diff --git a/lessons_for_leaders.rst b/lessons_for_leaders.rst index 33b3507..356b813 100644 --- a/lessons_for_leaders.rst +++ b/lessons_for_leaders.rst @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Acknowledgements ---------------- -Don Stuart, Manager Radar Alaska - Who taught me that the work isn't done +Don Stuart, Manager, Radar Alaska - Who taught me that the work isn't done until you're proud of it. Zvie Liberman, President, Talk-A-Phone - Who taught me the centrality of @@ -99,23 +99,120 @@ practice what I call "Malicious Obedience". They will do *exactly* what they are told, even though it's the wrong thing. The feedback paths every leader needs to succeed will dry up and the wheels will -come off the organization. I've seen more than one putative leader - -even some fairly good ones - watch their organizaton implode because -their behaviors did not instill trust. +come off the organization. + +I've seen more than one putative leader - even some fairly good ones - +watch their organizaton implode because their behaviors did not +instill trust. Great Leaders Have Unimpeachable Integrity ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -Trust begins with one thing: Integrity. +Trust begins with one thing: Integrity. Leaders usually cannot say +everything people want to know. But when great leaders speak, you +always know it is the truth, or at least the truth as they understand +it. People will forgive mistakes, but they will not forgive a lack +of integrity. + +Our larger culture is adrift exactly because there has been so much +lying, cheating, and stealing going on that people don't trust the +leadership of our core institutions. We are in the tragic situation +of people questioning the integrity of their government, their +business leaders, their legal institutions, and even their clergy. + +Great leaders shine precisely because they will never, ever stoop to +these behaviors. They are tough and relentless in their demands on +their people, but those people know - without a doubt - that the +leader in question is indisputably honest. Large or small, anything +less than this will destroy anyone who aspires to lead. + + Great Leaders Are Stewards And Servants +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +We think of leaders as being "The Boss" ... and they often are. But +no matter how senior, how important, how accomplished, or how wealthy +they are, the greatest leaders I've ever worked with see their jobs as +being stewards of their organizations. They *serve* their company, +their stockholders, and their employees. + +These things show up in small ways. I've had the President of the +company - whom I worked for at the time - offer to get me coffee +because I was nose down in a hard problem. I've seen one of the most +powerful business execs on the planet pick up the phone to call the +wife of an employee who was very ill - even though that employee was 5 +levels down the organization. This wasn't gladhanding or for PR. It +was done in private because the CEO knew that they were a steward and +servant and that lady needed comfort. + +There is no more repulsive a corporate hack than the person who thinks +they're more important because they have a title or the corner office +or whatever other trappings of power they possess. *Title gives you +more responsibility, it doesn't make you more important.* + +Oh, that reservoir of trust? It gets deep really fast when people see +their leaders acting like stewards and servants. + + + Great Leaders Think Strategy First ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Great leaders tend to naturally bubble up in organizations, +incrementally taking on more and more responsibility. As this +happens, they start offloading the day-to-day minutae of the work and +start focusing on larger, systemic issues. Instead of focusing on +"Why didn't we ship that on time?", they work on things like, "How do +we improve our processes?" or "Are we structured for success?" or +"With whom should we partner?" + +Steve Case at AOL famously said words to the effect of "Vision without +execution is an hallucination." There is no question that execution +has to be the bedrock of any organizaton. But great leaders focus on +the larger, meta issues that impede execution systemically. + +How much time are your people spending on needless paperwork? Have you +even asked them? How many of your processes are masking +accountability? Can you even tell? How much time do people spend +positioning politically? Have you noticed? These are the kinds of +larger process and structural issues that great leaders focus on +first. + + + +Great Leaders Are In Sales +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + +If a great leader has a strategic mind, they have the heartbeat of a +salesperson. Whether it's the CEO trying to grow customer revenue, +the CTO trying to implement a new mission critical system, or the VP +of HR trying to get an employee wellness program funded, *real leaders +are always selling something.* + +Many people are of the opinion that sales is about taking people to +ball games, wining and dining them, slapping them on the back, and +getting them to buy something. Nothing could be further from the +truth. Just like buildings or computer systems, effective sales has +an "architecture" to it. Central to that architecture is that *a sale +can only be made when both parties realize significant value from the +deal.* Great leaders - at every level - know this. Their stategic +thinking sets the direction, but their salesmanship exposes the value +of their ideas. + +Show me a CEO who isn't constantly in front of customers and I'll show +you a failing CEO. That's sort of obvious. But how about the VP Of +Technology who isn't bothering to explain the value of a new system to +their most junior engineers? How about the Director Of Finance who +never explains the difference between expense and capital burn - and why +it matters how people report their time? Silly? Perhaps. But these +are all "selling" and they're fundamentally important. + + + + Great Leaders Take Cues From Reality ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ @@ -134,15 +231,9 @@ Great Leaders Can Identify Bricks And Mortar ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -Great Leaders Are In Sales -++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - Great Leaders Share Success But Take The Blame ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -Great Leaders Celebrate In Public And Remediate In Private -++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - Great Leaders Insipire People Beyond Their Boundaries +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ @@ -175,7 +266,7 @@ :: - $Id: lessons_for_leaders.rst,v 1.101 2015/03/06 21:26:48 tundra Exp $ + $Id: lessons_for_leaders.rst,v 1.102 2015/03/06 22:11:39 tundra Exp $ You can find the latest version of this program at: