Inspiring Others

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What makes a leader a leader? Isn’t a leader just someone that is put in a position of authority?

Hardly. It takes a great person to be a good leader.

A lot of people have the perception of a leader as a person that is most skilled relative to his peers. In sports for example, there is a tendency to associate the most skilled player on a team as the leader and captain of his or her team. However, it was not the skills that brought upon the leadership position, but rather the leadership qualities that developed the technical skills of a leader.

Let me expound. Leaders are different. Leaders are courageous. They are willing to take risks. They stand up for what is right, regardless of how others may perceive them. Effective leaders motivate others to work harder, smarter and longer. They demand the same from themselves. By doing this consistently, leaders set an example that other people cannot help but follow. It is the consistency of their convictions matching their words that gains the trust of others.

Don’t take my word for it, watch Russle Crowe in Gladiator, Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, or even Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings, and think about what makes them great leaders.

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Nobody would mistake Frodo Baggins for skilled, yet Elijah Wood says “I will go (to Mordor), though I do not know the way”, His courage, willingness to risk himself and dedication to what is right, motivated those more skilled than him to work harder, smarter and longer in joining him on his quest.

People follow only those they truly trust. They may obey those simply in authority over them, but being a leader and an authority figure have nothing to do with one another.

People follow someone that has taken a genuine interest in their success and development, someone who they know is looking out for their best interest before the interests of self. We admire and follow the ability to inspire others, the willingness to accept responsibility for mistakes, or the willingness to be courageous and take risks, yet these are worthless if a person is unable to gain the trust of others. No one will be willing to follow. There will be no one worth following.

Gaining the trust of others is a foundation of leadership. But trust is not free. It must be earned. It comes over time and through proven loyalty. Leaders must be consistently out for the good of the group. They must take a personal interest in the development, success, and well-being of others before even remotely thinking of how they personally will benefit. It is the selflessness of leaders that other people are drawn to.

A leader’s benefit comes from seeing the joy of others succeed in their goals.

What sets true leaders apart is their awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs of others; what we call a great person! A person that does not lead for leadership’s sake, but is instead willing to at least listen to others in areas they lack information or experience.

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So, as an aspiring leader we must continually ask ourselves:

What message am I sending?

What example am I setting?

Am I acting in a way that others can feel good about following?

Are my words and actions consistent?

Am I doing all I can to earn their trust?

Am I listening to others, those I lead and those with more information or experience?

Am I taking responsibility for my actions?

Answers to these questions are easier than you think, simply take the time to contemplate, develop and write out your principles, and then seek to put them first.. Many of your difficult decisions have been made for you based on you principles!

You are good, and following what you know to be right will make you a great person, and others will follow you. Now you can inspire others to work harder, smarter and faster, and find enjoyment from this.

Servant Leadership – Incompatible with Success???

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Sure, the concept of servant leadership sounds great: putting your duty to serve others first ahead of your duty to lead. Who wouldn't want to work for a boss that ascribes to this philosophy? But does it really work? Is it truly effective, particularly in the context of achievement orientated for profit firms? Prior to this course, I was absolutely convinced that servant leadership does not work, other than in the not-for-profit sector and organizations more concerned with hugs than their bottom line.

Thanks to this course, my opinions started to shift, and my cynicism started to fade. My team chose to develop personal vision statements for our first Learning Circle Assignment. After we had each developed our own statement, we sat down together to provide feedback to each other. Admittedly, I was not expecting to gain much from this exercise. Sure, reflection is good, but it seems like a stretch to say that this one simple exercise could result in tangible leadership growth. As I began reading my teammates' statements, though, I was struck by how heartfelt, selfless and genuine they were. Most surprisingly, the common theme seemed to be enabling others to succeed. They were describing a servant leadership style in their vision statements. At first, this seemed inconsistent to me. These statements were authored by people that I consider to be highly accomplished, driven professionals, and yet they aspire to be, and already are, servant leaders.

Perhaps I've been jaded by my career experiences to date. Most leaders that I've interacted with seem very focused on leading first, serving later, and based on their stature and title, it seems to be working. The one example that I can think of that was a true servant leader was unfortunately downsized. It is easy to conclude, therefore, that this style does not work well in a real work context. However, upon closer inspection, this is likely a case of false causality. Similar to the People Express example in, "The Art of Seeing the Forest and the Trees," there were many variables at play leading to this leader's untimely exit from the company. People Express' unique, people focused culture and business model were key drivers of its success, but contrary to popular opinion, underinvestment, not this "soft" culture, was to blame for the company's demise. In the case of the leader I referred to, it is also important to see the forest and the trees. The economy was beginning to falter, and the banking industry was particularly hard hit, so the macro-economic climate was the likely the primary driver, not the leader's servant focus.

After further reflection, I think that my example is actually evidence that being a servant leader is consistent with success. There were many other leaders who lost their job at my company, and I would argue that most were using a leader first, servant.... somewhere much further down the list philosophy. Unlike many of his peers, the leader I mentioned was able to land a new job quickly, arguably because of his leadership style. This servant style enabled him to build goodwill internally, strong ties in the industry and a solid reputation in the community, as he had developed and aided many people along the way. Had he instead focused on a leader first philosophy, he might not have landed on his feet so quickly.

So where do I stand now on servant leadership in regards to success? I think that being a servant leader means being committed to the long term development, success and well being of those you lead. It does not mean neglecting your responsibilities, disregarding performance or being too soft, but it does mean prioritizing the needs of other ahead of your own drive for power. In most organizations, I'd bet that this type of behavior is actually rewarded, as the more successful your direct reports become, the brighter your own star shines. If you develop a reputation as someone who excels at developing and enabling others, and fostering an environment that allows your teams to succeed, personal success and opportunities to lead will surely follow. Being a servant leader seems like a compelling way to get the most out of the teams that you're trying to lead, even if you happen to work for a cut-throat for profit firm. So, as a result of this class I've changed my perspective; servant leadership and success do not have to be mutually exclusive concepts - they really go hand in hand.

The Selfless MBA Student (isn't that an oxymoron)

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Most people have a very specific image of an MBA student; hyper Type-A personality, arrogant, focused on money and getting ahead. That image does not match my experience with my classmates in the weekend MBA program. I have found them to be motivated, energetic, service-oriented, concerned with the people and community around them and very interested in making a positive difference in the world.

One of the best experiences I have had in the program was defining a personal vision statement. Always on the lookout for tools, we found one at franklincovey.com. The tool was very helpful in identifying individual values and goals. After completing our individual vision statements, we each provided feedback to each other on the vision statements.

Personally, I liked the clarity that this exercise gave me in articulating my core values and focus. The comments and my team member’s visions also allowed me to further reflect on how I view and approach the world.

The feedback could have been agonizing, but actually it was an enjoyable and uplifting exercise and really allowed our team to better understand each other. I was so impressed by the positive energy and focus in the feedback to each other. I admire each of our team members more than I did before the exercise because they are amazingly positive and service oriented people.

We all identified certain characteristics, such as being compassionate, dedicated and energetic, as highly important characteristics of effective leaders in general. Selflessness was also addressed in each of our statements, which is consistent with our consensus rank of selfishness as uncharacteristic of effective leaders in the Beliefs Assessment. This speaks to our desire to be effective leaders in our personal and professional lives, and the similarity of our beliefs regarding what traits typify effective leaders. It also supports our general belief that being a good person enhances leadership effectiveness

Over the last year, we have studied many successful and unsuccessful companies and business ventures. It is so striking how important a leader is in setting the tone and establishing the culture, which is a critical factor in determining whether the firm is successful.  A leader's values and vision make all the difference.  After getting to know my teammates so much better, I am convinced that each of them will change the world for the better!

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Ready for takeoff!

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I wish it were as easy as taking a class and in turn I become a profound and impactful leader. The cynic in me said that it can’t be done. I suppose that’s why the professors use case studies throughout this program. So that we learn of the trials and tribulations and successes of those before us so that we consciously prevent the bad and persuasively create the good. I can only now, after the Columbia Mission case, expect to look back on that failed mission and think of the tools that it taught me that will last a lifetime. The scenario (minus the spaceship) relates so clearly to my everyday life in the Auto Industry. After all, when I think on the series of events, the over extension of expectations, the pressure to do everything to perfection, and the number of personalities involved in this project… is it not indicative of what most of us face daily in the workforce?

Weren't there a number of situations in those eight days between takeoff and the failed return that reminded you of your everyday work life? There was for me. The worst part is we all sat in class scrupulously replicating NASA’s efforts – we were all trying to decide who was at fault for the Columbia mission – scrutinizing the each individual’s every move. As this was happening I sat listening and pondered what my best analysis was. The more I thought about it, I flip-flopped back and forth between the engineer’s faults then the project managers faults, then the managers faults, then back again… Then it hit me. I couldn't choose for a very good reason. I could empathize with all of them. I've been in each of their shoes (figuratively, of course). I've been the engineer who wanted to say something, but didn't because I thought it best to leave it to those higher up in rank. I've been the project leader who was trying to get through the long list of items on her to-do list in prospect that quantity might overshadow quality or thoroughness at the end of the day. I have been the leader that was too busy in her own affairs to truly understand the impact of the information being given to her.  My point is that we, as a class, can sit around evaluate for hours. I can also sit back and reflect on a number of things that I've done wrong in my career. But what value does that add to any of our lives? The true tragedy here is learning of this story and not taking away the lesson that our Professor so eloquently taught. The lesson here is to remember this story as we move forward and use it to our advantage. The next time you are rushing through your day instead of trying to be effective; stop yourself and redirect your intentions. Seek to understand others. Learn to speak up and don’t stop trying until you know you've been explicit. Ask questions instead of giving answers. This last one is my favorite lesson from the Columbia Mission case.

On the brighter side, another case we studied in class taught us the wholehearted instincts of a coach who influenced his team in the most positive way. The Army team case was an exemplary story of a coach who took a struggling rowing team and made them into champions. Who would have thought forcing a rowing team to wrestle out their hostility towards each other would break their tension and lead the team on a path to the top? Brilliant! I must admit I had a completely different solution from what the coach decided to do.

What kind of leader will I be? I suppose that’s the story to be told. Trial and error has always been and will always be my mainstay. But I say, ‘bring it on’! I’ll be all the more prepared now that I've completed 604.

Success; the great unraveler

Success is great. I mean, to a certain extent that's what this blog is about: how to get some.

Success is something to strive for, something that can give us fulfillment, enjoyment and provide a sense of worth to us. Still, you can have too much of a good thing.

"Moderation in all things" - Terence (185-159 BC)

Our capstone skills and talents can lead us to ignore parts of our lives that aren't as successful. Really, who  wants to spend time on things they are only marginally good at, when they get phenomenal feedback from being a star at something else?

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Instead of working on our weaknesses, the weak link in our chain, we focus on our strengths. Sometimes this means we spend more time doing what we do best or like to do most, and less time doing the things we have trouble doing. We spend less time with the people and areas that aren't directly part of our success.

Unfortunately, this just makes us feel less capable and more awkward at the things that are a challenge to us, and we isolate those parts of our lives, focusing more and more on what we do well. This cyclical effect does real damage to us as people if we don't take steps to drastically put it in check. We can lose friendships, forget our principles, get worn out, lose our sense of purpose, and eventually even our satisfaction in what we do so well will slip from our grasp.

Like it or not, we do rely heavily on the other areas of our life, and they can indirectly help us focus our success even better, giving us energy and strength to fall back on. These too make us who we are, and if we ignore them, they will fade.

Being a one show wonder can actually make us more insecure as well. Studies show that people find it harder to take criticism that are completely focused on the area they are being criticized in. In comparison, those of us who are invested in multiple areas of our lives can take a step back, look at the big picture, and then make use of the feedback given. It is harder to be objective if you are totally committed, and being able to harness and sift through feedback, not just taking the good and the bad, but being able to realistically separate accurate and applicable feedback, and make use of it, will do wonders.

There is an absolutely fantastic article about this by Van Velsor, E., & Leslie, J.B., on "why executives derail".

The moral here? Success is good, but we can make ourselves even better by improving ourselves in each area of our lives. Take a meander down soul lane and invest in diversification.