~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. September 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - Put the Cookies on the Lower Shelf * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Interview - Leading Professionals * Quick Quotes - The Benefits of Failure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUT THE COOKIES ON THE LOWER SHELF By Dr. John C. Maxwell Have you ever tried to explain something to someone, only to be met with a blank stare? Maybe you were trying to tell a client why his one-of-a-kind inventory tracking program wasn't working. Maybe you were seeking to inform your team about subtle changes to your company's health insurance plan. Maybe you were attempting to help your teenager with a calculus problem. Whatever you were trying to do, it just wasn't working. Somehow, the message you were trying to convey wasn't getting through to your audience. In fact, you may as well have been talking to a rock. The ability to make the complex seem simple is a mark of a good communicator. Some people do this naturally--they have an innate capacity to explain complex concepts in ways that evoke understanding instead of vacant looks. As I often say, they know how to put the cookies on the lower shelf so everybody can have some. For other people, speaking with such clarity is more of a challenge. When you're a leader, however, it doesn't matter whether explaining tough ideas is easy or difficult for you. You have to be able to be able to put the cookies on the lower shelf --and do it consistently--if you want to be successful. Here are four questions that will help you communicate complicated issues more effectively. 1. Do I understand it? It may be that you lack enough expertise or knowledge about a particular topic to be able to explain it someone else. That's nothing to be ashamed of--nobody can be an expert on everything. The key is to recognize that your lack of understanding is impeding your ability to communicate, and then figure out what to do about it. It might be as simple as doing a little research to increase your comprehension of the subject. Or maybe you need to find someone else who can explain it. Whatever you do, don't try to communicate something you don't understand yourself. 2. How can I help others understand it? Maybe a colorful chart or handout would help make a complex idea seem simple. Perhaps a personal illustration, a sports analogy, a simple timeline or a few carefully chosen words on a whiteboard would do the trick. Or maybe you just need to think of how you would explain it to a seven-year-old, and then adapt that explanation for an adult audience. 3. Do they understand it? If your words elicit smiles, nods or applause, it might be tempting to assume that your listeners understood what you said and are now prepared to act accordingly. Don't make such assumptions. The only way to know for sure if what you said made sense is to ask them open-ended questions that will reveal whether they really understood. 4. Did they understand it well enough to help someone else understand it? When it comes to putting the cookies on the lower shelf, this is the acid test. For example, you might understand your company's new strategic plan perfectly. You might have all the tools and illustrations you need to help a new employee understand it. You might even break it down in such a way that enables him or her to comprehend it quite well. But in order to meet what I call the "pass-it-on" requirement, you have to explain the strategic plan so clearly that the new employee can turn right around and explain it to a third person. If you want your words to elicit fewer blank stares and more nods of understanding, make it a point to ask yourself these four questions whenever you are trying to explain a complicated concept. It's the only way I know of to ensure that you are putting the cookies on the lower shelf so everybody can have some. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "4+2" EQUALS BUSINESS SUCCESS Why do some businesses succeed while others flop? Harvard Business School Professor Nitin Nohria believes he has found an answer. After studying 160 firms in 40 industries over two five- year periods, he came up with a formula for success that is as simple as a first-grade addition problem. In the new book, "What Really Works: The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success", he and co-authors William Joyce and Bruce Roberson assert that to be successful, managers must implement four foundational practices: strategy, execution, organization and culture--and two of four "secondary" (in the authors' opinion) practices--leadership, mergers and partnerships, innovation and talent. "You have to do at least six of those things well to be successful," Nohria told Inc. magazine recently. "But to do poorly, all it takes is to do badly at one. This asymmetry makes success very hard to sustain because if you fail at any one thing, it seems to precipitate a slippery slide on multiple processes." For more information, see: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030801/strategies.html. _________________________________________________________________ THE HUMAN TOUCH When a company, department or team is facing a crisis, a little "heartfelt leadership" goes a long way towards helping people cope. A recent Center for Creative Leadership newsletter offered several suggestions for leaders who want to connect with their employees during a difficult time. Here are a few: * Listen to your employees and respond to what they are telling you. * Treat people with "sincere consideration and genuine concern" by "spending time with them, asking them about the things they are interested in, and considering their hopes and dreams as important as your own." * Use appropriate humor to alleviate tension. * Communicate honestly and do what you say you're going to do. * "Remain as professionally competent as possible in your area of expertise and in handling job responsibilities." For more information, see: http://www.ccl.org/connected/enews/articles/0703timesofcrisis.htm. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADING PROFESSIONALS In her book, "The Heart of Leadership: How to Inspire, Encourage and Motivate People to Follow You", Elizabeth Jeffries covers a range of familiar topics--change, vision, communication, building trust and so on. But Jeffries, a former healthcare professional who has worked as a leadership consultant for 22 years, veers off the beaten path a bit toward the end of her book when she gives very specific advice about how to lead certain employee groups. We spoke to her recently about a chapter in this section called "Working with Professional and Support Staff." Leadership Wired: Who exactly are you talking about when you refer to "professionals"? Elizabeth Jeffries: Professionals are people who have specific skills and specific education. Usually that includes at least a college degree, sometimes a master's degree or beyond. Many times, there are certifications, licensures or earned designations. These people work in a very specific field, such as healthcare, law, finance, etc. They have continuing education requirements for ongoing professional development with high industry standards, professional standards and codes of ethics. LW: What special considerations must be given to leading professionals such as nurses, attorneys, accountants and engineers? Jeffries: Recognizing and honoring their competencies is the first thing. You don't have to have their competencies and their credentials to lead them. You don't have to have their technical skills, but you do need a relationship with them and a system of communication so that you know the work is getting done. LW: I imagine that with some of these people--because of their personalities or their traits that make them good at what they do--the communication might be challenging sometimes. Jeffries: Definitely! One of the things that is most challenging --in any organization, on any level--is communicating expectations. Unfulfilled expectations cause more problems in relationships than just about anything else. We know what we want or expect from the other person, but we don't always communicate it clearly. We assume, which gets us all in trouble! So communicating expectations is critical. Also, it's essential to trust that the person knows their job, has the competencies to do it and that you respect their work and their contribution to the organization. Finally, as in leading anyone, it's holding people accountable for what they said they would do. LW: What frustrations do these professional employees experience with their leaders, and how can leaders avoid those? Jeffries: They tell me they don't always feel very valued, and that shows up financially. We put our money where our value is, so one thing leaders can do is have a fair pay scale. Recognition and affirmation is also important to professionals and it doesn't cost much, if anything! Recognition within their own profession is usually an energizer for them. Why not give them the time and the resources to contribute to their association by holding an office and/or speaking at a conference? LW: That's a great idea. Jeffries: Yes! The ability to speak to a group is an important professional skill. As a speaker myself, I know that it builds confidence and affirms the value of a person to share their expertise. Another idea...If someone has been in their profession a long time, set up a mentoring program where they are given the opportunity to guide a newer professional. That opportunity to mentor someone, even on a short-term basis, revitalizes the seasoned professional and also recognizes them for the expertise that they've gathered over the years. Lastly, the best thing to do is ask that professional, "What's important to you? What can we do for you to help you feel a valued part of the team?" LW: Those are great questions. Now let's move over to the support staff area. What specific issues are involved with leading administrative assistants, receptionists and other support staff members effectively? Jeffries: Many of the same ideas apply here. These are people who are on the front line, regularly interfacing with the public, in person or by phone, and oftentimes they're the least trained. So with both the professional and the support staff, provide ongoing learning opportunities so that people can grow and develop. Encourage them to be involved in their professional associations and pay their dues. LW: Are there any different leadership issues with support staff people? Jeffries: Maybe a couple of things. I do a lot of teaming programs where we take the leadership teams away for a couple of days' retreat. I always encourage them to bring the president's assistant or the administrative assistant responsible for working with the leadership team because this person is going to go back and implement a lot of these projects and help with accountability. If they are at that teaming retreat, they have an opportunity to be in on things. These people really need to see the bigger picture and more fully integrate the mission, vision, and values of the organization in their own work. Support staff also need to have their own goals, understand their roles and who they report to for what. Assuming you have competent people, I always believe that the people who are doing the job are the best at knowing what it takes to do the job. LW: Are there any frustrations that support staff people experience with their leaders that are different from the ones that you talked about with professionals? Jeffries: It's a good idea to let other people know the value of the staff person and how much they are trusted. Our main support person is Diane--we couldn't live without her! We constantly look for ways to affirm her. She's been with us several years and she has absolutely blossomed. We started out with the assumption that she's competent. And we affirm that, and, of course, people will grow to the level of competence that you affirm. We've given her more and more projects, so she's just grown and developed so many more competencies. We praise her to others. We tell them, "Just call Diane, she'll take care of that; she's absolutely fabulous at doing that." LW: If leaders approach their professional and support staff in this way, does it really make that much of a difference in an organization? Jeffries: If leaders are concerned about finding and keeping top talent on all levels, these techniques and ideas are non- negotiable. Build your people and your people will build your business. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE BENEFITS OF FAILURE "In the game of life, it's a good idea to have a few early losses, which relieves you of the pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season." - Bill Vaughan "When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound. Rebuild those plans and set sail once again toward your coveted goal." - Napoleon Hill "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." - Henry Ford _________________________________________________________________ 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. 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