~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. January 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The only way that things will change for me is when I change." In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - Leading Change * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review - Let's Make a Deal! * Quick Quotes - Trailblazing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADING CHANGE By Dr. John C. Maxwell Leadership is about change. If you need no change, you need no leader. In times of change, people seek out more and better leaders. Those successful sought-out leaders embrace the following thought: "The best reformers the world has ever known are those who began with themselves." Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change that we envision." Tolstoy said, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." The following comments are about personal change: 1. One person cannot change another person. When I started as a young leader, I thought that a leader could change the people; and boy, did I work at it. I said, "All right, I'm going to give them thoughts, ideas, and principles; and I'm going to change people." After several years, I awakened to the thought that the only person who can change himself or herself is himself or herself. You can change yourself, but I cannot change you. You see, I am responsible to you but I am not responsible for you; and there is a world of difference between those two. I am responsible for teaching you good leadership, I am responsible for sharing things that can help add value to your life; but you are the only one who can take responsibility to change yourself, and that is what this whole article is about. 2. Most people need to look at the way that they look at change. How many times have you heard somebody say, "I sure hope things will change." The only way things will change for me is when I change. It has nothing to do with hope. You can't just say, "Well, I just hope things will change around me," and expect results. The only way that things will change for me is when I change. I have also heard this before, "I don't know why I'm this way." Well, you are the way you are because that is the way you want to be. Let's expose it for what it really is. 3. When you make the right personal changes, other things begin to turn out right. So when people say, "I'd like things to turn out better for me, I'd like things to turn out right, I'd like things to turn out better in the organization, or in my family," I say to them, "Start by making personal changes." In the next issue of "Leadership Wired" we are going to delve deeper into this topic with the following six steps to successful personal change: 1. When you change your thinking you change your beliefs. 2. When you change your beliefs you change your expectations. 3. When you change your expectations you change your attitude. 4. When you change your attitude you change your behavior. 5. When you change your behavior you change your performance. 6. When you change your performance, you change your life! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHO IS A STRATEGIC LEADER? Without a doubt, CEOs, presidents and officers of an organization have strategic leadership responsibilities. But increasingly, people at multiple levels have a major role to play when it comes to sustaining an organization's long-term competitive advantage. The responsibility for the tasks of strategic leadership-- determining strategic direction, exploiting and maintaining core competencies, sustaining an effective organizational culture, etc.--certainly lies with the people at the top. If an organization fails, it is these individuals who are ultimately accountable. But it would be a disservice to think that these are the only individuals who can--and should--be strategic leaders. "We find more and more leaders below the CEO and senior management team level taking on responsibilities in the strategic leadership of their organization," says Kate Beatty, CCL faculty member. "These individuals are often closest to the customer and have the best understanding of the external industry dynamics. They also know how things 'really' work within the organization." Individuals whose decisions have impact beyond their own functional areas have many opportunities to act as strategic leaders. For example, a purchasing manager can anticipate the impact on engineering and manufacturing of switching a supplier. Or a human resource director can develop systems to encourage cooperation across business units. Even those who are on the front line, interacting with the customer, are in a unique position to scan the environment and make sense of that information. In addition, strategic leadership is not just for individuals: it is inherently a collaborative, team activity where people work together to make meaning out of complex information, act with strategic purpose, and champion strategic change. No one person has enough information or a broad enough perspective to shoulder the full responsibility for strategic leadership in an organization. "The term 'strategic leadership team' refers to a team whose work has strategic implications for a particular business unit, product line, service area, functional area, division or company," explains Beatty. "These teams have strategic leadership responsibilities beyond those of any individual because they represent the confluence of information." Organizational-level variables such as structure, culture, systems and processes also impact the ability of individuals and teams to enact strategic leadership. Do information systems get information to teams and individuals who need it so that they can think strategically? Do compensation and reward systems encourage appropriate levels of risk-taking among individuals and teams? Is the culture one of fighting and/or "turf" wars? Or do people easily cross barriers to share information, help each other and work toward shared goals? This article was adapted from an article written for the Center for Creative Leadership, by faculty member Kate Beatty. _________________________________________________________________ IT TAKES THREE Without engaging all three elements of strategic leadership-- thinking, acting and influencing--one's leadership style and the organizational process of strategic leadership will be distorted and less effective. Consider an organization with a leadership team that pays a lot of attention to their influencing processes, yet neglects the aspects of thinking and acting. This team may collaborate well, working hard to maintain the cohesiveness and harmony of the group. However, they may only be focusing on the short-term issues within the organization or neglect to get the appropriate input from their customers. The leader who is an excellent thinker, but forgets the importance of acting and influencing, has a different problem. He or she may be seen as having "paralysis of analysis"--brilliant ideas and lots of information, but is weak on implementation and on selling ideas to others. The opposite problem is the "ready, fire, aim" leader--one who creates confusion and frustration by launching ineffective and uncoordinated initiatives. This type of person emphasizes action, but without appropriate attention to thinking and influencing. This article was adapted from an article written for the Center for Creative Leadership, by faculty member Kate Beatty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LET'S MAKE A DEAL Don't let the title of this book dissuade you from investigating it further or thinking that it has little value for leaders in general. It is written for sales professionals, but leaders of all industries and market segments will benefit from understanding and applying the 14 "Laws" that govern selling success described in this book. Ken Blanchard says, "I believe 'High Trust Selling' will become one of the enduring classics of business and personal growth literature." Sales happen when trust exists; but in the sales profession, there's more to steady success than being a trustworthy person-- although that's certainly where it starts. Long-term sales success happens when high trust exists--when you are a trustworthy salesperson running a trustworthy sales business. When it's clear to your clients that you are a person of integrity who is true to their word and also has the means to deliver, you will build a loyal customer base. You see, it's one thing to be a trustworthy person with a sales job; it's quite another to be a trustworthy salesperson with a reliable business. A trustworthy person will do everything in his or her power to follow through on what he or she has promised--and that's very important. But if a trustworthy person is not an efficient salesperson running an efficient sales business, trust will only go so far. It may land a sale or two, but it rarely will go beyond that. High trust is necessary to climb to the top, whether you're selling cars or copiers, hats or home loans, footwear or financial services. And high trust happens by design, not by accident. It's earned and preserved, but never finagled. Despite what you've read or been taught to this point in your sales career, it takes more than fortitude and flattery to become great in the sales profession. That's because establishing high trust with prospects and producing high sales with clients is about your ability to develop and maintain loyal relationships, not your propensity for persuasion. Another thing to note is that high trust selling is not about you; it's about them--the clients and prospects whom you serve. The fact is that you'll never be genuinely successful in the sales profession if you're self-centered. You can go to the bank on that. Here's something else you can bank on: If you are a trustworthy salesperson running a respectable, reliable sales business, you will succeed in the sales profession...in less time than you think and with much less stress than you're accustomed to. More than that, with high trust on your side you will climb to the top of your industry and remain there. In fact, the sooner you apply the practices and principles within the pages of this book, the sooner you will see results! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRAILBLAZING "If a rhinoceros were to enter this restaurant now, there is no denying he would have great power here. But I should be the first to rise and assure him that he had no authority whatever." - G.K. Chesterton to Alexander Woollcott "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been." - Henry Kissinger "No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings." - Peter Drucker _________________________________________________________________ Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe at: http://www.INJOY.com/Newsletters. Questions about document transmission or editorial comments? Contact mailto:feedback@INJOY.com. Visitors may use the information contained in this e-newsletter by placing the following credit line: "This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.INJOY.com." This information cannot be used for resale in any manner. Copyright (c) 2003, INJOY, Inc.