USE THE POWER OF SILENCE

Everything in your position of CEO carries the extra power of the authority of your role. Like it or not, use it or not, this is the truth. 

I'm suggesting that you forget to use the power of your silence.
One of the best CEO's I worked with and the most in touch with the company used silence well. He (happens to be a man) entered an office said hello and waited--often a bit too long to be comfortable. And out poured all kinds of information and worry and options and gossip as he quietly listened and asked very gently very general questions. He didn't over guide the conversation or say much himself. 

When angry, another CEO I know would get quieter and quieter in a top meeting. He would let the conflict or irritation grow and get resolved without him saying a word. Somewhere along the line, it would be noticed that he was not longer engaged. And the direct reports would shape up and get the matter taken care of.

The best use of silence I witnessed was with a very introverted CEO having to handle a very volatile issue. He was not good at spontaneous response. I set up a town meeting about the topic. The rule was the CEO was there only to listen.
There were 500 people at the meeting. The CEO committed to listening until there was no one else wanting to speak. People came up to the mike for over three hours. All the CEO said was, "Thank you. I want to hear this." "Thank you this better informs me." He (yep, another man) got a standing ovation at the finish of the meeting and the volatility eased and the right solution was found.

Silence is powerful. Use it more consciously 

A HIDDEN WEEK

I loved this week at work.
It felt hidden and hushed.
Many people were on vacation.
There were fewer meetings.
Important things were left to the turning of the new year.
I read at work. I was quiet at work. I could think at work. I had enough breathing space at work. I was refreshed at work. I enjoyed talking to people without intense purpose at work.
Most of these things are reserved for home.
So I hope you enjoy some of this--at work.
That's my holiday wish for all my busy executive readers
Happy holiday.

CELEBRATE ALL OF IT

Holidays and personal celebration can create conundrums for leaders in organization. What belongs in the workplace?  What doesn't? What can be celebrated? What can't? It actually is a kind of all or nothing situation.

I vote all. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, The Songkran Water Festival in Thailand, Diwali Hindu Festival of Lights.  Bring on the food, the traditions and let people see one another's cultural background.

We need the richness, Diversity is messy. We are desperate for more than one way of thinking, being, celebrating, creating, selling, innovating, marketing, managing, leading to name a few areas that could benefit.

Don't tame down Christmas so that it doesn't offend anyone. Turn up all the other important cultural and religious celebration. Make all the equally loud and interesting and educating.

It is essential that we allow differences, respect differences and use differences to create organizations that work and flourish financially and as good places to work. Don't do cosmetic shallow efforts to look inclusive. BE it with all the pain in the rear it entails.
It is the laboratory for your future, both products and people. In science and in the workplace, rich differentiation and development is what keeps things evolving

MORE BETTER SLOWER

I just posted on my personal blog (www.truthburps.blogspot.com) about how literally, physically slowing down boosted my productivity and my satisfaction during a busy, frantic holiday season.

You do know that speed and the hysterical "more, better, faster" mantra is a contagious dis-ease in your company, don't you?  There is a principle in systems theory that what goes on at the largest or top level of a system is mirrored at the smaller or bottom level.  "What is within surrounds you." 

Two business books solidified my thinking. One is WHIPLASH: How to Survive Our Faster Future by Joi Ito and Jeff Howe. The Other is: FOCUS: The Hidden Driver of Excellence.

Slower or slow just may be an important quality for your organization.

Slow:

—opens up space to see more clearly

—allows depth of thinking for new ideas

—takes your brain out of "fight or flight" thinking

—creates real engagement--not the assessment kind

—let's you course correct more as you head toward the result

—develops intrinsic satisfaction in the work

I would love to hear from you on Linkedin or here

Speed needs to be regulated in your business

Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future 

Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence

May 5, 2015

by Daniel Goleman  

Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future

Dec 6, 2016

by Joi Ito and Jeff Howe

I WONDER ABOUT BOREDOM

The definition of boredom is "the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest"!

How could a top leader be weary and restless through lack of interest?
Let me count the ways:

—Not having enough intrinsic interest in the business you lead

—Being numbed out by rote meetings with no real engagement

—Working with a team that is exhausted through pushing hard and creating very little movement 

—Thinking that work should be boring

—Having a calendar that is your dictator of time

—Not laughing enough with colleagues when you and they make ridiculous mistakes

—Not having a team that challenges you with their energy and ideas

—Becoming too narrow a person with no outside interests

—Thinking working hard is the only road to success, instead of just one

—Feeling tethered to an impossible task

One of the worst combinations is being bored while being incredibly challenged.
I've seen it derail top leaders. 

YOUR MOST BORING TASK

This is your most important and boring (only to you) task---taking the message that you have crafted to guide your company and talking about it incessantly with no change in language or nuance.

This is your most important and boring (only to you) task--taking the message that you have crafted to guide your company and talking about it incessantly with no change in language or nuance.

See what I mean? 

Of course you've done the excruciating job of creating the message. It must be 
THE lever that takes your company forward. It has to be right. It has to be strong. It has to be capable of guiding everyday decisions of people in the company. It must be believable and create optimism and the possibility of success. It must guide today and tomorrow.

And your mind may be elsewhere--five years ahead thinking of what the next message must be, wondering if you have to let go one of your top leaders, bored with the repetition of the message, even questioning it privately.

BUT this is your most important and boring task--taking the message that you have crafted to guide your company and talking about it incessantly with no change in language or nuance.

CONGRATULATIONS

The aftermath of the US election has created lots of "ain't it awful" discussions.
I've also had quite a few about school culture and leadership.
And about religions with dwindling membership because they don't ring true in action.

So, Congratulations. I see organizations being much more conscious of the culture they want to create, much more demanding of the need for the skills of emotional intelligence, much focused and intentional about purposed, and
more committed to zero tolerance of harassment of all kinds.

Go figure. The most maligned of institutions (corporations) turn out to be the most enlightened. Maybe because self-interest trumps stubbornness.
So--congratulations. And I mean it. No snide remark going to be made.

OFF THE GRID IN RANGELEY MAINE

Will be back next week.
No signal feels like free fall at first.
I need to be connected to everything and everyone.
Then a freedom sets in.
CEO's make sure you have free fall time.
Makes for better judgment, not to mention health

FOR MY NORTH AMERICAN LEADERS

Vote Please

Democracy is a relatively new bold and brave social experiment.
It was designed on the principles of tolerance and balance of power.
We forget that it is fragile
Support it. 

Please Vote

PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY--BE WEIRD

I used to do lots of workshops on Productivity. There was always some book to read and method to follow. So I would teach it. Participants loved it and for some, it was helpful. It helped people in roles where quantity equalled being productive and where there was not overwhelming variety.

So--what I taught was not good for top executives. So I decided to learn rather than teach and I watched and interviewed the CEO's I worked for and with.

Lessons For Personal Productivity for C-level Execs:

--Know yourself and tailor your approach to you own idiosyncrasies as a person

--Give up thinking about quantity. Go only for quality. Be ruthless about what is important to move the needle on the most important issue of the day and of the strategy for your business. Move this needle every day.

--Write down what you won't, can't, do if you want to do the above--move the right needle. Quit all guilt.

--You will never get IT done. Inhale this truth. Then keep going.

--Let the right things fall totally off your plate. Get used to feeling lousy about that

--Know your own rhythm for being productive. (My work in never as strong if I do it early. I need time pressure to do my best.) 

--Build in lying fallow in some way. You and your company need breathing space to produce in the long run and to create. Constant pressure with no in between time creates a kind of hopeless fatigue and kills the higher brain functions   
like judgment and intuition  (which you are paid well to use well).

--Sleep enough to be sure you are even tempered, engaged and not staggering through the day. Do not show off your stamina. Show off your health.

--Take small breaks. I used to shut my door between meetings and play a quick game of solitaire or Candy Crush or Farm Heroes. Took five minutes and switched of my internal hub-bug for a while.

Productivity sounds so fierce and industrial. Constantly conscious sounds rather New Age. So think 'Awareness Accounting'.

--What am I doing right now?
--Does it matter to my larger picture? Can I make peace with it if I have to do it and do it right? 
--What one thing can I do to feel the relief of doing the right thing?
--How can I put my priorities into the larger perspective?
--How do I get off my own back for not getting IT done.
--How do I become the calm in the middle of my company's chaos?

I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA

Don't start by telling me why it can't be done.
If you run the company, it can be.

So here is what I'm thinking about:
--What if you as the CEO or top leader quit spreading yourself so thin by having your calendar filled with visits to various parts of your company equally distributed?

--What if you went and lived with a banner, a function, a country for a 
substantial amount of time. You can have your regular calendar clogging rote meetings long distance. (They matter less than you think unless you make them worthwhile for you.)

--What if you picked a function that was under performing or doing something very innovative and set up an office smack dab in the middle of their work setting  and worked from it for say 3-6 months.  People could drop in.You could wander. And of course you can shut your darn door and do what you have to do, but the informal contact and information would bring radical learning to extrapolate. 

--What if you touched the grit of your business enough to lead with a sure touch and strategy

--What if you became one of your customers long enough or often enough to
speak for them from an up close experience?

How on earth do you run your company without grit?
How do you fight the forces to become only conceptual?
How do you know you are making the right changes without deep knowledge?
How do you know enough to trust your gut and your intuition?

Going deeper for a longer time would give you the right stuff to work with rather than short shallow snippets that don't ground you fully for tough decisions.

HOT TOPICS AT WORK

I have a position about hot topics at work. There are many and right now in The United States it is politics. Once upon a time, I wasn't so clear and it caused problems. I wasn't clear for myself and I wasn't overt because of that. I lost a close relationship with a high potential leader by squelching his bold social political comments during a leadership retreat. In reality, I agreed with his position but it was a tributary discussion that was killing the main purpose of the session. (It was meant to be an informal after dinner discussion and wine was in the room, which didn't help.) 

So here is my stance on hot topics:
--People in the workplace can talk about hot topics outside of work topics informally while at work--cafeteria, hallway, bathrooms (oh yes).
--At a formal (even if casual) meeting the focus trumps any hot topic remarks. Leaders need to know how to gracefully kill the conversation. Not easy but necessary.
--The hot topics need to be handled respectfully all the time. Period.
--I don't support pressure on any employee to vote in a particular way. If there is a policy/governmental issue it can be spelled out as to why it supports the business. Period. 
--Humor is only good if it is good natured and not personal. 
--Collaboration is essential in the workplace so anything that puts people truly at odds with one another at work is not OK. Monitor this, soothe this, set an example.

I don't envy the task in this vituperative election year but I do think it is the CEO and top team's accountability to keep a civil workplace. Period.

CLARITY WITHOUT CRISIS

I'm thinking about the recent hurricane and other big emergencies that companies have to face. I worked with a large food retailer in The United States
that faced plenty of natural crises as will as business disruptions.

And these disasters brought out high level organizational  performance in each situation. Why? And why does it take near disaster or worse to get extraordinary 
execution and engagement?  Here are a few thoughts:

—The priority is clear. All extraneous activity is eliminated.

—Decisions have to be made and so they are.

—People at all levels have to make decisions without regard to position or fear of failure. The only failure is no decision.

—Top leaders come in close. Their presence is felt and heard.

—Everyone knows that what they are doing is very important.

—There is an altruistic impulse to help one another. Generosity prevails,

—There is a very clear call to action.

So the challenge is how to get this kind of clarity without the crisis!

Have you seen the same dynamic? 
Let me know.
I'm curious.
Was my experience unique?

RESULTS REVIEW/PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

At last companies are looking at killing the annual review along with the bell curve that assumes mediocrity rules and so-called high potentials get spoiled in terms of composition, development and career possibility and equally hard working people learn resentment and disengagement.

What is beginning to work differently?
—Unhook compensation from individual effort/performance
—Tie all compensation to company results. All
—Create a learning culture in which there is constant tweaking of performance
through mechanisms (like internal company apps) for on the spot information about what worked and what didn't in terms of effort. 
—Anyone can ask anyone at any time for an assessment for results and for increased capability
—Co-coaching, peer coaching, is common and everyone is trained and become skilled in learning through action that moves the needle
—Meaning and purpose and mastery and understanding the large picture and being part of it matter more than compensation differential
—People leave when the high feedback high learning environment tells them they are not doing their work well and coaching supports the choice. 
—Frequent, easy to do, both oral and written feedback done throughout the organization kills legal worries. Feedback comes from all directions and hinders bias.

Sounds naive? Tell it to a Millennial.

A REMINDER ABOUT YOUR POWER

 

You live in a hierarchy and therefore you live in an universe of power and you become blind to it when you are the major power holder of the hierarchy.  And in all probability, as a modern CEO, you are a nice enough guy and quite adept at using your power lightly.

So I am reminding you about how you are in the eyes of your company. You give and you take away. You reward and you don't. You smile and talk or you don't. And people watch. They notice. 

Think of this as a glimmer of a lesson you have forgotten. Think about how you mute yourself when you have an opportunity you don't want to mess up. Think of how eager you are to please you global boss ready to drive the car to pick her  up. You are just as scared about disapproval from above. You are equally if not more sensitive to the issue of pay. You choose carefully where you sit at a table at a Board meeting. You quiver to power shift.

And you are just as eager to do good work and and just as dramatically turned off by lack of recognition as every person is in your company. Just as human as any person who works for you about how to live in a world maintained by positions of power.

THE WORLD TILTED

Fifteen years ago on 9/11 I was in the office tying up loose ends before I left for vacation. The day in Maine was gloriously Fall. The burnished quality of the sun and the flat fabric like blue sky were iconic. I noted it and felt lucky for the break I was to take. 

I went to the Board room to find the CEO to touch bases before I left and was curious about the TV being on. I entered and for a moment thought my colleagues were watching a spoof of a King Kong movie. Then I heard the tone of the announcer's voice and sat down next to my boss. We waited to understand the tragedy and then the second tower fell. I grabbed the hand of the CEO and we sat silently as we watched the world tilt and our American innocence slide away. 

It has not come back. How do we do important and good work in an atmosphere of random violence and a pervasive cultural anxiety that has become part of the fabric of our lives? That is a question we don't think about often enough. We forget what we ingested on that shining Fall day fifteen years ago. 

GIVE 'BORING' A TRY

Are you an adrenaline junkie? Probably. The morass of 'in your face'  issues you have to deal with and the boredom of day to day demands that don't seem to move the needle make you vulnerable to loving the crisis, the big magic change,
the latest leadership innovation.

What can be called 'boring' can also be incredibly satisfying:

—How about being "well run"?

—How about regarding strong management and supervision as key to smooth days?

—How about toning down overly dramatic language of the "best in class, worst showing, amazing, stellar, excellent, peak, burning platform"?  It's an odd habit of pumping everything up to a life or death urgency. 

—How about being patient with a project to allow it to come to fruition. No helicopter parenting of innovation.

—How about the value of trudging to get where you want to go? Left foot, right foot.?

—How about setting your own pace and running the race according to plan?

—How about giving your organization a break?

If these questions make you scornful or seem naive, then go have your adrenal
glands checked for exhaustion. Just a thought.

PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES FOR MAINE

I live in Maine and vote in Maine.
We have a Governor (Paul LePage) who is embarrassing at best and vile at worst. He may be a good person. Being an ex-HR/OD executive, I won't judge who he is, but I will hold him accountable for what he does--that I can document. You as a top leader would probably have to fire him or tell him he is on notice and put him on a major performance improvement plan. 

Not your business. But, once again, I am supporting you to remember how important you are in setting the level for civil behavior and for demanding that differences be used as an asset not a hate gauge.

I did lots of work in diversity of the broadest kind. Inclusion not just tolerance, all kinds of differences not just the differences protected under the law, and a commitment to the belief that talent and competence comes in varied people.
AND that usually involved creating a safe environment of civil behavior. And yes, there were people in high agreement and in no agreement with these standards and efforts. But, they knew they had to manage their mouths and their behavior.

I write this blog primarily to remind top level leaders of the blind spots of power that come with the role. This is a thank you for taking a lead in seeing the power of differences and, more so, for demanding civil behavior (and learning
too) that seems to be far ahead of public arena. Thanks

ENTREPRENEUR HALO

Intrepreneurship is in again. Large companies want the best of entrepreneurial skills to work in a corporate environment OR So they think.

It sound so good from afar. Entrepreneurs are creative and think outside of the darn box and invent things and make things happen----easily. That is the fantasy when looking at entrepreneurs from the outside. 

Here's what it's like inside the life of the entrepreneur as told by top 500 Fastest Growing Company CEO's in INC magazine

CHAOTIC--Everybody is doing everything. There are lots of mistakes and hurried attempts to fix things. There is duplication and frustration and irritation

NO CONTROLS--there is no fixed strategic plan or budget in most cases. Money comes and goes without awareness. 

SURVIVAL IS THE PRIMARY GOAL--Most entrepreneurs said survival was the top goal and doing anything to survive often caused problems later. Fear of failure is a constant thought.

INSANE--Most entrpreneurs had an idea or stumble on an idea that excited them and they wanted to bring it to fruition. And so they are fierce and nuts to do it. Work never stops and is the top priority of their lives.

LUCK MATTERS--Many businesses got started by a chance meeting of a possible partner or a chance opportunity. 

CONTACTS HELP--Most entrpreneurs mentioned someone who gave support, mostly of money to help them start

TIMING IS THE DIFFERENCE--Catching the wave of a new trend or market need made all the difference in success. Good ideas late, fail. 

PARTNERS ARE INTIMATE FRIENDS--There seemed to be a very close relationship between the CEO and one other business partner. This is what kept things going in tough times and gave meaning to the work. And great pain if there was a falling out. 

FASTEST GROWING DOES NOT ALWAYS WIN--Forget the title of the INC article. Managing the pace of growth with the needed resources was a primary issue in success. Most would say, "don't get out ahead of what you can sustain."

WORRIES--Retention of talent in a high risk endeavor is top on the worry list followed by cash flow and then beating back domestic competition

In summary these three traits are held in common by the top 500 entrepreneurs:
-Ambition
-Audacity
-Tireless work ethic

Now, how does this relate to your company? What parts do you want? Can you have just part of the entrepreneur spirit in your business? What would happen if your business created this kind of fierceness (and wildness)?

VACATION TRUTHS

Eight year old boys wiggle.
Girl cousins do giggle.
These things are just experientially true.
iPads are the guilty sedative for eight year old boy wiggles.
Logistics rule--What food,when? What activity,how? Squabbles,who? 
Ice cream solves most problems.
Most lovely moments arrive on their own; planning is a wet blanket
Sitting at one table to eat matters
Separateness has to happen once a day for two hours
Sun matters. Rain is ok for one day.
When things fall apart there is always a bounce back moment

THOUGHTS FROM MAINE VACATION WEEK

Food for Thought:
What is your experience when you come back to work after vacation?
What is your mood?
What do you notice about the "tone' of the company as you enter?
What do you dread?
What are you eager to get back to doing?
How are you different when on vacation? Like it? Does your business need some of the vacation 'you' at work?
It's a moment when you can see with a fresh eye if you us the opportunity.

CHANGE, WHERE TO BEGIN?

"Change almost always starts at the edges and moves toward the center"  says Seth Godin.

The assumption of Seth Godin is that those at the center (of power, of attention, of the resources) have too much to risk and so they are the least interesting and interested in anything being very different. So those with less to lose and more to benefit from change are those at the fringe or edge of any organization.

Sounds good.

What do I know about change from my experience?

--Regardless of where it starts, change will eventually meet with resistance

--Resistance is usually not made overt. It disguises itself in all kinds of ways including agreement

--Don't think of 'change'. Think of 'creating'.

--Involve as many people in the creation as possible, regardless of time and messiness

--Don't make a big deal of change by giving it a grandiose title. 

--Grow the change through contagion

--Let  positive impact or result grow the change energy. Do not over market.

--Let change happen, don't make it happen.  Figure out the difference

--Conversation creates change.  Tell and sell talks create resistance

--Change need a good narrative to support it--a history, a crisis, a challenge, a challenge met and a victory.

--Don't let change become omnipresent and ambiguous. Make demarcations of movement

--Keep anchors of all kinds to hold onto while the change creates the necessary chaos to create something new

--Changers are happier than changee's.

(nuggets from a former change agent)

WONDERING ABOUT WASTE

It's actually hard to distinguish what is waste in an organization and what is a kind of investment. And the definition is very different among a start-up, a high growth company and a huge old dinosaur organization.

Each on has its own particular agony. An older industry will work hard to be lean and mean and cut costs to gain new footing or keep Wall Street on their side.
A fast growing company often doesn't have a good picture of what kind of  looseness produces and what is just chaos. And the poor start-ups usually have both problems--trying to be lean and loose at the same time.

When I was an EVP in food retailing heading up learning and leadership development and talent planning among other good stuff, I hated that time for learning and development was called 'non-productive' time for budgeting.
Waste!

So I'm wondering what constitutes 'waste' in your company:
--casual conversations to explore or complain or enjoy?
--a meeting that runs over by half an hour?
--using too many people for a decision?
--board presentations that take weeks to prepare?
--involving too many people in a meeting?
--not involving enough people in a meeting?
--the organizational grape vine?
--too many check lists?
--too many people checking up?
--elaborate reports?
--decisions made too fast/too slow
--bad hiring?

Others?????????

I'M SCARED AND I'M SERIOUS

I write this every week to remind top leaders of things that slip to the background during their incredibly busy and demanding work and to point out blind spots that can come with power. So what? So why? So how?

Right now when I look at the governmental and political leaders of our globe
I am scared. I imagine you are too. You see leaders who lie, who use power for self-aggrandizement, who do not care about the people that supposedly lead and who are willing and sometimes wanting to kill to keep their crooked power.

You are the leaders who have a chance to counter balance people's trust in people of power. You are the role model for use of power for the people in your company whether you want to be or not. This may be an extra burden. I think not. I think enlightened leadership works for profit and engagement and health in any organization. What do I mean by enlightened leadership??

I think you know and I think you want to be this kind of leader AND I think it takes disciplined self-awareness because many of you don't have it in your DNA unless you worked in a system where it was embedded.

--Watch the shortcuts that you take that your people can not. Be what you want them to be and do. (parking,perks,affairs,exceptions to the rules, expense accounts,etc)

--Share power. Give it away. It comes back wonderfully healthy and energetic. This means being very good at executive delegation. Give important work away.
Not as a big plop in some one's lap but with support and gentle overview.

--Do not punish. Course correct, talk straight, let a person go when necessary,
make tough decisions. Do not punish. It will infect your company with fear and resentment that lives underground and acts as a cancer.

--Know that you are not your power. You really find that out when you lose it, but you are you in a powerful role. Big difference. Many world leaders have not clue about this and they are pathetic----and dangerous

--Remind yourself that power is the ability to get something done. It is energy, not ego. It is shared energy.

--Share any bounty with everyone. Don't make a special class of people who serve you blindly and get extra goodies. Yes, I'm saying be democratic.

I have occasionally cringed after posting a blog, wondering about the moral tone rather than a pragmatic tone only. No more worrying. I hope to be pragmatically helpful but your leadership matters more today than it did yesterday. Government has failed in leadership. Church has failed in leadership.  You have the chance to teach by modeling the kind of leadership you would like to see in the world. Your turn.

THE COMPETENCE DILEMMA

 I just spent quite a bit of time with a three year old. And I had work to do (from email response to weeding to cooking to shopping to writing)
So, she had to do the work with me. She used her own computer to find letters. She managed the wheel barrow. She cut veggies. She watered plants.  Of course, she did the work at her own level of capacity, but that level got better and better over a week's time. She got prouder and prouder and wanted to 'work' more everyday.

Made me think. It is so rare that people at work feel the kind of competence that makes them want to work harder and do more. One of the key consequences of transitions of any kind is a sense of incompetence. And our companies are in perpetual transition. Never having a sense of finished accomplishment kills the pleasure of competence as well. Not 'knowing' that one's particular contribution created a fine result kills the competence productivity cycle. Slogging through hard work knowing that it won't be good enough can bring a sense of competence to a dead halt or slow entropy.

Think about it. What can you do in your company that reminds people of their competence, that gives them a breather to enjoy accomplishment, that lets their skill grow and grow, that gives them a chance for solid achievement even if the goals keep changing or are truly ridiculous. How do you grow a sense of competence in your company so that it is intrinsic and grows organizational capacity?

DON'T LEAD WITH YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS

This may be heresy for me to say but--focusing on leadership skills is not your most important priority. If you are doing what is most important, then your lack of leadership skills will be forgiven, laughed at lovingly and become part of the company narrative.

Most important?
--Loving and enjoying and digging deep into the business even when it is a
   tough tough time. People like to work with and for people who love their work.

--Being nice matters intensely. People have a good bull shit buzzer for nice. 
  They smell quickly if the niceness  is real. Nice means kind, friendly, aware of       
   the contributions of others, accessible and tolerant.

--Being trustworthy may be the most important. We are so cynical and so 
   hungry to find someone worthy of our trust. Do you keep your word? Do you 
   honor confidences? Are you willing to lose some power or perk in order to
   maintain your values? I can't tell you how ungrounded most companies are 
   due to trying to do difficult work in an atmosphere of smoke and mirrors.

--Being unrelenting about fairness. The question of fairness is always in play
  for top leaders---compensation, opportunity, access, communication, being
  heard, parking spaces, office space, and on and on. You are the fairness 
  keeper.

--And lastly being optimistic but not foolish or spinning a false story. 
  The ability to create a positive atmosphere for hard work in tough times is
  essential. Failing out loud and in public and then shrugging and putting it all 
  in perspective makes the whole enterprise ring true and creates energy.

So you don't delegate well. You run a lousy meeting. You don't always follow-up.
You talk too much or too little. You are late with performance conversations.
On and on. You can make lots of mistakes with leadership skills and be forgiven.
But betray any one of the above qualities and no skill will make up for the
inner good heartedness that great leaders carry in them.

THIS TOPIC DESERVES A BOOK

It is Independence Day in the United States. This led me to think about what a radical experiment was initiated with the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Self government of the non-elite. Everybody entitled to search for their own happiness.

I happen to think these same principles create the best work environment in companies. I've worked in several. It takes a particular type of leader.
The writers of the US Constitution wrestled heartily about whether the average person could have useful options and power. It was an exciting dilemma to manage.

And still is inside your companies. You do lose some control. You do have more mistakes. You do have to have a high tolerance and trust of people working without overly close supervision. You do have to be committed and not waver with every period results.  You have to have checks and balances like budget and values and clear, clear strategy and goals and good mile stone management. Other than that, let your people go— to learn and be excited and accountable for themselves and their commitments. Let consequences teach. Don't invent punishment or reward. This radical experiment of self determination and involvement is where an extraordinary "lift" comes from.
Takes a revolutionary courage.

CEO AS PARENT

CEO as parent. Sounds kind of awful and wrong in a way.
And then it doesn't.

Of course it used to be paternalistic (which weakens self-motivation) and punitive (which kills independent action) and strict (which stifles creativity).
Great combo, huh? Sounds kind of 'command and control' doesn't it?
Frightened parents and leaders still use it.

Here is what healthy parenting looks like and how it pertains to leaders:

--Firm about the few rules and values necessary for the family to function

--Nurturing of talent and interests and willing to invest in them

--Intolerant of behaviour that doesn't help the child become capable in the world

--Teaching the 'why' behind the 'what' constantly

--Coaching in the moment when a shift in attitude or behavior is needed

--Reminding that the good of the whole is the goal

--Being respectful with words that can bury deep if they are derogatory

--Introducing new experiences and points of view

--Allowing free time for exploration without guidance

Happy Mother's Day and Father's Day to you top leaders.

THOUGHTS FROM VACATION

I am visiting my three West Coast kids (mid-forties old kids) who live in Seattle, Portland, Oregon and Santa Cruz, California.  They are right smack dab in the middle of their work lives and we talk about it quite a bit. All the ups and downs, career choices, bosses, leaders, stress, are all grist for the mill.

I was reminded of how much leaders matter ---and of a leadership paradox.
I offer it as food for thought:

Leaders who feel lazy and wonder what good they are doing and if they are having any impact are often the best leaders. Leaders who overwork and and never question their impact and never question their right to intervene and KNOW how much they are needed, are not the best leaders.  

Just saying. Something to think about.

Now back to vacation.

CEO REPORT CARD

It can be difficult for CEO's to get helpful feedback about their performance and their needed development.  And they need it just as much as any other associate does. Boards get oddly negligent about doing it with any depth and 
direct reports just don't tell the emperor that he or she is wearing no clothes.

Here is a CEO REPORT card that I developed to be used with a Board of Directors:

—Strategy Development
   Is there a clear and winning strategy for the entire company?

—Board Relationships
   Are there professional, productive relationships with Board memebers that are 
   both collaborative and challenging?

—Talent Depth and Development
   Are succession plans in place?
   Is there a talent planning and development process in place?

—Future Growth and Innovation
   Is there exploration and experimentation for future growth and are they 
   supported with resources and accountability?

—Pulse
  Does the CEO have an accurate view of results, challenges and culture
  across the company and a method to validate what is sensed?

—Resilience
   Does the CEO have the emotional intelligence and self-awareness to support  
   good judgment and perspective 

—Change
   Is there appropriate urgency for needed change balanced by the correct scope and ability of the organization to manage the changes?

—Making Meaning
   Does the CEO create a narrative to support strategy and growth that creates
   enthusiasm and common direction among all associates

Take a pause for thought and evaluate yourself or ask a trusted colleague to do this with you.

SIZE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE

I have been catching up on my business magazine reading and I'm a little
schizophrenic from it.

The reading tends to go from the staid sleep inducing sloooooow introduction of researche concepts that don't matter much to a hyper hyper hyper creativity
adrenalin driven frenzy that may or may not make a company that will last. 
(I'll let you guess the magazines from your own reading!)

I've been up close to both large weighty organizations in mature if not ancient industries to very small anything is possible wild idea start-ups. My fantasy is to bring together a group of CEO's of companies of varying sizes and ages and industries to learn from one another. (I hope you do know companies are lousy at learning. Too busy, too into action, too scared, too arrogant, too fast, too uninterested, too not curious.) 

Large companies would relearn:
--the exhilaration of new
--the courage of having no option but bold
--the passion for creating
--optimism that makes no sense
--fun of fear of failure

Start-ups would learn:
--a little prudence goes a long way
--structure does not kill the joy
--how to get feet under an idea
--that growth alone doesn't work the magic
--to respect lessons already learned

Wonder what a middle size company would say???

NEW HIRE FORMULA FOR SUCCESS-----OR NOT

I actually did a formal study on how to ensure success (or an early failure)for new top team hires for a department store as part of my Master's Degree work. The formula worked.
The hard part was getting people to use it! Hiring can be such a pain that we sort of think the job is done after the hiring decision is made.

The theory is that if you follow the formula, you will set the performance thermostat for your new employee and it will hold for the long term even if following performance reviews are sporadic or poorly done. Makes sense. Make the imprint strong and thorough and it lasts. And it recognizes that at one year you know if you have the person you need or you need to help the person move on.

OK, here is the formula:

--Meet with new hire on day one. You, not the HR department. Don't do tea parties for welcome. Go over organizational history and context. Talk about strategy in detail. Spell out specific expectations. Create demand and excitement. Ask for questions. Check for understanding. 4 hours

--Meet with new hire in exactly two weeks. Ask for insights about what she has seen. (Better than a consultant, a new hire is a new eye that wants success for the company) Then ask for questions. Listen, listen, listen. Guide. Sniff for problems.  2 hours

--Meet with new hire at six week mark. Before this meeting, talk with colleagues and and direct reports of new hire. Be open that it is to enable you to give feedback to the new person. Ask for positive and negative. Share the feedback with the new hire. Listen, listen listen. Suggest good strategies for improvement. You are the coach and the standard setter in this meeting. 3 hours

--Meet with new hire at 3 months. By this time, your people will begin to respond to the new hire with either a vote of confidence or a hint of a real problem. You will pick this up in both formal and informal conversations. In this conversation you get real about any emerging issues and you may bring in HR to support success for this new hire--coaching, place to blow off steam from being new,explaining how culture works, etc. 2 hours

--Meet with new hire to do one of two things: l. Reinforce all the good things that the new person has accomplished and how they have done it. This is the giant applause moment. This is your moment to give a momento representing the company. This is the "seal the deal" moment. 2. Let the new hire know very specifically what is not working. Specifically. Ensure that a formal development plan is made. Let the person know that change is critical. No molly coddling here. At the end of the conversation, bring in the HR person who will developthe plan and resources for support. 2 hours.

--Meet with new hire at one year anniversary. Have it be a congratulatory lunch or a tough meeting about how to best enable the person to move on. Involve your top HR person. 

Twelve hours total to ensure success and to protect the talent level of your top team.

LET'S JUST SETTLE THIS ONE THING

Women executives are good mothers. Period.

I say this because  a recent statement from a good neighbor that reminded me of the unfair misperception of C-level women executives and their mothering. I say it because this is what I experienced and my writing is not theoretical. I write what I see and saw.

1. A neighbor woman who worked at home all her life, said to me yesterday, "I have been surprised to see how much you enjoy babysitting for you granddaughter! And so impressed how close you are with your adult kids. Mine hardly call and yours are in and out of your house and your kids who live away manage to make it home so often. Life is not always fair."  

There is so much in that one statement that could be explored. "How shocking that you are so normal Joyce.  And how lucky that your kids love you given the neglect they lived with! My kids were my job. I haven't received the return on my investment and you got return without investment!!

2.  I was lucky enough to be part of the professional development of many top level executive women, four of whom are CEO's now of well known companies.
Here's what I saw:

--Sometimes work was neglected and sometimes kids were neglected. Smart women made excruciating choices in a smart way and no choice was damaging long term

--One executive worked at home til late hours and got up early before kids had to get to school (I mean early) so that she could take time in the afternoon for 
important kid activities

--I remember one exec-mama (what my kids called me when I tried command and control mothering) who got dressed for work, put on a rain coat, and fed her two kids to avoid the apple sauce smear.

--The women execu-mamas I knew were ferocious about their kids and about their work and learned to live with the feeling of unresolved choice (which if kind of like a continuous stomach ache)

--Some put their families first by having decided to have the dad combine work and home duty creatively.  Family came first. Bucking the usual norms (then) worked. And bucking the norms isn't such a bad CEO quality!

I can see I have more to day about this.
The point I am making is:

Women top executives and CEO's are good moms.

7 HABITS OF LAZY LEADERS

1. They wait for problems to come to them. They have no method formal or informal to tease out problems before they become too hot to handle. 
2. They don't make decisions. They wait for a decision to happen to them by consequences that are no longer doubtful 
3. They wait way too long to promote the right people and to fire the wrong people 
4. They resist troublesome travel to touch their businesses in a meaningful way 
5. They let outside consultants do jobs they don't have the gumption to do 
6. They cut all kinds of corners for their personal convenience 
7. They think their role is more important than their work

I'm wondering about 'fun at work' which implies having fun while you work. Good. Nothing wrong with that. Then there is 'work itself as fun' which is great.
I had both for most of my working life.

Was it the era?  Was it the team?  Was it the industry? Was it the leadership I worked with?  I grew up professionally in food retailing. It's a tough industry with a tiny profit margin and it takes hardy people to work in it because the work is strenuous physically with long active days. 

All I know is we laughed a lot at work and not just during good times. There was an optimism that the job could be done--the store would be open on time, the goals would be met, the challenge would make us stronger, failure was irritating but not lethal. Everything could be laughed at. 

Am I nuts? Was there really a Camelot? What's different now? I think there are many things at play now. Exhaustion is one of the things at play that we refuse to see. (Read Arianna Huffington's book on sleep.) People live in the continuous state of the last moments in a race right before the finish line. Another factor and fun killer is the fatigue of size and the push to squeeze out growth where there is no real market. And we both obsess about and forget that we live in a global state of fear and anxiety because of random acts of terror, nature. Optimism takes work and determination and is not so innocently come by.

Dire? A little. But as a CEO or top leader you can create an atmosphere that is light, energetic and hopeful, even during the tougher moments.  Try fair, realistic, nice, light-hearted and connected. You'll grow an optimistic, energetic work force.

CATHERINE THE GREAT REALLY WAS JUST THAT--GREAT

I've been reading Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie. It's a biography of Catherine the Great of Russia.

There have been some 'great' women leaders in past history that would be just as great today. It would be a great (word of the day I guess) book for women leaders to read and weigh against their style and principles. Certainly, the learning applies to men as well.

What Catherine did:

** She wanted to lead from the time she set eyes on Empress Elizabeth who greeted her in full magnificence. Catherine said, "Yes, I want to do that." She learned by sixteen she was more competent to lead than others and wanted the top role.

**She knew how to win people to her side. She learned this when she was powerless and persecuted and became adept at garnering a following of loyal people.

**She waited. She knew what she wanted, and it took her years of ups and downs and growing into her own confidence to become Empress.

**The moment came and with help from those loyal followers she seized a moment and the throne. Seized. Took the throne. Knew when the time was right. Knew that she was right. Knew she would be killed or isolated unless she acted.

**She was generous and rewarded people grandly and publicly for achieving important results. And she rewarded possible enemies and gave them the limelight which won many over to her side.

**She understood the international chessboard and always aligned with the side that got gains for Russia. She knew when to talk directly and when to talk through others. And she knew how to snub as needed.

**She benchmarked Russia against Paris and Berlin and London. She invited learned people to come and talk with her--Voltaire was her idol. She hired from other countries, and when she needed a Navy expert, she hired John Paul Jones.

**She understood ceremony and used it well. She knew what moment needed a symbolic event and created one.

**She took care of herself. She had a cadre of people (and favorites) where she demanded informality--explicitly.  She would put a royal ban of silence on complaints and politics and gossip for social evenings of dance and cards and laughter. She prized people who made her laugh.

**She worked hard. She was hands-on and read all diplomatic pouch contents daily.  

**She stood by the principles of The Enlightenment and tried out many naive projects of self-government and pragmatically decided her Russia was not ready and needed a strict royal matriarchy.  

So looking to evaluate your CEO?  Here are the traits of Catherine the Great as told by Massie---"she had genius, natural abilities, an excellent memory, artifice without craft, the art of conquering every heart; much generosity, graciousness, and justice in rewards; and a consummate knowledge of mankind." How's that for a benchmark?