So I wrote 40 posts on Tom Peters and got bored with the rest because there wasn’t much new there. Hard to add value when there isn’t much to begin with. So I stopped for a while.
I was writing to a group I lead the other day and summarized a leadership / facilitation technique I want to share with you. It’s called “Silence“
As leaders we must be sensitive to how various people engage in discussion. Resist the temptation to dominate the discussion when no one answers immediately. Sit in the silence once in a while and wait. It is completely reasonable to answer the question first every so often but we should avoid the temptation to do this frequently. Introverts will not speak up if you do this, the group will start to expect you to carry the discussion and will participate less often. Clearly this is not the outcome we want. We have to give the group room to work and contribute.
Try it sometime you will be surprised by this powerfully effective technique.
Lead / facilitate well
40. Leaders give everyone a cause.
Maybe I am getting a bit tired of this series but this rule seems so obvious as to be silly. Yet is it?
The other day I was considering the management model of theory X versus theory Y. As a manager myself the first time I took the test I was so far Y as to think the test was a hoax. Then other students in my graduate class began to rationalize their X viewpoint. I was floored how could anyone be that brain dead. After all this is an age of enlightenment. America has learned its lesson, people want to be empowered engaged, trusted. People have altruistic reasons, meaning generating reasons to work… Right?!
Wrong! Some do yes and others show up for a paycheck and are content to do exactly what they are told and no more each day.
So leaders do give many a cause and others don’t pay attention. They just keep doing their job and no more staying out of the realm of meaning generation. This is not to say that a leader should just give up, no they should work all the harder at their influence skills and try to get everyone on board. There are times though that they must be realistic and lead the majority rather than the entirety.
ChallengeGo online and take the basic theory X versus Theory Y test. Here is one I found online here (THEORY X Y Test) for no cost. It is not perfect but will make the point.Take the test focusing on how you manage and what kind of style you have. If you are way on the X side you just may have discovered why it is such a frstration and chore to motivate employees to follow your vision.
Oh ya the standard clause. Neither theory is right or wrong it is simply a representation of how people respond to situations.
What is the complete leader?
This is a model I have been working on for the past 5 years. Essentially the model reflects the simplicity and complexity that is leadership. A leader is not a cookie cutter set of skills and attributes that you collect like boy scout badges.
NO! leadership is a unique combination of attributes, unique to the individual leader. Leadership happens in a specific context that no two leaders face identically.
So to be a complete leader we must discover who we are as a person. Then we dig deeper to learn what our skills and potential leadership attributes are. We then leverage these to develop our own leadership perspective and voice.
This is the complete leader, a unique person who understands who they are and what the leadership context they face is. No two are alike, no two will reach their potential the same way.In the Complete Leader model we will discover how we best develop ourselves as leaders and leverage these aspects to their maximum.
The first two segments of the Complete Leader Model are nearing completion. Order your copy today!
39. Leaders have great stories. I remember a time a few years back when a colleague had said to me, “we don’t tell stories anymore”. This statement cut deeply, he had verbalized angst I had been feeling for some time but not yet committed to words. He was right.Stories are how groups share meaning, share values, share emotion, share culture. A leader as a master story teller, sound peculiar? It shouldn’t, a good leader will master story telling and use it effectively for the betterment and learning of the team.Challenge: Reflect back on the past year to a time when your team had a win, overcame an obstacle, provided outstanding service. Consider what was at the root of the event. Was it an outstanding group effort, a masterful problem solving ability by a team member, a compassionate act? Determine from the root of the event what the moral is and how it relates to team values or culture. Tell the story.
38. Leadership is a performance.
Okay when I first read this rule by Tom Peters I was thinking he was going to discuss performance as in measurable progress against a goal but he took a left turn here. He is talking about a performance as in being on stage. We discussed this very point in rule # 14, Leadership is an Improvisational Art. Leaders know that they are always on stage and to ignore this leads to problems. We must manage our behaviors to be consistent with the goals of our enterprise and at the same time be aware of the cause and effect relationship our personal behaviors have on followers. Be upbeat and positive and see if your team doesn’t have a brighter outlook. Come in tired and worn down and watch as your teams performance starts to ebb.
Challenge: Act slightly out of character for a day and watch how your team responds. Be smart about this don’t get them thinking you belong under psychiatric care.
Everyone
Great news! After a grueling 8 months of leading an organization by day, evenings in B school obtaining an MBA and spare time split between family friends and volunteer leadership roles, I am happy to announce that I finished school and am taking the summer off. Well I am still going to lead my organization, still hanging with family and friends and still building, with your help, the Developing Leaders community.
In the next day or so you will start receiving a new series of emails that are a series of experiential leadership challenges. Not to steal the thunder of one of my favorite leadership books “The Leadership Challenge” no this is a journey of risk and fun we can take together. I tell you what, I will do all the challenges myself as well. Lead from the front… Is there any other way????
If you are wondering how you can participate, join the Developing Leaders Mailing list today! Check out the link in the bottom right side of the website
37. Leaders show up. Ya! That is the whole point, the leader always shows up. They understand the power of relationship, of connection, of presence. A leader will be present. This concept is so fundamental as to be obvious and hard to even write about.Challenge: The next time you find yourself in an uncertain or anxious moment that is shared with others, see who speaks up to lead you and others through the moment.
36. Leaders give respect. Have you ever heard of transformational leadership? It is in my estimation the most effective model. It involves the leader helping followers to transcend their own personal goals for a larger meaningful goal. One aspect of the leader in this model is their ability to see the best of their team. When you look at a follower you look past their faults to their unique skills and abilities. You assure them through your eyes and your words your confidence in them. Yes leaders give respect and so much more they give meaning and purpose.
Challenge: Remember the team member you wrote off? The one that couldn’t do anything right, always the pessimist…Yeah them, identify three things in them that they do well and then share with them these things
