~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. December 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment I - The Lady was a Leader * Maxwell Moment II - What I Know about People * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Interview – Leadership Evolution * Quick Quotes - Above and Beyond ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE LADY WAS A LEADER By Dr. John C. Maxwell Two years ago, the world lost a great leader. Mary Kay Ash, the founder of the cosmetics empire that bears her name, died on Nov. 22, 2001. I never had the privilege of meeting Mary Kay, but I've read her books and I've talked to people who knew her. And everything I've learned confirmed what I already believed--that she was the picture of an exemplary leader. Mary Kay started her company in 1963 with her life savings of $5,000 and the help of her 20-year-old son. Her goal then--and to the day she died--was to provide women with an unlimited opportunity for personal and financial success. She achieved that goal. Today, the company has over one million independent beauty consultants in more than 30 markets worldwide and is the largest direct seller of skin care products in the United States. Someone once asked Mary Kay how she succeeded so quickly. "I was a middle-aged lady, had varicose veins, and I didn't have time to fool around," she replied. That answer says a lot about Mary Kay's sense of humor and view of life. But I think there's a bit more to the story of her rapid success. Here are four factors that contributed to Mary Kay's rapid growth. 1. She had a need, and that gave her passion. I've always said that the seed of a miracle is a need, and that was definitely true in Mary Kay's case. Remember the last time you wanted to accomplish something great, and you wanted to do it quickly? Your desire was accompanied by a tremendous sense of urgency, wasn't it? The need inspires the passion. 2. She had an idea, and that gave her potential. The most important thing in life is a good idea. It's more important than time; it's more important than money. When it comes to potential for growth, you're only as big as the idea that you possess right now. Mary Kay knew what she wanted to accomplish, and that gave her potential. 3. She made a commitment, and that gave her personal success. She was willing to put her life savings on the line in order to achieve personal success. It is a fact of life that you can only go as far as your commitment lets you go. When your commitment level is low, you don't accomplish very much. But when your commitment level is high, you can achieve a great deal. 4. She knew how to lead. If you don't remember anything else about Mary Kay, remember this: Her ability to lead compounded her success. With hard work, initiative, discipline and the right skills, everyone has the potential to be a personal success. But only leaders have the potential to compound success. Let me explain what I mean. You don't compound success by doing what you can do. You compound success by bringing others to your vision and accomplishing that vision through them. That's exactly what Mary Kay did. She didn't just have great gifts that enabled her to be a personal success. The lady was a leader, and that's what allowed her to take her vision and pass it on to hundreds of thousands of women all across the globe. _________________________________________________________________ WHAT I KNOW ABOUT PEOPLE By Dr. John C. Maxwell One of the things that characterized the leadership of Mary Kay Ash--and contributed greatly to her success--was the fact that she valued the individual worth of people. This concept wasn't just a corporate slogan for the cosmetics company that bears her name; it was the way she lived her life. This remarkable lady started her company as a way to provide women with an unlimited opportunity for personal and financial success. Why did she have that goal? Because she valued people. To her, everybody was somebody. And in the end, that's what made her a success. Thinking about this philosophy that was so much a part of Mary Kay's life brought to mind a few truths that I have discovered about people over the years. Here are five key principles that will help you understand the people you lead and help you lead them more effectively. 1. Everybody wants to be somebody. Isn't that true? Everybody wants to accomplish something. They want to have some worth. They want a little recognition. And they certainly want some affirmation. 2. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. I say this often; in fact, you've probably read it before in this e-newsletter, but it's worth repeating because it's so important. If you want to touch people and change lives, you have to touch them relationally first. Don't tell them what you know. You don't impress them with your knowledge; you impress them with your compassion. 3. Everybody needs somebody. Every so often, I come across someone who says, "I don't need anybody. I'm independent; I'm a self-made man (or woman)." When people tell me this, they think I'm going to congratulate them. But I don't. In fact, my reaction is just the opposite. You can't achieve greatness by yourself. So if you've done something all by yourself, you haven't done much at all. 4. Anybody who helps somebody influences a lot of somebodies. When you help someone, you're not only helping that person. Either directly or indirectly, you're also helping everyone within that person's sphere of influence. The power of influence always adds and multiplies. 5. Today, somebody will rise up and become somebody. This was one of Mary Kay's foundational understandings. Because she believed so strongly in the individual worth of every person, she could see your value before you saw it yourself. She could latch onto your potential before you ever bought into it. That's just how she was. It's part of what made her a great leader. You may not achieve the kind of name recognition that Mary Kay realized in her lifetime, but if you take these five ideas to heart and act accordingly, you will greatly increase your chances of succeeding--as a leader and in all your other roles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BAD, BAD LEADERS Everyone has a story about a bad boss--someone who made it tough to come to work every day. But then there are those really, really bad bosses--the ones who have no business leading anyone, period. Fortune magazine's Annie Fisher recently asked the readers of her "Ask Annie" column to share stories about the worst or weirdest supervisors they've ever had. The answers she shared in her column ranged from disgusting to shocking, and all could be fodder for a book about how not to lead. For example, there was the reader whose boss reminded her of Henry VII: "Whenever an employee bugged him for whatever reason, off with their head. He would have me fire them." Another worked for a boss who had been married eight times and was engaged to wife No. 9. This fellow also "carried a gun in his glove box and bragged about how one of his ex-wives tried to get a friend to kill him during their divorce." And then there was this great example of how not to motivate your employees, sent in by someone who worked at a bank in Seattle. "I was the only person who made it to the office on a day when we had a 9-inch snowfall," the reader wrote. "My boss still chewed me out for getting only half my reports done." Thankfully, many of Annie's readers were able to find some good in these bad situations. "The good news is that (my terrible boss) was a wonderful negative role model," one wrote. "I have avoided many mistakes in my career by trying not to be like her." For more information, please visit: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/annie/0,15704,486866,00.html _________________________________________________________________ IMPETUS FOR CHANGE Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith was once called upon to help a top-performing investment banker fix his habit of treating direct reports and colleagues very badly. Although the client (Goldsmith referred to him as "Mike") produced "astounding" numbers, he was surly and offensive to everyone, including the CEO, Goldsmith writes in a recent issue of Fast Company. Goldsmith knew it might be hard to break through to Mike by questioning his work performance, so he chose a slightly more personal approach. He asked him how he treated people at home. Not surprisingly, Mike said he was a great husband and father: "a warrior on Wall Street but a pussycat at home." Unconvinced, Goldsmith told Mike to call his wife and ask her the same question. Her answer--that Mike was a jerk at home, too-- shocked the banker. The fact that his two children agreed with her also disturbed him. Mike got the message, writes Goldsmith. He decided to change-- not because he didn't want to get fired, but because of the legacy he would be leaving his sons if he didn't reform his ways. The moral of the story, according to Goldsmith, is simple: "Anybody can change, but they have to want change. Sometimes you can deliver that message by reaching people where they live, not where they work." Goldsmith's second lesson for leaders is that if you truly want to know how your actions come across to your coworkers and customers, stop gazing adoringly at yourself in the mirror. "Let your colleagues hold the mirror and tell you what they see," he writes. "If you don't believe them, do the same with your loved ones and friends....We all claim to want the truth. This is a guaranteed delivery system." For more information, please visit: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/75/mgoldsmith.html _________________________________________________________________ WHEN A TEAM WORKS Terms like "teamwork" and "team-based organization" are popular buzz words in business today, but it's often difficult for a leader to create, manage and motivate an actual team (which, according to the Center for Creative Leadership, is "a small group of interdependent individuals who, together, have the expertise, knowledge and skills needed to complete an assigned task or ongoing work.") According to a recent CCL e-newsletter, one way to improve in this area is to understand when it's appropriate to work in teams and when it is not. For example, teams are often needed to perform complex, cross-functional assignments such as resource planning, formulating an international expansion strategy or developing an internet business model. Teams also can help a company get through a controversial organizational change. "When an organization expects resistance, teams can increase the speed at which new ideas are accepted and help spread commitment to new strategies by communicating through its members to the company's different functional areas," the newsletter states. Finally, teams foster innovation "because they create a climate in which different opinions and viewpoints rub against one another," says the CCL's Kim Kanaga. "This leads to creative perspectives that outpace what any individual might have otherwise achieved." Once an innovative new system is in place, however, it doesn't take a team to manage it, he says. "That's a task better suited to individuals and workgroups." For more information, please visit: http://www.ccl.org/connected/enews/articles/0903reallyneed.htm _________________________________________________________________ THE SCIENCE BEHIND 'EUREKAS' When it comes to idea generation, is it better to brainstorm in a group or by yourself? Is it more effective to say ideas out loud or write them down during a brainstorming activity? Do the best ideas come early or late during an idea-generation session? Paul Paulus, a psychologist with the University of Texas at Arlington's Group Creativity Lab, has been researching the art of brainstorming for the last fourteen years. By staging more than 1,000 brainstorming sessions and measuring the results, Paulus has made some surprising discoveries about the "science behind eurekas," according to Inc. magazine's Alison Stein Wellner. For example, Paulus has found that group brainstorming really doesn't work very well. In fact, business owners and leaders are "almost always better off" instructing employees to brainstorm individually, writes Wellner. Why? Group sessions can stifle creativity because members may worry what others (including their bosses) may think about their ideas or they may be shy about speaking up. That said, group brainstorming is good for team-building--"the trick is to capture the efficiencies of an individual while making the most of the bonhomie and synergy of a group brainstorm," Wellner writes. This can be done by alternating individual brainstorming with group meetings or by conducting something called "brainwriting," in which one group member writes down his ideas (yes, it is better to write ideas down instead of saying them out loud), another reads them, gives feedback and adds his own ideas, and so on. This type of activity generates about 40 percent more ideas than individuals brainstorming alone, according to Paulus' research. Finally, Paulus has found that the best ideas don't surface early in a session, when everyone is fresh. Rather, they tend to come at or near the end, after the participants have generated lots of other thoughts (quantity, not quality, should be the goal of a brainstorming session, according to researchers). But don't put a group of employees in a room, lock the door and hide the key until they've come up with 100 ideas about how to solve your organization's most pressing problem. Breaks are important; in fact, they often lead to breakthroughs. For more information, please visit: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20031001/strategies.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP EVOLUTION John Baldoni has consulted executives and independent entrepreneurs on leadership for more than twenty years. He is the author of four books, including "Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders" and "Personal Leadership: Taking Control of Your Work Life". He sat down with us recently to share some insight about leadership at different levels and how it has evolved over the years. Leadership Wired: How has leadership landscape and culture changed during the two decades that you have been consulting? John Baldoni: I think when we first started, hierarchy was everything. We've now evolved into more decentralized decision- making, but in times of crisis we go into hierarchy but all of us on the leadership side push for more front-line decision making, and that's really where it is because we're in a global economy with trends erupting anywhere in the world that can affect our businesses, even if we're not global enterprises. The whole, I think we've also realized that if we're going to grow a business we need to develop our people, and our people need to be allowed to achieve their potential, and that's the area where I work in. LW: I assume that from your years of consulting, that was what provided you with "180 Ways to Walk the Motivation Talk" and "180 Ways to Talk the Motivation Talk". Is that correct? JB: Yes. Those are books I call my "grab and go" leadership. So often people are thrust into positions of management without any coaching. They're just told, "Jim, you're doing a great job for us, and, by the way, you're going to be promoted on Monday," and so all of a sudden they freeze, like deer in the headlights. "What am I going to do?" The genesis of those books is to give them some simple, "grab and go" leadership ideas that they can put into the workplace right away. I've come up with a little leadership model for 180 ways which is what leaders do--it's the leader model--they listen and learn, they energize their people, they act for the benefit of others, develop, empower their people and recognize. And on Motivation Story, we talked about how you can motivate yourself, motivate a team, and motivate the organization. Now the secret in motivation is that we don't motivate others, we create conditions for them to motivate themselves. You can force someone; you can compel someone to do something, but how committed will they be? Not very, because they're living in fear. Better to excite them and create conditions where they want to motivate yourselves; and you do that through open and honest communications, setting expectations, lots of feedback, providing growth opportunities, delegating responsibility and authority, those kinds of things. LW: You've said that the purpose of leadership communications is straightforward: build great levels of trust and drive results. Talk to us a little bit about that. JB: The essence of leadership communication is all about building trust. Leadership is an act of persuasion. If a follower doesn't trust someone, they can't believe in them and they won't do anything. It's a short endgame and so the outcome of leadership has to be results. If you're a leader and you're not getting things done--you're not achieving those results, then you're failing as a leader. Now, what communications can do is enable you to build that trust and drive those results. And I like to define leadership communication as a three-way process: it's speaking--speaking from the leadership point of view--and by the leadership point of view I mean doing what is good for the organization and for individuals. It's listening for understanding. Do you really understand what I'm saying? And be patient and make certain that the people do; and allow for feedback. Are you receiving my message? Is this a good message? And then the learning process is where the leader takes back what he or she has seen and heard. So it's a cycle--speaking, listening, and learning--and it renews itself. LW: What do you see as the greatest challenge to leaders today? JB: It's understanding that I can be a leader and that I can influence other people. Once you've accepted that challenge and accepted that choice, it's making time to lead and to understand that your most important job is to your other people. It's not that you don't do the work anymore; other people do it. You help them. Sometimes you may dive into the details, sometimes you may do the scut work; but most of the time, you're there to assist them. But really understanding the concept that "What I achieve is what we achieve" is the challenge. LW: Discuss the idea of developing a leadership brand and how it affects organizational culture. JB: A leadership brand should be a synthesis of an individual leader's convictions and beliefs, but it should be in harmony with the total organization. All organizations should be about honesty, integrity, and ethics. You have to have those. And your brand as a leader should complement that. What we often see in organizations is that a magnetic culture develops around the leader. Take Southwest Airlines, for example. Herb Kelleher developed that culture along with everyone else. Although he is no longer the active CEO, the others seem to have taken that culture, so his leadership brand was very much of the people, but they looked to him for the leadership decisions. At the same time, you have to let people have their own decision making. So, Southwest Airlines was the brand of Herb Kelleher, which has been suffused through the whole culture. Now, other organizations don't have that, but the leader's values should be in harmony with the organization. LW: How can leaders use the insights of marketing to rally employees behind them? JB: Marketing is another act of persuasion, of putting a product out there and offering it to the marketplace, advertising it, promoting it, and making it exciting. You want to bring customers to your offering, whether it's a product or a service. Leadership is the same thing. Leaders put themselves out there and bring people to them; and what brings others to them is that power of their vision which should be in harmony with their organization; but on a personal level, it's that authenticity: "I believe in that individual." James McGregor Burns talks about the art of leadership as bringing others to embrace the same value system because they want to; in other words, your values are my values, and together we believe this. This is what we will do. So that's a twist. Marketers are always actively communicating outwardly. They are making their products available. Leaders need to do the same thing. They have to be active communicators; they have to be seen, they have to be heard, they have to be available. That's another part of the marketing equation. LW: One last question: Talk to us a bit about leading from the middle of the pack. Let's say you're not the head of an organization or a department. How can a person make an impact and influence change in the sublevels of management and leadership? JB: There's a lot of literature coming about of leading from the middle. We see this in organizations where there are good, solid managers who promote their people and do what's good, and they're highly productive. But it's a perpetual squeeze; it's from the bottom and from the top. And a change initiative really has to be blessed from the top; otherwise, it isn't going to happen. But, if you want to push for things, the way you lead from the middle is to adopt the voice of the customer. If you want to change an organization, say, "This is what our customers want us to do. This is why we must change." Also, look at aligning that with the development needs of your people. Say, if we want to go there, we need to offer more training to our people, we need to develop them more, we need to give them more job rotation, we need to change job designs, all those kinds of things together. So it's a symbiotic process. It really comes down to personal leadership--the integrity, the sense of autonomy, initiative, the desire to make a positive difference, responsibility, and willingness to be accountable. And I think accountability's the most important thing. A good term for managing from the middle is being a beacon of integrity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOVE AND BEYOND "No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines greatness." - Charles Kendall Adams "Here is a simple but powerful rule: Always give people more than they expect to get." - Nelson Boswell "Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you." - Henry Ward Beecher