizer Personality offers traits and skills that enable the Organizer-Leader to flourish.  These qualities and skills include:
• Willingness to Train – Great Organizer-Leaders are detail oriented and take the time and effort to ensure that their followers have all of the details needed to properly complete a job.  Since they are logical and methodical in all that they do, training programs that they design and deliver tend to provide sequential lessons that make it easy for students and trainees to follow.
• Patience and Fairness – Organizer-Leaders recognize that people learn at varying speeds.  Consequently, they are very patient and willing to review details until their followers understand them.  Once the Organizer-Leader believes that followers are prepared to perform the tasks and complete the projects before them, he/she gives the followers great latitude in how the job is done so long as it is completed within the timeframe allowed.  If there are problems or conflicts, the followers know that the Organizer-Leader will help them find a solution quickly and will fairly arbitrate any disputes.
• Leads by Example – When the time comes to get a job done, the Organizer-Leader believes that the best place to lead is from the front and set the example.  He/She does not have the self-perception of being over others; rather, believes that “many hands make light work” and that his or her hands are every bit as capable of lightening the load on followers as anyone else’s.  Because the Organizer-Leader is working right alongside the followers, he/she has a great insight into the challenges that the other workers face and will always be looking for solutions that benefit “his/her people”.
• Loyalty – Having worked right alongside the followers, the Organizer-Leader is very likely to see them as part of his/her extended family and will tend to take the attitude that “we take care of our own”.  The old expression, “I’ve got your back” could well describe the message that the Organizer-Leader sends out to followers.  This message may not be vocalized; but, is delivered by the actions taken and the examples set by the Organizer-Leader.
A good example of an Organizer-Leader might well be the Compliance Officer, we’ll call him “John”, at a securities broker/dealer I worked with.  A major part of his job was ensuring that agency managers were well prepared for the day when a regulatory inspector would walk into the agency office to conduct a legal compliance inspection.
Each year, John would schedule an inspection at each agency, describing it as a “dress rehearsal” compliance inspection.  He used an inspection sheet prepared by the broker/dealer; an inspection sheet based on the experiences of the president of the firm who was also a securities attorney and an expert witness in many court cases involving securities firms and their registered representatives.  John would randomly select client files, much as a regulator would, and review each file to confirm that the representative had conducted a thorough fact-finding interview and that the investments recommended were suitable for both the risk tolerances and financial goals of the client.  At the conclusion of the inspection, John would meet with the agency manager and review the files with the manager.  John then recommended actions that needed to be taken within the agency in order to offer the highest probability of a successful outcome to a genuine regulatory inspection; and, he suggested training that should be provided to the registered representatives to ensure that they provided all of the documentation that was needed to justify and defend the recommendations that they offered to clients.
About six months after conducting a “dress rehearsal” with an agency manager, John got a call from that manager.  The manager told John that an inspector had just left the office; that the agency had passed with flying colors; and, that at no time was she nervous about the outcome of the inspection because she knew that she had taken action on all of John’s recommendations and that her registered representatives had received the suggested training.
By providing the processes and procedures; by offering a system that the agency manager could adhere to, John made certain that the team he led was well prepared for the challenges that they would face; and, that they would emerge from those challenges stronger, more competent, and more confident in their own ability to succeed.
Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, How personality type impacts leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, Personality Assessment, Personality types, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

Personality Types and Leadership – Part 2

April 4, 2012 By

If you are like most people, you’ve either met or heard of someone who just seems to attract others like a light bulb attracts moths at night.  He or she is seen as being warm, approachable, magnetic.  When there is work to be done, this person leads others into it with excitement and enthusiasm. COREMAP® calls these people Entertainers.

Entertainer Personalities as Leaders

Just as the Commander Personality brings specific skills to a leadership position, Entertainers bring skills that make people want to follow them; and makes the follower feel special for having chosen to follow this leader.  To separate themselves from the not-so-great, GREAT Entertainer-Leaders are:

  • Great Communicators – By their very nature, Entertainer Personalities have the ability to communicate their thoughts, their vision of the future, in clear and vivid terms.  For these leaders, words are not merely “words” … they are tools that bring their experiences and vision to life … when properly put together and sequenced, they change mere music into the soundtrack of a dream come to life.  For this person, the sky is not simply blue; it is a cerulean blue so bright that it hurts your eyes to look at it for any length of time.
  • Good Listeners – This seems highly improbable since Entertainer Personalities love to talk!  But, the fact is that great Entertainer-Leaders have learned that taking time to listen attracts followers; and, that having listened, they will be asked to provide feedback … they will be asked to talk and their audience will be eagerly awaiting their every word.
  • Interpersonal Skills – Entertainer Personalities love to be the center of attention.  Great Entertainer-Leaders take the time to interact with their followers and make themselves available … to have an “open-door” policy that is backed up with a welcoming, receptive attitude.  Great Entertainer-Leaders have learned that to have an audience that is fully engaged with them, they must give their audience their undivided attention.  When they are with you, they are with you; nothing and no one is permitted to interrupt or distract.
  • Optimistic – No one’s life is free from adversity.  The great Entertainer-Leader though has learned to find the silver lining in any cloud.
    There are no road blocks to progress.  Rather, these temporary obstacles are viewed as opportunities to be innovative; challenges that empower each of us to demonstrate how we can rise up to the challenge and create solutions.  Great Entertainer-Leaders use this optimism to inspire those around them to accomplish things that the followers have never thought possible.
  • Create a “Fun” Environment – For the Entertainer Personality, life is to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest.  The Entertainer-Leader knows that no one wants to slave away in a work environment that is dull, boring, and the days blur into a monotonous week in which nothing distinguishes one day from another.  Consequently, the Entertainer-Leader is going to create an environment in which not only are organizational objectives attained, the wants and needs of each individual are going to be fulfilled as well … an environment that is upbeat, positive, and contains occasional surprises that make each team member smile and eager to see what the coming day will bring.

In Part 1, I stated that Ray was a Commander-Leader.  He also had a lot of the Entertainer-Leader in him, too.  Whether it was a sales contest that made each salesperson want to make one more cold call; or, an end of the day “sale-a-bration” in which everyone returned to the office after their last evening appointment for pizza, he was always finding ways to make working feel like play.  He even found ways to make weekly sales meetings fun.

Anyone who has attended more than a couple of sales meetings knows that they usually follow a template that says, “I know you’ve sold something in the past but that is the past … go sell something today.”  Ray’s sales meetings were different.  He found ways to make them fun.  While I did not witness this one first hand, one of his greatest sales meetings was held right around Halloween.

He had a casket delivered to the office and set up in the meeting room.  Just before it was time for people to arrive for the weekly meeting, he laid down in that casket, folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.  When the sales people arrived, they were ushered into the meeting room by his secretary who simply told them to sit down and wait quietly for the service to begin.  They found Ray lying in the coffin and heard organ music playing softly.  When everyone was present, his secretary closed the door letting him know it was time to start the sales meeting.  While everyone sat there wondering what was going on, he suddenly sat up, climbed out of the casket, slapped his hands together and cried out, “Now that I have your attention … Now that you’ve thought about the permanence of death … NOW we’re going to talk about the miracle of life insurance!”  When the meeting ended, everyone of those sales people walked out with a smile on their face, eager to share the miracle of life insurance with a prospective client.  Obviously, Ray did not do this for every sales meeting; but, you can be assured that every member of his sales team looked forward to each meeting, wondering if today was going to be the day he grabbed their attention in a new and unusual way.

NEXT:  Organizer Personalities as Leaders

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, How personality type impacts leadership, Lead from strength, Leadership, Personality Assessment, Personality types, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , ,
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