~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. July 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - Self Improvement, Part 2 * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Interview - Scaling New Heights * Quick Quotes – Dream a Little Dream ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SELF IMPROVEMENT, PART 2 By Dr. John C. Maxwell Did you make any New Year's resolutions this year? More importantly, have you kept them? I once heard an amazing statistic about such annual goals: 91 million Americans make a New Year's resolution each year, and— here's the startling part—70 million of them break those commitments by the end of the first week. I can't point to a scientific study that explains why so many people fail in this regard. But if I had to make an educated guess, I'd say it has something to do with the measurability—or lack thereof—of the resolutions. Let's say your goal is to read more books about leadership and career development this year. Which resolution are you more likely to keep: "I'm going to read more this year than I read last year," or "I'm going to read two chapters every day"? When you attach a measurement to an intention, you're not just blindly shooting for some ambiguous goal. You have a real way to gauge your progress, which makes it much more likely that you will actually have some progress to gauge. This is a key principle to remember as you start tackling the self-improvement projects I talked about in the last issue of "Leadership Wired." You cannot manage what you cannot measure. If growth in a certain area is essential to your success, you have to find a way to measure your improvement in that area. Otherwise, you won't improve. Here are seven other insights about improvement that will help you to develop—and stick to—a blueprint for your own personal growth. 1. Set realistic expectations for your improvement. Ian MacGregor says, "I work on the same principle as people who train horses. You start with low fences, easily achieved goals, and you work up. It is important in management never to ask people to try to accomplish goals they can't accept." In other words, set realistic expectations for yourself. Think about what you can tackle in a day, because whatever you tackle today, you also need to tackle tomorrow and the next day. 2. Continual change is essential for continual improvement. This is one of the great paradoxes of success: The things which got you there are seldom the things which keep you there. There's no way around it. If you want to improve, you have to change. 3. Motivation gets you started; habits keep you going. You can only stay fired up about working out at 5 a.m. (or learning to speak German, or teaching yourself how to build an internet site, or whatever you're working on) for so long. After the novelty wears off, the daily discipline you established early in the process will spur you to continue. 4. We overestimate what we can do in a month, and we underestimate what we can do in a year. As a society, we are infatuated with big and fast. We're always looking for a shortcut or a quicker way. But as anyone who has ever lost weight and kept it off will tell you, the improvements made over time are the ones that last. 5. Focus. Notice what well-known psychologist William James said about this: "If you would be rich, you will be rich; and if you would be good, you will be good; and if you would be learned, you will be learned. But wish for one thing exclusively, and don't at the same time wish for a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly." His point? You can't achieve everything. You have to decide what is most important, and focus on that. 6. Spend 80 percent of your time working on your strengths. As I often say, people don't pay for average. Rather than trying to improve weak skills, devote most of your energy to developing your gifts and abilities. This might sound like a strange bit of advice, but think about it. If, on a scale of one to ten, your marketing abilities are about a two, hard work might bring you up to a five, but that's still average. If you want to succeed, you must figure out what your strengths are and grow in those areas. (When I talk about strengths and weaknesses, I'm referring to skills. Two weaknesses that must be addressed are a lack of self-discipline and a bad attitude. You could have all the skills in the world, but if you have a poor attitude or you lack self-discipline, you will literally sabotage yourself.) Finally, as you formulate your strategy for self-improvement and begin to work on areas that need refinement (or perhaps even a complete overhaul), ask this question continually: Is what I am doing today getting me closer to my goal tomorrow? If so, you're on the right track. If not, there's no time like the present to regroup and start moving in the right direction once again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE LEADER'S JOB The editors of Fast Company recently asked their readers to share their thoughts about the characteristics, qualities, and skills of successful leaders. The most compelling answers, which were featured in the June issue, revealed that the magazine's readers— any of whom are leaders themselves—have a good understanding of what it means to lead effectively. In the words of the Fast Company Faithful, here are a few of the most important things good leaders do: * "Fully delegate." * "Serve." * "Listen and act." * "Find, groom and train his/her replacement." * "Lead, not manage." * "Make leaders." * "Lead with integrity—'integrated' so that those you lead know who you are, and that you are consistent from the inside out." For more information, see: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/83/open_thingsleadersdo.html _________________________________________________________________ AVOIDING DERAILMENT When a leader's career "derails," there's a good chance that problems with interpersonal relationships are a major contributing factor to the wreck. That's according to research done by the Center for Creative Leadership, which defines derailed executives as "individuals who are initially quite successful but later in their careers are fired, demoted, or repeatedly passed over for promotion." Such people typically aren't aware of the interpersonal deficiencies that could lead to their derailment, a recent CCL e-newsletter states. For example, these leaders are often described by coworkers as insensitive and competitive. They isolate themselves, they're dictatorial and they get angry easily. They're overly critical and overly demanding, as well as arrogant, manipulative, and emotionally explosive. On the other hand, executives for whom the risk of derailment is lessened due to their superior relational skills are described as being good listeners, teamwork oriented, nonauthoritarian, collaborative, and honest. They're also accessible and supportive of others' ideas. So how can a leader determine whether he or she is heading for trouble in this area? "By taking an honest and open look at your own strengths and weaknesses," the CCL says, "you can identify the areas where you might be at risk for career derailment and address them before you run off track." For more information, see: http://www.ccl.org/CCLCommerce/news/newsletters/enewsletter/2004/MAYthrowing.aspx ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCALING NEW HEIGHTS Leaders are often called upon to guide their people through deep valleys, and some are fortunate enough to scale mountain peaks together as well. The valleys come in the form of financial woes, industry upheaval, internal conflict, etc., while the mountaintops take the form of product breakthroughs, record- breaking years, huge new contracts, and so on. Every so often, however, a leader has the chance to climb an actual mountain—all for the sake of learning how to become a better leader. Mike Useem, professor of management and director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is an advocate of such experiential learning opportunities. He regularly organizes teams of Wharton graduates, company managers, and other groups for treks up the slopes of Mount Everest, trips to Civil War battlefields, and excursions to other non-classroom settings, all for the purpose of leadership development (see: http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/everest/index.shtml). Useem is the author of "The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All" (1998) and "Leading Up: How to Lead Your Boss So You Both Win" (2001). He also is co-author and co-editor of "Upward Bound: Nine Original Accounts of How Business Leaders Reached Their Summits" (2003). We visited with him recently about what a person needs to lead today, as well as how embarking on an extreme leadership adventure can affect a leader's life and work. Leadership Wired: What is it about leadership that led you to devote your career to studying and teaching it? Mike Useem: For management writer Peter Drucker, leadership is having followers who "do the right thing." For political historian James MacGregor Burns, leadership is a "calling." For President Abraham Lincoln, leadership is appealing to the "better angels of our nature." Leadership is also a matter of making a difference. It entails changing a failed strategy or revamping a languishing organization. It requires us to make an active choice among many plausible alternatives, and it depends on bringing others along, on mobilizing them to get the job done. Leadership is at its best when the vision is strategic, the voice persuasive, and the results tangible. We all need to be ready for those moments when our leadership is on the line, when the fate or fortune of others depends on what we do. And we all need to do what we can to assist others in preparing for those moments when their leadership is essential. My chosen method for doing so is to study what constitutes the capacities of great leadership, and then to assist others in mastering them through both classroom and experiential learning. LW: In today's marketplace, are there certain traits and skills a leader absolutely must possess if he/she wants to be truly effective? Useem: Without John F. Kennedy's persuasively articulated vision and strategy, human beings would not have walked on the moon in 1969. A powerful vision and strategy are a precondition for leading a company or country at any time. They offer a persuasive picture of where we want to go, how we want to get there, and why anybody should follow. Herb Kelleher formed Southwest Airlines in 1971 to make flying affordable and the company profitable, and his vision and strategy have successfully guided the company ever since. Now, vision and strategy must be joined with several new capabilities: Leading out: As companies increasingly outsource services, form joint ventures, and construct strategic alliances, they require managers who can lead out, not just down. The skill of sending work downward to subordinates is being supplemented by a talent for arranging work with partners. Lateral leadership is essential for achieving results when you have no authority to guarantee them. Leading up: As companies have decentralized authority, they have put a premium on a manager's capacity to muster support from above as well as below. Managers must be able to lead their own bosses, not just their subordinates. Moving fast: Whether building a new company or developing an established enterprise, acting decisively has become essential in our more fickle and fast-changing markets. So too is an ability to revamp the business model and redeploy assets to take advantage of new opportunities before competitors do. LW: What advice would you have for someone who led a small team successfully and has recently been promoted into a position with far greater influence? Useem: Leaning to lead at a higher level requires a good appreciation for what's required of those below. It also requires letting go and making clear what you expect of your subordinates—strategic intent—without micromanaging how they will achieve your goals. LW: When did you start taking MBA graduates on treks to Mount Everest? What is the purpose of such excursions? Useem: The classroom alone does not succeed as well as it should in engendering one of the most critical capacities of leadership: the ability to make good, swift, and binding decisions in a fast- changing environment. It is for this reason that we have moved outside the classroom to create more than a dozen experiences that allow students to witness, experience and learn the art of leadership decision making. Gathered under the rubric of the Wharton Leadership Ventures, they are intended to bring out the essential principles for reaching good and timely decisions when one is responsible for a team, a project, or even an enterprise. In this, the leadership ventures are akin to the action learning projects that many companies use to engage managers in purposeful learning. Leadership ventures are designed to be hands-on, tangible, and engaging—and thus instructively memorable. Our first initiative was to walk and learn from the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg. We added our trek to Mt. Everest in 1998, and now we annually sponsor ventures with more than 500 participants to destinations ranging from the Himalayas to Antarctica, and with experiences ranging from ice-climbing and Marine drill instructors to personal meditation and modern dance. LW: How does this type of an experience change a leader and his/ her approach to leadership? Useem: Our leadership ventures are designed to bring "venturites" into settings where they can learn from the experience of others whose leadership was on the line, and also from their own experience in confronting challenges and solving problems. Taking leadership development beyond the classroom gives participants a chance to more fully appreciate the entire context of leadership decision making since they come to make real-time decisions of their own. Their own leadership is on the line, and with peer feedback, instructor commentary, and after-action review, they acquire a more realistic and intense appreciation for the pitfalls of leadership decisions and a more self- conscious commitment not to repeat them. Living by one's principles, for instance, is surely a guiding concept for all leaders. When an executive asserts public adherence to good ethics and sound accounting but practices otherwise, Enron and kindred disasters are predictable results. The strongest tests of this principle come at moments when self- interested temptation is greatest, as when the Enron board decided to suspend its own code of ethics to allow for the creation of the special purpose entities that disguised its debt from the public market—and later caused its bankruptcy. This concept of living by one's principles is driven home high on our Himalayas trek as we strive to reach a high point at 19,000 feet. We all want to set foot on that summit, but we also know that we must turn around from our attempt by a certain time point or face exposure to the threatening conditions of the altitude and weather as evening is approaching. Our pre-set principle of turning around by a fixed time, regardless of proximity to the summit, is put to personal test. We know that failure to follow principle had resulted in more than one catastrophe in both mountaineering and management. And having now experienced a personal test of whether we were ready to still abide by principle when summit fever was working to contrary, we are better prepared to resist the future temptations of everyday life when expediency might seem preferable to principle. LW: How can leaders who don't have the opportunity to trek to Mount Everest learn these same lessons? Useem: Many venues close to home can provide the same kind of intense personal experiences that will help drive home the essence of leadership. Everybody should be able to find and experience their own Mt. Everest. - Interview by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DREAM A LITTLE DREAM "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'" — George Bernard Shaw "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." — Henry David Thoreau "The most successful leader of all is the one who sees another picture not yet actualized." — Mary Parker Follett _________________________________________________________________ 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.