At Least 20 Things to Stop Doing as a Leader
Filed under: Career, Leadership, Management Education, Organizational Transformation, Surviving Lousy Leaders, Your Professional Development "To Do" List
“We spend a lot of time teaching our leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching them what to stop.”
Here’s my small contribution on what to “stop doing” immediately. Please add your suggestions to the list.
My Start on the “Leader’s Stop” List (in no particular order):
1. Stop barking orders at people like you’re a drill instructor.
2. Stop expecting people to read your mind.
3. Stop making people feel like taking time off to go on vacation is a sin.
4. Stop multi-tasking when someone asks you a question.
5. Stop handing out only the negative feedback.
6. Stop dressing down people in public.
7. Stop saving all of your feedback for the annual performance review.
8. Stop letting people wander through their days with no context for the organization’s strategic priorities.
9. Stop ignoring people that you don’t like.
10. Stop showing that you don’t like people.
11. Stop reminding everyone that you are the boss.
12. Stop taking credit for the work of others.
13. Stop playing favorites.
14. Stop making everything “all about you.”
15. Stop forgetting to provide people fresh challenges.
16. Stop worrying about what your team members are saying to their co-workers about you. On second thought, maybe you should worry.
17. Stop declaring everything a crisis.
18. Stop blocking our access to people in other groups.
19. Stop managing by fear and intimidation.
20. Stop hoarding information on company and team performance.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Go ahead and add some of your favorite “Stop” suggestions to the list. Not only was it cathartic, it might just be an effective alternative to dispensing a never-ending torrent of advice on what to do. The “Stops” aren’t quite as confusing and they are like a metaphorical kick in the seat of the pants.
If you’re a boss, see the list above and just stop it!
Leadership Caffeine-Give Your People Room to Run
Filed under: Career, Leadership, Leadership Skills, Management Education, Middle Management, Not-For-Profit Leadership, Surviving Lousy Leaders, Talent Management, Values, Your Professional Development "To Do" List
Overheard: “If I don’t stay on top of my people, nothing gets done.”
If lousy leadership were a crime, the owner of the quote above might just merit a short stretch of quality alone-time to reflect on the implications of his statement. There are so many things truly wrong with the style of leadership that the statement connotes, that I’m not certain where to start.
I regularly run into examples of leaders operating on the frontlines and even the top-lines that equate leading with policing and oversight. In sessions where I poll on the behaviors of great and lousy leaders, the horror stories of micro-managing bosses and inspector and critic style managers are so plentiful that it’s often difficult to rein in the discussions.
The perception that being boss involves constant policing has not yet been bred out of our culture.
There are certainly core issues that demand oversight. Issues of ethics, legal compliance, and discrimination all merit constant vigilance. And maintaining appropriate operational control is absolutely a leader’s responsibility. However, there’s a line that is crossed when the boss extends intense vigilance to the day-to-day and sometimes minute-to-minute work effort of team members. Move too close to this line or, cross it, and you guarantee a tense working atmosphere, a loss of initiative and a deficit of creativity. What should be a creative and productive experience becomes more like a prison experience.
Gaining compliance is not leading. Any two-bit despot can gain compliance by inducing fear through excessive oversight.
In conversations with individuals describing leaders that they admire, commonly referenced behaviors are they exact opposite of the overbearing and over-the-shoulder manager:
Doesn’t micromanage me
Let’s me do my job
Asks me how she can help
Sets clear expectations and then lets me go
Doesn’t jump all over me when I make a mistake…but rather, he asks me what I learned.
We need more leaders that generate those types of comments from their team members.
11 Reminders that Your Job as a Leader is About Building, Not Guarding:
1. Focus on the working environment! You own the responsibility to create and sustain a positive working environment. You cannot do that by micro-managing.
2. Create the right type of oversight by creating a culture of accountability for the values and norms in that environment.
3. You are a teacher. Teach and train. And then teach some more.
4. You are a coach. Observe and provide timely constructive AND positive feedback. Everyday.
5. Be approachable, but don’t spend all of your own time approaching. Give your team room to run.
6. Create context, not confusion. Clarify and communicate. Create context for key organization strategies and goals.
7. Expectations and accountability drive performance. Set clear and challenging expectations for individual and team performance. This is not micro-managing, it is good management.
8. Remember, you’re there to help, don’t hinder. Knock down obstacles and free your people to run.
9. Defend, don’t distract. Learn to shield team members from distractions. Keep your people free to run, part 2.
10. Stay out of the way. You are a distraction most of the time. See the prior item.
11. Assert only when you need to. Don’t assert often. If you have to assert often, review the prior 11 items.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
We’re all responsible for developing the next generation of leaders. Let’s get this right and help educate and train the micro-managing boss out of existence.
The Pursuit of Power and the Misguided Leadership Literature
Filed under: Career, Leadership, Leadership Skills, Life and Business, Management Education, Middle Management, Performance, Professional Growth
Jeffrey Pfeffer’s article, Power Play, in the July-August Harvard Business Review (fee) is interesting and relevant for everyone working inside organizations as well as for those individuals actively engaged in the development of leadership literature and course-work.
Pfeffer tackles the important topic of power. How to gain it, how to wield it, and in his opinion, why those that actively cultivate power are more effective at driving change and implementing a new strategy. He also suggests that the leadership literature is soft-selling or ignoring this very real and important part of organizational life.
First, the organizational issues. Anyone that has been around the block for more than a few minutes recognizes that the flow of power (formal and informal) is what makes organizations move. Power manifests itself in many ways that don’t involve revolution or underhanded activities. Consider the ability of one manager to consistently secure plum projects and top performers for her teams. Or, another manager’s track record at pushing his new programs through the various approval channels and gaining investment support. Both individuals have cultivated and used power for practical, productive purposes.
I’m refreshed to see the term “Power” in a positive and pro-active light. It’s often not talked about except in the context of “abuses of.” Much like politics in the organization, power is a very real and palpable source of performance fuel. It is also something that is actively sought by some that see it as a way forward and upward, while it is eschewed by others that view at as noble to avoid the perceived games and grabs.
Good, relevant content for anyone laboring inside an organization or working on a team.
And while I like what Pfeffer has to see, he most definitely is knocking the chip off of the shoulders of those in the leadership community with his second of three barriers that preclude many people from assembling a power base.
From the article:
Barrier 2: The Leadership Literature: ”Most books by well-known executives and many lectures and courses about leadership should be stamped “Caution: This material can be hazardous to your organizational survival.” That’s because many leaders touting their careers as models to be emulated gloss over the power plays they used to get to the top. The teaching on leadership is filled with prescriptions about following your inner compass, being truthful, letting your feelings show, being modest and self-effacing, not behaving in bullying or abusive ways—in short, prescriptions that reflect how people wish those in positions of power behaved. There is no doubt that the world would be a much better place if people were always authentic, modest, truthful and concerned about others, instead of simply pursuing their own aims. But wishing that’s how people behaved won’t make it so.”
I take issue with this one just a bit. While I don’t claim to have read all of the contemporary literature on leading, I’ve rarely tripped across anything from a substantive leader or writer that spews just the overly sweet and syrupy content the Pfeffer describes in his quote. The issues of building accountability, earning respect and growing credibility as a means of influence (power), making tough calls that affect firms and people (uses of power), and driving results (to gain more credibility, influence and power) are standard fare. I’m not certain what books or articles that Mr. Pfeffer is reading, but perhaps he should broaden his reach just a bit.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
I like the open discussion on “Power” and its relevance to individuals and organizations. We’ll have more discussions here on that content. Mr. Pfeffer definitely gets my nod for drawing it out and even for his well intended (I suspect) but slightly off-target shot at the leadership community. If nothing else, he offers all of us pursuing the development of the next generation of effective leaders, a valuable reminder that we must know and deal with the facts of organizational life.
The Kids are Alright-Leadership Lessons from the Youngest Workers
Filed under: Leadership, Leadership Skills, Leading Change, Leading the Generations, Management Education, Professional Growth, Social Commentary, Talent Management
Chances are, we’ve all read about and heard from mid-career managers complaining about the younger generation entering the workforce.
The “don’t want to pay their dues,” and “you can’t pry them away from their PDAs,” and “poor work ethic” laments are in my opinion, lame copouts by managers stuck in their own inflexible ways. There’s good and bad in every generation, it’s just that this one feels different, because it is.
It’s Time to Look Beyond the Hovering Parents and Participation Trophies:
The “glass is half empty” crowd is quick to point out that today’s youngest workers are a product of the “Helicopter Parent” generation, with us hovering over their every move since birth, fighting their battles and cheering them on, win or lose. Others will offer that this is the “Participation Generation,” where endless hordes of children engaged in sporting activities earned trophies just for showing up. First place or fifth place, it didn’t matter, everyone went home with hardware.
You cannot dismiss a generation based on the behaviors and in some cases, slightly aberrant conditioning of the parents. I opt for the “glass is more than half full” view on this technologically savvy generation growing up in a world that is being transformed based on the march of technology. And I’ll throw my support behind a generation that has participated on teams of some sort for as long as they could walk. This is of course, a world increasingly composed of teams and projects, executed by using technology across borders to innovate, execute and compete. Hmmm. Nice training ground.
There are of course those that say that this generation doesn’t know how to lead. Well, although the following story is tinged with parental pride, there are more than a few leadership lessons that we can all learn from in this example. I know that I have.
Reinforcement that the Kids Might Be Alright:
My oldest son came home from his final day of his summer job rather excited at the feedback that he had received on his performance. The statement from the Executive Director of, “You can work here anytime,” was the one that felt good to him. That’s nice for a parent to hear too, but my leadership ears perked up when he started describing some of the more specific feedback.
As a quick caveat, this Eagle Scout and college senior son worked for an organization that sponsors summer camps for children with various developmental and learning challenges. He was assigned a primary child to work with and he multi-tasked in multiple roles as a leader, facilitator, and someone that was able to do whatever needed to get done. While there was a great deal of play involved, it was play with a purpose as he led and participated in activities with his primary child and other groups. Ensuring a positive and safe environment, promoting learning and sportsmanship and leading by example were all key components of the role.
The feedback that warmed my leadership heart included the terms and phrases: adaptability, creativity, ability to multi-task, great use of time and importantly, the ability to form a bond and help lead the child (and broader groups of children). I’ll stop here with specifics in the off chance that my son actually reads this post and questions my commitment to father-son confidentiality. Instead, let’s focus on the relevance of the feedback that he received to leading and succeeding in the emerging world.
4 Core Attributes of Our Future Leaders:
1. Adaptability: While we often struggle with change, this is a generation that has grown up while everything changed (9/11 to ubiquitous internet) to rapid acceleration in the forces driving globalization. Older workers struggle with change and easily see the risks and the negatives. The view from this youthful group is more of expecting change and searching for opportunities and the way forward.
2. Creativity: Given the state of near constant ambiguity that most businesses now wade through, the recognition of the need to be creative…to innovate and to pursue it without regard for convention is a huge plus. Most of us with time under our belts hesitate to delve too far into the unknown, and our hesitation costs us considerably in this fast moving world. A good dose of unencumbered creativity is just what many of our institutions and organizations require to move beyond the muck of this current era.
3. Multi-tasking: this 80’s era phrase should probably be replaced by something like parallelization or a word that describes the ability to engage with many on a variety of topics in real time and keep things moving forward. Watch your son or daughter hold court with a group of friends via the keyboard of their telephone, and you’ll understand that this generation gets how to bridge time and distance with a lot of people on a lot of topics simultaneously. The payoff in the workplace is the ability to process on and juggle many complex activities at light speed. Youth was a training ground for a new reality in terms of speed and work demands.
4. Ability to Bond: interestingly, while this might fly in the face of the more transactional communication described above, it’s my observation that this generation has the ability to identify with and relate to individuals across cultures and ethnicities at a level that earlier generations just can’t comprehend. The ability to accept and leverage diversity in the workforce is of course required, but for so many older workers, it’s been a learned behavior and not something innate. This generation is different in that regard.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
At the risk of being redundant, there’s good and bad in every group and in every generation. I’m not excusing the younger workers that display the behaviors that reinforce the negative stereotypes, but I’m not indicting a generation based on these bad apples. If you’re struggling to gain the benefit of the more youthful workers, I’ll submit that you’re likely a large part of the problem. As a more experienced (read: older) worker and leader, take off your generational blinders and look for the individuals motivated to help take your organization forward. Expect great things, work hard to foster the right working environment, and apply the same tenets of effective leadership that we all know are timeless, and you will be doing your part to secure the future.
The Triple Threat to Good Decisions: Data, Time and Emotion
Filed under: Leadership, Leadership Skills, Making Decisions, Management Education, Middle Management, Performance, Professional Growth, Strategy, Your Professional Development "To Do" List
There are few situations more challenging to teams than dealing with a tough, emotionally-charged issue and decision-choice while facing significant time pressure and seemingly contradictory data.
If that type of situation sounds uncommon or unrealistic, consider that many firms and management teams make critical priority calls and strategic choices under just such circumstances. The decision to launch Challenger was a prime example, with all three factors playing a huge role in this tragic call. Countless corporate strategic misfires owe their outcome to this triple-threat of data, time and emotion.
While many situations don’t involve life-safety issues, this triple-threat is something that every manager should be critically sensitive to in their group and strategic decision-making.
Data, Bloody Data
Let’s start here first. We would like to believe that we are making data-driven, fact-based calls on key issues. Unfortunately, the data quality facts don’t back that opinion.
Our firms have invested small fortunes in powerful data warehousing, enterprise management and analytics software programs, yet report after report substantiates that the data in our systems is crap. It’s poor quality, obsolete and just plain wrong. (Visit The Data Warehouse Institute for more on this topic.)
Beyond the fatal data quality issues, we struggle with too much information and the very real and challenging issue of how to interpret the data. Given this challenge, it’s common for individuals and groups to engage in a game of data-roulette, including:
- Looking for the data that confirms our opinion and then seizing upon this confirmation evidence at the expense of potentially contradictory error.
- Sampling on the dependent variable instead of the independent variable. This common logic error has people looking at the wrong issue and improperly attributing cause and effect.
- Ignoring the data. Given the volume of data typically just a click away, it’s easy for individuals and groups to quickly become confused or overwhelmed or both. Another outcome of too much data is analysis paralysis.
Time after Time
Most timelines for business initiatives are contrived, yet many managers and groups allow artificial deadlines to impact the quality of their decisions. Certainly, we all know that time is money and that windows of opportunity can close, and yet, I wouldn’t let either of those clichés drive me to make a poor quality decision. I’ll accept that speed of decision-making is important, but only if it is counter-balanced with quality.
Watch Out When Emotions Rule the Day
My favorite, nausea inducing line of all is, “You’ve got to take off your (insert your functional hat) and put on your business hat.” That invitation to suspend logic, slice your IQ and commonsense in half and make a poor call is often a ploy to both manipulate and to quickly resolve an emotion-laden issue by imploring someone to suspend judgment.
We don’t’ make good decisions under emotional stress, and that goes for relationships and major life events as well as business situations. Our well documented and well-established fear of change, its’ close cousin, our propensity to pursue something that looks like the status quo, and our over-reliance on gut calls to reduce or avoid conflict and resolve time-pressures and data ambiguity issues all contribute to crappy decision-making.
7 Suggestions to Keep the Triple Headed Monster of Poor Decision-Making Locked Up
I pull no punches on this topic. As the leader, you are on the hook for teaching your team to make good decisions. Your firm depends upon it and your career depends upon it.
1. Strive for Crystal Clarity on the Issue! Frame the issue and carefully conduct a process- check to ensure that you are all looking at the same core issue and decision.
2. Hit the Brakes! If time-pressure takes over, it’s your job to hit the brakes! I’m not certain of attribution, but the phrase: “slow down and think carefully before you do something stupid” jumps to mind here.
3. Hit the Brakes, Part 2: Too many managers are fearful of raising their hands and saying, “hold it.” As a leader, foster a culture where people don’t get knee-capped for pulling the chain to stop the production line, and as a professional, develop a spine.
4. Just the Facts! Spend time assessing what you know, and very importantly, defining what you still need to know to make a decision. This last part….”what we need to know,” is often skipped.
5. Turn Data Into Information and Knowledge. Monitor data integrity and quality, and work with your group to carefully wrap it in meaning. This step is the source of many of the errors described above, so note your assumptions, watch out for framing and confirming evidence errors. Consider involving objective 3rd parties to help look at and interpret the data and data needs.
6. Recall Drucker’s Saying: “Every Decision is a Risk-Taking Judgment.” Teach your team to think through and prioritize on risks. Use face-to-face and anonymous input to ensure that risks are identified without the bias of social interaction.
7. Vent the Emotions and Then Move On: De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats does this brilliantly. Use his process, or, at least create an opportunity for everyone to vent and then challenge them to focus on facts, risks, opportunities and ideas. (Frankly, Six Thinking Hats process is a tool that has the potential to improve discussion and decision quality. Consider identifying an experienced facilitator to help you with this process.)
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Time pressures, emotional factors and data issues are at the root of many poor life and business decisions. High performance teams and effective leaders recognize these factors, talk openly about them when they start to encroach, and work hard at locking them back in their cage when quality of judgment is in danger. It’s time to slay this triple-threat to effective decision-making in your environment.
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