Breaking Down the Complexity of Leadership

“The older I get, the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first--a process which often reduces the most complex human problems to manageable proportions.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

I received an e-mail last week that contained information from two different survey and research reports: one from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and another from Aon Consulting. The ASTD report listed “leadership” as the competency most critical to the success of Chief Learning Officers. The Aon report showed that 56 percent of businesses across the country “are experiencing a leadership shortage that is impeding their organization’s performance,” while 31 percent say they’ll have the same problem over the next one to four years.

As I read two different sources citing the importance of “leadership,” I wondered, “What do they mean by ‘leadership?’” It means different things to different people. And I’d argue that it isn’t just one competency, but rather a selection of distinct and complementary competencies.

Perhaps this confusion about the definition of leadership is the source for why people have such a hard time improving it--after all, how can you possibly wrap your arms around such a loaded word?

I’m working with a large organization to do just that: define, measure, and improve leadership. And just like Eisenhower suggests, we’re taking “first things first” to manage this complex issue.

Want to break it down for yourself? Start with a couple of simple exercises that activate both the right and left sides of your brain, respectively:
· Draw “leadership.” If the word “draw” is a little too intimidating, then just make marks on paper that depict “leadership.”
· Define “leadership” as comprehensively as you can and in as few words as possible.

Why don’t I just encourage you to read a book about leadership or give you my answers? Because your drawing and definition will be more specific to you and your situation. And most important, as long as it’s someone else’s answer, you won’t feel as compelled to act on it. When you’re committed to act on it, take the next steps:

1) Answer the question: if someone were to practice your definition well, what would he or she be DOING? Draw or list the specific behaviors of that person.
2) Rate yourself in terms of how well you perform those behaviors and how often you perform them. If you are willing and able, ask the people who work for you and with you to rate you as well. Provide a confidential way for them to do this if you want the most honest results.
3) Prioritize the areas where you want and need the most improvement, and then choose one and develop a plan for how you can and will improve it. Consider taking a course or reading a book or two on the subject, trying new behaviors, and observing your impact on others.

As important as “leadership” is to any organization and the people who work for it, I hope that you’ll take more time to wrap your arms around what it means to be a great leader and then take steps towards uncovering the great leader that lies within you...Cheers!

The Courage to Be Creative

“If we do not let go, we make prisoners of ourselves. To be fully free to create, we must first find the courage and willingness to let go.”

- Gordon MacKenzie
Author, Orbiting the Giant Hairball

Whenever I lack inspiration, there are two sources that I go back to: Gordon MacKenzie’s book, Orbiting the Giant Hairball, and Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art. Both are masters of the creative process. Why masters? They approach it from a truly professional, authentic, and holistic perspective.

If you are trying to tweak something, MacKenzie’s advice won’t do much for you. But if you are designing a reinvention of yourself or an organization, he’s spot on. Recently, I’ve been working on a reinvention-type project for a client, and one critical piece of the puzzle is missing. When I think about it, I feel stuck, wondering fruitlessly what I’m going to do about it. You know the feeling--it’s that unproductive, going-around-in-circles conversation you have with yourself about how you’re going to get out of this pickle, while deep down inside you’re just wishing that you weren’t in the situation in the first place.

I finally found success in learning to let go of that “critical” piece. And it turns out that while it would have been nice to have it, I can create a piece that will fit the puzzle just fine. In fact, I’ve realized that this new piece will be far better than the old one because of the creative process I will use in constructing it.

In that project that you’re working on or the solution you’re trying to develop--one where you’re feeling stuck and not making the kind of progress you’d like to make--ask yourself one simple question:

What am I clinging to?

Once you’ve answered the question, taking the next steps will get you back in motion:

1) Bravely let go--accept the situation as it is. You can’t change the past...but you can influence the future.
2) Remember that there’s always more than one way to solve a problem, and set the positive expectation that you will find an alternative.
3) Answer these questions, “What would that thing have given to me? Now that I’ve let it go, what else could give me the same thing?”
4) Go for it!

As you take these steps, you’ll find that you’ve freed yourself from the prison you constructed. Here’s to being fully free to create great things...Cheers!

"My only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."

-Peter Gibbons, in the movie Office Space

I love watching the movie Office Space and the TV show The Office, not only for the great one-liners that we repeat over and over again, but because the writers are so accurate in depicting the worst of corporate culture while making us laugh about it. In the lines above, Peter perfectly echoes the sentiment that downtrodden employees feel when dealing with too many bosses, senseless bureaucracy, or leaders who just don't get it. Managers would learn a lot from watching this and other scenes--they could stand alone as entertaining "what not to do" training videos.

Anybody who takes a seminar on motivation learns about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Basically, the theory is that there are increasingly sophisticated levels of human needs starting at "physiological" (at the base of the pyramid) and ending with "self-actualization" (at the top), and that we must have lower needs met before we can address higher level needs. So, once you've had your basic survival needs met, you can tend to your security needs, then to social needs. Next, you can develop higher self-esteem and respect for others. At the top of the pyramid, you are able to be innovative, open to new ideas, at peace with "what is," and moral in your decision making.

While this is a complex theory, there are simple takeaways that we can use every day with the people we encounter. Here's my favorite one: As long as you offer bottom-of-the-pyramid incentives, you're likely to get bottom-of-the-pyramid results. Want people to be more creative problem solvers? Don't just offer them cash if they succeed or threaten their job if they don't--both money and employment are security needs. While those needs must be fulfilled, they are not effective incentives when you want someone to perform at the top of the pyramid. Instead, you'll get effort like that given by Peter Gibbons, the lead character in Office Space.

If someone who normally operates at a high level seems to be struggling to put forth the effort you're accustomed to seeing from them, one of two things may be going on. One of their lower needs may not be fulfilled, and they are choosing to direct their energy towards fulfilling it. This person may also be feeling guilty or frustrated, because they know they could be performing better. Another possibility is that they no longer have the stimulus to operate at that higher level. This happens when someone who consciously seeks out challenges sees no more worthwhile challenges ahead.

Instead of resorting to standard cash and promotion incentives for performance, consider the variety of things you can do to fulfill the needs at higher levels. Some examples:

- Connections (social need): personal introductions, peer coaching, membership in a professional trade organization, company-sponsored social events and interest groups, and personal notes of congratulations.

- Respect and opportunities to contribute (esteem need): community service projects, exposure to customer feedback, being asked to make a presentation based on findings/expertise/etc, regular recognition meetings and ceremonies, and peer recognition programs.

- Growth (self-actualization need): being asked to tackle new challenges that encourage personal growth, professional coaching, increased authority, access to information, and participation in high-level forums.

There are many other ideas out there, and I'd love to hear about the unique incentives you've given and received. I hope you'll take a moment to add a quick comment.

May the people around you enjoy the beautiful view we all can have from the top of the pyramid...Cheers!