~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. March 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – "E" is for Effort * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Improving Performance * Quick Quotes – Wholehearted Effort ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "E" IS FOR EFFORT By Dr. John C. Maxwell My wife Margaret and I are big history buffs. So, when the Berlin Wall was coming down in 1989, we talked about going to Germany to watch it fall in person. What an opportunity to see one of the greatest historical events of the twentieth century unfold right before our eyes! It would have just taken a few days out of my calendar to experience a bit of history in the making, but we didn't do it. With a little extra effort, I could have made a memory with my family that I would have cherished for the rest of my life. Instead, all I have is regret that we didn't go. If I took a survey, I'm sure most of you would be able to think of a time when you could have experienced something wonderful if you had only put forth a little extra effort. You'd probably also be able to recall a time when you could have excelled in some area if you had only tried a bit harder. Perhaps your example would have to do with physical fitness, academics, your golf game, a personal relationship, or your career. Whatever the case, a little extra effort is all it would have taken for you to reach the next level of success. I'm not trying to discourage you by reminding you of past regrets. Far from it. I'm hoping that reading this will prompt you to work a little smarter, listen a little better, push a little harder, or persevere a little longer when it comes to current and future projects, responsibilities, and relationships. Is doing a little bit more really that important? Well, look at it this way. How do people at the top get there? Do they take an elevator? Does a helicopter drop them off at the peak? Of course not. People at the top get there by going the extra mile, working the extra hours, and investing the extra time. They realize that nobody's going to come along and carry them to the pinnacle; they have to get there themselves through their own hard work. The same is true for you. If you want to get to the top in any segment of life, a little extra effort is essential. In his book, "Leadership When the Heat is On", Danny Cox advises leaders who want to achieve great things to ask themselves four questions: * What do I really want? * What will it cost? * Am I willing to pay the price? * When should I start paying the price? "If you don't answer the last question and make a commitment to a start date, the first three questions don't really matter," Cox writes. "The best answer [to the last question], of course, is 'now.' Achievers choose what losers won't and pay the price that others don't." In other words, achievers are willing to put forth a little extra effort in order to accomplish their goals. What does it take to have a better marriage? A little extra effort. What does it take to be a better friend, team member, mentor or parent? A little extra effort. What does it take to become a better leader? You guessed it—a little extra effort. Don't wait until tomorrow to start putting forth that extra effort. Do it now, while you still can. I assure you—you won't regret it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT When you work on a team, whether it's a corporate leadership team or a group assembled for a specific project, you can expect some conflict every now and then. If handled correctly, such tension can be a good thing. For one thing, it keeps the members from falling prey to "groupthink," which the Center for Creative Leadership defines as a team's "inability to critically evaluate itself and its work." The challenge, according to a recent CCL e-newsletter, is for teams and team leaders to "minimize destructive conflict while encouraging constructive disagreement and open debate." To do that, consider the following tips: 1. Discuss personal and team priorities openly. "This offers the chance to deal with genuine conflicts and minimize the power of hidden agendas or undermining of team goals," the CCL states. 2. Value a positive attitude. When possible, try to select people for the group who have "demonstrated an ability to be pleasant in other team settings." 3. Volunteer to assist other team members. Over time, this will allow you to "develop trust and goodwill that will help you weather conflict," CCL says. 4. Consider others' viewpoints. Encourage individuals who disagree to "switch perspectives and argue the other person's view," the CCL states. 5. Explain your actions. This keeps others from speculating about what you've done and why you've done it. For more information, see: http://www.ccl.org/CCLCommerce/news/newsletters/enewsletter/2004/ JANconflict.aspx?CatalogID=News&CategoryID=Enewsletter (Newsletters) _________________________________________________________________ WHO'S FOLLOWING THE LEADER? If you want to find out what makes a great leader, how to be a better leader, what's wrong with today's leaders, or anything else about leadership in general, there's a good chance you can find a book—probably even dozens of books—that can help. But if your goal is to find a book about how to be a good follower, you might be looking for a while. Although there are no leaders without followers, resources about leadership far outnumber those on "followership," according to a recent article in USA Today. "Leadership experts line up to be interviewed," writes USA Today's Del Jones, "but ask them what makes a good follower and they fumble a bit and then revert to talking about what makes a good leader." It has often been suggested that we have a shortage of leaders in today's society. But some experts are beginning to assert that the real problem is a shortage of followers. In fact, one corporate governance consultant believes "the lack of great followers is as much to blame as crooked executives for recent scandals." Why? Because followers have a duty to speak up, and few did. So what does it take to be a good follower? The same traits that make a good Boy Scout—be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, courteous, obedient, thrifty, cheerful, and brave—says Wess Roberts, author of the "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun." "Leadership experts say those happen to be the qualities of great leaders as well," writes Jones, "which begs the question: Are great leaders and great followers one and the same?" If not, they're close, says Max Messmer, author of "Motivating Employees for Dummies." "I've never known a great leader who wasn't at one point a very good follower," he says. For more information, see: http://usatoday.com/money/companies/management/ 2003-10-09-followers_x.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPROVING PERFORMANCE Bringing Out the Best in Others: 3 Keys for Business Leaders, Educators, Coaches and Parents By Thomas K. Connellan (Bard Press, 2003) What do 21 of the first 23 astronauts, 45 percent of the female world leaders between 1960 and 1999, 55 percent of Supreme Court justices, and more than half of all U.S. presidents have in common? They're all firstborn children, which, according to Thomas K. Connellan, likely has a great deal to do with the level of their achievements. In "Bringing Out the Best in Others," Connellan doesn't claim that being firstborn is a guarantor of success, but he does maintain it is a strong indicator. The good news, especially for those of us who don't hold that position in our families, is that the environmental factors that tend to lead to higher levels of performance among firstborns can easily be replicated in any setting, from the factory floor to the elementary school classroom. And what exactly are those key factors? Connellan, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller "Inside the Magic Kingdom," has identified three: More positive expectations, more responsibility, and more feedback. In other words, when leaders supply the environment that typically gives firstborns an advantage—when they have positive expectations for their people, when they hold them accountable for achieving those goals, and when they provide timely, supportive feedback—people respond by performing better. "Bringing Out the Best in Others" tells the story of five individuals—a sales manager, a fifth-grade teacher, a father, a hospital nursing supervisor, and the president of a paper manufacturing company—who attend a business seminar to learn how to deal with underperformers in their various spheres of influence. The seminar leader explains how the three keys work and then sends the participants home with instructions to implement what they've heard and return in ninety days to report on their progress. By using this format, Connellan effectively demonstrates how expectations, accountability, and feedback can be used to improve performance in situations where it can be directly measured (better grades or sales results, for example), as well as where the results are less tangible (greater teamwork). Though names and locations have been changed, his illustrations are based on the experiences of real people, which further cements the perception that his clearly defined theory actually works. Most leaders have probably thought about each of the three elements separately. The eye-opener is that when they're used together—in a systematic, intentional way—they can dramatically improve the performance of a poor student, a struggling salesperson, or even a youth soccer team. As readers examine their own leadership practices, they may be surprised to find that they have been contributing to poor performance, either because they have failed to use the three keys in a particular relationship, or because they have done so inconsistently. Fortunately, Connellan offers practical, step-by-step advice about how to implement each factor, from communicating expectations clearly and consistently through words, tone of voice, and body language, to very specific ways leaders can provide motivational, informational, and developmental feedback to their people. Because the book is basically one long narrative, it would have been helpful if the author had summarized the main points in an appendix, similar to the one Patrick Lencioni included in "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team." That said, "Bringing Out the Best in Others" does have a handy "Leader's Tool Kit" that features guidelines for people who want to conduct discussion groups about the book and a list of questions to help group members (as well as individual readers) evaluate their own use of the three keys. When an author claims that a book is just as useful for educators, coaches, and parents as it is for business leaders, I tend to be a bit skeptical about the content. In this case, however, that assertion is justified. Leaders at any level, in any setting, would do well to read this book and put its message to work. - Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor Editor's Note: In the next issue of "Leadership Wired," we will talk to Thomas K. Connellan, author of "Bringing Out the Best in Others," about why he wrote this book and how it can benefit leaders at any level. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHOLE-HEARTED EFFORT "Resolve that whatever you do, you will bring the whole man to it; that you will fling the whole weight of your being into it." - Orison Swett Marden "Unless you are willing to drench yourself in your work beyond the capacity of the average man, you are just not cut out for positions at the top." - J.C. Penney "There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering." - Theodore Roosevelt _________________________________________________________________ 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) 2004, INJOY, Inc.