~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. August 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 15 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: • Maxwell Moment – Starting Early, Part 1 • Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape • Book Review – Grow Into Your Role • Quick Quotes – What the Prez Said ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STARTING EARLY, PART 1 By Dr. John C. Maxwell When I was in my mid-twenties, my assistant gave me a book for my birthday. The book had nothing in it—the pages were blank. In the note that accompanied this gift, my assistant offered some wonderful advice. The gift of her message was this: "John, settle who you are and what you believe in, and then fill these pages up." In other words, she was encouraging me to develop my philosophy of life early—and to put it on paper so I would never forget it. What was really important to me? What was I willing to die for? What was non-negotiable and what was optional in my career and my relationships? The sooner I settled all this, the better off I would be. As my assistant understood, there is tremendous value in starting early—when it comes to determining your overall vision and attitude about life, as well as in many other areas. When you're young, it's hard to imagine how critical this is—you think you have your whole life ahead of you to figure everything out. Maybe so, but—all things being equal—a person who gets out of the block quickly has infinitely more potential for success than someone who doesn't. When I was 40, I put together a list of 10 powerful, practical things every young leader should do early in life—by the time he or she turns 40, at the latest. We've already discussed one of them: Develop your philosophy of life. In this issue of "Leadership Wired," I'll cover four more, and in the next issue I'll complete the list. Here we go: 1. Know yourself. This isn't some philosophical mystery; it's actually quite simple. Knowing yourself means being acutely aware of your strengths and weaknesses. It means knowing what you do well and what you don't do so well. That way you can work in your strength zone, where your most significant opportunity for growth and success lies, as opposed to focusing on your weak zone, where all you'll find is frustration and stagnation. 2. Settle your family life. Identify the issues that are affecting your family and figure out how to deal with them. Marriage always takes work, but it's pretty sad when two 40-year-olds are still struggling with the same problems they had when they got married 18 years ago. You may not resolve every issue entirely; you and your spouse may have to agree to disagree on some items. The key is to be comfortable with your differences so you can move forward together. 3. Determine your priorities. By the time you hit 40, you should have your priorities set. You should know how you want to spend your time and to what you want to devote your life. The following statement, which I've carried in my briefcase for years, highlights the importance of this: "He who seeks one thing, May hope to achieve it before life is done. But he who seeks all things wherever he goes Must reap around him in whatever he sows A harvest of barren regret." 4. Get physically fit. Early in life, people give up their health to gain wealth; later in their life, they give up their wealth to regain their health. That's how it often works, but it doesn't have to be that way. I'm not saying you have to be able to run a marathon. Just exercise and get yourself in decent shape. Don't put it off until later; start today. Trust me—whatever sacrifice this requires will pay dividends later. You won't get these issues resolved overnight—they take time, thought, and in some cases, a great deal of sweat. But don't let the complexity of the task discourage you from starting the process. Remember, the sooner you settle all this, the better off you'll be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNLOCKING LEADERSHIP What does it take to succeed as a leader? Are there certain traits or characteristics that can help a person perform better in a leadership role? David Campbell, who has three decades of experience working with the Center for Creative Leadership's research and training programs, would likely answer that question with an emphatic "yes." Through the years, he has narrowed the requirement field to nine components that he calls the keys to good leadership. His list, which appeared in a recent CCL e-newsletter, includes often-discussed concepts such as vision, diplomacy, empowerment, and feedback. Here are a few other characteristics Campbell has identified: * A personal style that sets an "overall organizational tone of competence, optimism, integrity, and inspiration." * Enough energy to meet the physical demands of leadership, which include working long hours, making stressful decisions, handling conflict, and traveling extensively. * The ability to find new opportunities and create new endeavors (also known as entrepreneurialism). * Multicultural awareness, which helps leaders manage "individuals and organizations across a wide range of geographic, demographic, and cultural borders." For more information, visit: http://www.ccl.org/CCLCommerce/news/ newsletters/enewsletter/2004/MAYninekeys.aspx?CatalogID= News&CategoryID=Enewsletter(Newsletters) _________________________________________________________________ FEELINGS MATTER "What is in one's history affects how one acts and thinks." There's nothing particularly earth-shattering about that statement, but it takes on greater meaning when the person who made it is a former psychoanalyst and physician who now heads a major pharmaceutical company. Daniel Vasella, the chairman and CEO of Novartis, doesn't discuss his previous career much, but his background does affect how he makes decisions and performs other aspects of his job. For example, according to "The Wall Street Journal" Online, he uses his analytical listening skills when he interviews job applicants. "I ask myself, 'Am I interested, relaxed, tense or bored, and what is this candidate doing to make me feel one way or the other?'", he told Carol Hymowitz, who writes the "In the Lead" column for WSJ.com's executive career website. "Do I feel nervous, for instance, because he is jumping from one detail to the next, or bored because he isn't saying the true story?" Vasella's past experience also helps him understand the family dynamics that are often replayed in business environments. "It's a hierarchy that in some way reflects the power distribution in families," he said, "so you have people relating to supervisors as fathers or mothers, or supervisors acting like parents and forgetting that their colleagues are adults." For more information, visit: http://www.careerjournal.com/ columnists/inthelead/20040616-inthelead.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GROW INTO YOUR ROLE "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers" By Lois P. Frankel (Warner Business Books, 2004) When choosing material to review for a publication that reaches both men and women, it might be tempting to bypass a book such as "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office." With so many good gender-neutral resources available in the business leadership category, why highlight a book that is aimed specifically at women? The answer is simple. The actions and attitudes that can sabotage the advancement of a woman's career also can greatly impede her effectiveness as a leader—whether she has executive aspirations or not. In "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office," executive coach Lois P. Frankel reveals a unique set of behaviors she says women learn in girlhood that can later cause them to be bypassed for promotions and (especially critical for women in leadership positions) ignored when they express their ideas. These learned behaviors range from working without breaks and sharing too much personal information to speaking too softly and couching statements as questions. Frankel's goal is not to get women to act like men. Rather, her message to women who are reluctant to showcase their capabilities, reticent to speak up in meetings, and willing to pick up everyone else's slack is this: "Quit bein' a girl." "You don't have to act in ways you were taught," she writes. "You have choices. Grow into your role as a leader." As the subtitle indicates, Frankel explains 101 "mistakes" women unknowingly make in several areas, including how they act, how they think, how they look, and how they sound (a must-read for every woman who either holds or aspires to hold a leadership position). Some, such as offering a limp handshake and flirting are fairly obvious errors; others—using only your first name and wearing your reading glasses around your neck, to name a few—are not so obvious. To illustrate her points, the author uses many compelling examples—drawn from her own coaching experience—of real women whose effectiveness as leaders was hampered by these mistakes. Frankel follows the short description of each mistake with a set of practical "coaching tips" that can help readers change their behavior when necessary. A self-assessment at the beginning of the book allows readers to zero in on areas where they have the most difficulty "breaking free from stereotypical feminine behaviors." "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office" is a thought-provoking overview of why some women aren't taken seriously at work and, therefore, may have difficulty advancing in their careers. Readers may not agree with all of Frankel's assessments. They may be unwilling to give up certain behaviors even if she says they may hamper their careers. They might even dispute her whole argument that women make the mistakes she describes because of their socialization as girls. But even if only 5 or 10 percent of the material applies to you, changing those particular behaviors might be just what you need to enhance your credibility among your coworkers, strengthen your ability to influence others, increase your confidence and improve your overall effectiveness as a leader. For that reason, time spent reading "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office" is time well spent. - Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT THE PREZ SAID "In matters of principle, stand like a rock." — Thomas Jefferson "Remember, always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself." — Richard Nixon "We're face-to-face with our destiny. And we must meet it with a high, resolute courage, for ours is a life of action, of strenuous performance, of duty. Let us live in the harness of striving mightily. Let us run the risk of wearing out rather than rusting out." — 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.