Leadership - What Does Good Look Like?
Teams build businesses, not individuals
Coaching notes by Roland Burgman
INDIVIDUALISM ULTIMATELY FAILS
A lack of persistence and teamwork are two great obstacles to success. There are many gifted individuals who fail time and again. It is critical to nurture and teach resilience, and collaboration skills. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • WHAT LEADERS CARE ABOUT MOST Six high focus areas for CEOs:
BOARD LEADERSHIP While the details will vary from company to company, the main areas of board focus remain:
DOES CULTURE OR PAY MATTER MORE? Leaders and teams believe that culture is a key signal of how well a company is doing, and that company success is highly motivating and exciting. So much so that it’s been shown to OUTRANK health and wellness benefits. Research indicates that most people would forgo about 11% pay in order to work in a great team. With recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees so costly, building a culture that attracts the right talent leads to a high return on investment:
Every single day, the behaviors and interactions of employees within a company create, sustain, or change a company’s culture. Every email, meeting, and announcement is an opportunity. Leadership within the company that takes feedback seriously contributes to a culture of engagement and ultimately, success. A "head in the sand" approach never works. Conversations drive culture. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • YOUR NEXT CEO The greatest predictors of a CEO's future performance is the past:
If research is right, the CEO accounts for somewhere between 8-13% of an enterprise's performance. This is meaningful because it's within our control. We can do something about this. Let's do it. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • LEADERS WHO ARE POOR COMMUNICATORS ARE NOT JUST NEUTRAL. THEY DESTROY VALUE Managers who are unclear, unplanned or unpredictable make many people's jobs much more difficult than they need to be. Multiply this across an organization and how much of everyone's time is wasted? And setting goals with clichés like “Customer satisfaction is our top priority", "People first" or "Work smarter" is too vague to provide useful guidance to anyone. These clichés are far too imprecise and, depending on how different people interpret them, can cause disagreement and misalignment. A leader without much flair yet who provides straightforward messages about what needs to be done is worth a million eloquent CEOs with grand, vague vision statements. As a leader, take the time to make sure you share the same understanding with others about these five things:
Get clear messages out to your teams on these topics to:
Source: Hamm, John. "The Five Messages Leaders Must Manage". Harvard Business Review. May 2006. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • DO YOUR HOMEWORK Good strategic decision-making comes from an accurate understanding of the specifics of a particular reality, including your own strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weakness of your adversaries, as well as the external environment. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • YOU CAN ALWAYS GET BETTER Realistically evaluate and plan for what you cannot control. Be prepared. Improve your own performance by working on the things you can control:
Work at improving these three things. No excuses. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • THERE ARE BETTER THINGS THAN PERFECT A perfect person: Wakes at 5am every day Exercises every day Makes his own bed Cleans his room Is always punctual Hits the bed at 9pm sharp. These people are found in a state prison. Rapidly changing technology, standards or laws make "perfect" irrelevant. To learn and change is to be imperfect, to have problems, to move forward with accomplishment. Constant need to be perfect means constant system stress. Driving people at full throttle constantly will destroy efficiency, effectiveness and motivation. Whatever your goals and field, your best practices should entail course corrections, resting your resources and associates, and spending time to plan ahead. There are things more important to be accomplished than perfection. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • TONE AT THE TOP - WHAT DOES IT MEAN? What you do is visible. What you do matters. Your actions should reflect what you say because people will observe how you handle yourself. Especially if you're in a position of authority. Actions always speak louder than words. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • IT MAY BE HARD BUT LEADERSHIP IS IMPORTANT Good leadership is necessary for any successful enterprise, regardless of its size or industry. Companies only make relentless progress if good leadership is in place. Investment in developing quality leadership people and processes will pay off. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • MOTIVATION Motivation is everything. But not motivation in the BIG SPEECH sense. Most effective leaders have a bent towards : Appreciating what motivates others Being truthful to themselves about their own and others' behavior, and acting on that understanding in a positive way Learning Timing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • CAREER PATHS Despite the "born to rule" concept, most leaders I know, for many years in their lives, did not expect to be the Chairman or CEO of an organization. Yet a pivotal career opportunity catapulted them into a position of responsibility. Is there a common element in their stories? There are several. Most long-term leaders have developed capabilities - to: See the bigger picture Be unusual - to venture into unusual business opportunity areas and not to follow the "beaten path" or "the crowd" Take on a major challenge before they may feel, or be deemed by others to be, "ready" Articulate purpose and build dedication to it Take on a "mess" and collaborate in order to achieve progress Recognize a major market opportunity on which they are well-positioned to move. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • INNOVATION Establishing a culture of innovation takes a broad and sustained effort but exploring possibilities, discoveries, innovation and progress begins with challenging assumptions: Emphasize opportunities, not problems; and encourage innovative behaviors Educate your managers about the importance of building truly diverse teams rather than seeking out comfortable friendship groups where members cut one another slack Reward both individual and collective contributions Talented and empowered people are the only way in which business - let alone innovation - gets done. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • INSPIRATION Good leaders have a mission; and inspire others to get things done. An inspirational leader envisions the future, believes they can make a difference and inspires people to achieve more than they thought possible. Leaders see a changed world beyond time horizons and, through their attitude, get people to see exciting opportunities and possibilities for the future - so that those people unlock their competencies and capabilities once they get emotionally engaged and committed. This really can happen because leadership is essentially about helping people to live better lives. An important measure of the success of a leader is the success of team members. It's important that leaders establish an attitude of relentless knowledge accretion and pursuit of growth to enable organizations and people to achieve stretch goals. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • CURRICULUM A Leadership Development Program should fit into the company's whole approach to development, including: Developing the skills of motivation and communication Developing the behaviors of teamwork and collaboration Recognizing employees as unique individuals Growing and developing employees Hiring the best performers. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • DEVELOPMENT Developing leadership is about self-development: Investing in the right things and the right people over time Taking on accountability Being ready for transparency at all times Repeatedly reinforcing behaviors that will achieve successful outcomes Problem-solving through tough times Having a willingness to learn about what really works. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • LEADERS WHO ARE POOR COMMUNICATORS ARE NOT JUST NEUTRAL. THEY DESTROY VALUE. CEOs who are unclear, unplanned or unpredictable make many people's jobs much more difficult than they need to be. Multiply this across an organization and how much of everyone's time is wasted? And setting goals with clichés like “Customer satisfaction is our top priority", "People first" or "Work smarter" is too vague to provide useful guidance to anyone. These clichés are far too imprecise and, depending on how different people interpret them, can invariably cause disagreement and misalignment. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • CULTURE & REWARDS Leaders and teams believe that culture is a key signal of how well a company is doing, and that company success is highly motivating and exciting. So much so that it’s been shown to OUTRANK health and wellness benefits. Research indicates that most people would forgo about 11% pay in order to work in a great team. With recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees so costly, building a culture that attracts the right talent leads to a high return on investment: Fear and stress go down People seek employment in the company and stay, taking the company a long way toward winning the war for talent Organizational learning becomes effortless, with the tribe actively teaching its members the latest thinking and practices People’s overall health statistics improve. Injury rates and sick days go down People report feeling more alive and having more fun. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • FEEDBACK Every single day, the behaviors and interactions of employees within a company create, sustain, or change a company’s culture. Every email, meeting, and announcement is an opportunity. Leadership within the company that takes feedback seriously contributes to a culture of engagement and ultimately, success. A "head in the sand" approach never works. Conversations drive culture. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • RECOGNITION. CONNECTION Communicating a vision is just the beginning. Leaders who inspire large scale change demonstrate an ability to connect with people on multiple levels: intellectual, social, spiritual and emotional. Leaders who fail to connect rely on a directive, authoritative style to drive results which can produce short-term actions. However, it also can strip desire, drive and creativity from the process. People don’t like being told what to do; they like being invited to share what they think, imagine and care about. Emotions are contagious. As the saying goes: “People will forget what you said to them, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • MEASUREMENT There’s often a lag between the time a leader makes a change and when others perceive that change. Without ongoing measurement, you won’t know if your leadership development or coaching is a success. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ACTION According to leadership thinker, John Adair, the most reliably effective leadership centers around action, constantly keeping three elements in balance: The Goal. Achievement of a goal or task The Group. How the group as an entity functions so that members work effectively together towards a common good The Individual. How each group member is involved and their needs met; and how the motivation of each is sustained. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • COMMUNICATION As a leader, take the time to make sure your team shares the same understandings about these five things: Structure. Who's accountable for what? What are we empowered to do? Results. Financial outcomes or progress towards them. How well are we doing together? Decision-making. How decisions will be made. What decisions are being made? Need to be made? Time management. Self management does role model "what is good". It helps create drive & structure to get things achieved Culture. How do we want to be together? What kind of team (people) do we strive to be? Get clear messages out to your teams on these topics to: Align efforts across your organization Increase accountability across teams Over time, help everyone to achieve better performance. Including you. Source: Hamm, John. "The Five Messages Leaders Must Manage". Harvard Business Review. May 2006. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • YOUR NEXT CEO The greatest predictors of a CEO's future performance is the past: Previous experience Work style. If research is right, the CEO accounts for somewhere between 8-13% of an enterprise's performance. This is meaningful because it's within our control. We can do something about this. Let's do it. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • IT MATTERS WHO IS IN THE TOP JOB A good leader can make a success of a weak business plan, but a poor leader can ruin even the best plan. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIIP Six high focus areas for CEOs: Finding growth Taking on risk Managing regulatory changes Leveraging technology Pursuing innovation People and culture • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • BOARD LEADERSHIP While the details will vary from company to company, the main areas of board focus remain: Management delegation, performance oversight, and succession planning Strategic direction, risk management, and crisis preparedness Internal controls, financial reporting, and compliance Board composition, leadership, and performance Shareowner engagement The board has much to attend to, but it must not be distracted from focusing on providing management with forward-looking guidance, with the majority of its time reserved for: Assessing the quality of management Discussing corporate strategy and performance. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • WHAT LEADERS CARE ABOUT MOST Six high focus areas for CEOs: Finding growth Taking on risk Managing regulatory changes Leveraging technology Pursuing innovation People and culture • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • BOARD LEADERSHIP While the details will vary from company to company, the main areas of board focus remain: Management delegation, performance oversight, and succession planning Strategic direction, risk management, and crisis preparedness Internal controls, financial reporting, and compliance Board composition, leadership, and performance Shareowner engagement The board has much to attend to, but it must not b distracted from focusing on providing management with forward-looking guidance, with the majority of its time reserved for: Assessing the quality of management Discussing corporate strategy and performance • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • DOES CULTURE OR PAY MATTER MORE? Leaders and teams believe that culture is a key signal of how well a company is doing, and that company success is highly motivating and exciting. So much so that it’s been shown to OUTRANK health and wellness benefits. Research indicates that most people would forgo about 11% pay in order to work in a great team. With recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees so costly, building a culture that attracts the right talent leads to a high return on investment: Fear and stress go down People seek employment in the company and stay, taking the company a long way toward winning the war for talent Organizational learning becomes effortless, with the tribe actively teaching its members the latest thinking and practices People’s overall health statistics improve. Injury rates and sick days go down People report feeling more alive and having more fun, Every single day, the behaviors and interactions of employees within a company create, sustain, or change a company’s culture. Every email, meeting, and announcement is an opportunity. Leadership within the company that takes feedback seriously contributes to a culture of engagement and ultimately, success. A "head in the sand" approach never works. Conversations drive culture. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • |