~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. May 2005 - Volume 8, Issue 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Look Out Below * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Controlling Insights * Quick Quotes – Use Your Imagination ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOOK OUT BELOW By Dr. John C. Maxwell On April 14, 1912, a luxury ocean liner on its maiden voyage struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank within hours, sending some 1,500 people to cold, watery graves. The "Titanic" tragedy has been memorialized and analyzed in movies, books and historical exhibits. As anyone who saw James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster movie about this event can attest, the story is full of great human drama. From a leadership perspective, however, what really interests me is the iceberg. About 10 percent of an iceberg is above the surface of the ocean, while the remaining 90 percent lies beneath the water. The lookouts on the "Titanic" spotted the visible part of the iceberg just in time to avoid it, but at that point, there was nothing they could do to avoid the huge mass of ice that rested under the surface. On impact, the double-bottomed hull of the great ship ruptured, sinking a vessel that had previously been considered unsinkable. This brings me to an intriguing comparison between an iceberg and a person's leadership. The visible 10 percent (the "tip of the iceberg," if you will) represents leadership skill—the practices, attitudes and behaviors that people see on a daily basis. The other 90 percent represents leadership character—those defining qualities that make us who we are but can't be seen from the outside. Author Tim Elmore says that much of our influence as leaders flows from four unseen elements that make up our character. They are: 1. Self discipline. Simply stated, this is the ability to do what's right even if you don't feel like it. The most successful people I know have gotten where they are because they are extremely self-disciplined. They don't need other people cheering them on every step of the way—they perform well because they've trained themselves to do so. 2. Core values. These are the principles that enable us to take a moral stand—to do the right thing, regardless of the circumstances. Our core values influence our behavior. They guide how we act on a personal level as well as within our larger organizational framework. 3. A sense of identity. This involves having a healthy image of who we are. It's the ability to be comfortable in our own shoes. 4. Emotional security. This includes the capacity to be emotionally stable and consistent. The bad news about icebergs—as the folks on the "Titanic" unfortunately discovered—is that it's what's below the surface that sinks the ship. The same is true when it comes to leadership. When our character is weak—when we are in any way lacking in self-discipline, core values, a strong sense of identity and emotional security—it will eventually hurt our capacity to lead. This is exactly what happened to Charles Colson, an aide to President Richard Nixon who spent seven months in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. In a 2003 speech at Brown University, Colson talked about what happens when a tremendously talented individual in a highly responsible leadership position lacks a moral and ethical foundation. He said he ended up in prison—not because he lacked intelligence, connectedness or giftedness—but because his character—the 90 percent of his leadership that lay under the surface—was not what it should have been. On the other hand, the good news about icebergs is that it's what's below the surface that supports the tip of the iceberg. In the same way, a sound, ethical character will hold you up as you use your visible leadership skills to the benefit of everyone around you. In my book, "There's No Such Thing as Business Ethics," I wrote, "There are really only two important points when it comes to ethics. The first is a standard to follow. The second is the will to follow it." That's always the tension. That's always the issue. There are two aspects to ethics. The first involves the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and propriety from impropriety. And the second involves the commitment to do what is right, good and proper. As I often say, we must lead ourselves before we lead others. Are there areas of your leadership that have been tarnished by your tending to the tip of the iceberg and neglecting the portion that is below the water? When a self-disciplined, emotionally secure leader has a healthy sense of identity and operates under a good set of core values- in other words, when the unseen portion of his leadership is on solid ground—he is well positioned to avoid leadership catastrophes of "Titanic" proportions, as well as to weather the typical storms that often arise on the high seas of leading. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT IT TAKES A high-level military leader is in the spotlight in the April issue "Leadership Guide", an online magazine published by Leadership Education and Development, Inc. In a compelling interview, Gen. Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong, commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, defines leadership as "motivating an average work force to achieve extraordinary results," names Abraham Lincoln as the leader who left the "most distinguishing fingerprints" on our country and credits his parents for developing a firm foundation for his life and career. He also spells out the five characteristics he believes are most critical for people who desire to be good leaders: integrity, courage, respect, discipline and preparation. "Clearly, integrity is the gold standard for ethical, effective leadership," he explains. "You can have the greatest of intentions with respect to integrity, but if you don't have the courage to pull the trigger on the right action, your integrity is undermined. Personal and professional discipline characterize an individual's commitment and behavior—both will be noted by all who follow you. "Leaders don't (and won't always) have to be liked—but they do have to be respected," he continues. "It's much better if the situational leadership circumstances permit a warm, likable attitude from you, but that doesn't always work—respect always works. And finally, there's no substitute for preparation—to know the issues and construct the solutions, you have to do the legwork involved in preparing yourself technically to lead." To read more, see: http://www.leadershipdevelopment.com/main/html/magazine_results.html?article_id=187 _________________________________________________________________ RECONSTRUCTING CONFLICT Leaders who find themselves involved in conflict—with a peer, a direct report, a boss or someone else—often can turn a negative situation into a positive one by responding to the problem constructively. In a recent e-newsletter, the Center for Creative Leadership outlined several ways to make this happen. Here are a few: • Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Imagine how the situation looks from his perspective. Ask open-ended questions, restate what he says and request examples to clarify issues that are confusing you. • Express your feelings honestly, clearly and courteously. "Choose your words carefully," the CCL states. "Explain how you feel and why. Express information in ways that cast no blame. Don't let your own hot buttons interfere with the process." • Wait to respond. If tensions get too high, don't hesitate to call a time out. A delay in responding doesn't mean you're avoiding or ignoring the conflict. • Be first to make amends. "Express your sincere desire to understand" the person with whom you were in conflict, the CCL advises. Verbally take responsibility for your part of the conflict, and ask what you can do to make it right. For more information, see: http://www.ccl.org/CCLCommerce/news/newsletters/enewsletter/2005/APRpositive.aspx?CatalogID=News&CategoryID=Enewsletter(Newsletters) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTROLLING INSIGHTS "The One Thing You Need to Know … About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success" By Marcus Buckingham (Free Press, 2005) According to Marcus Buckingham, the secret to sustained individual success doesn't involve finding the right mentor, overcoming your weaknesses, figuring out what you're passionate about, managing your time better or any number of other suggestions personal growth experts usually make. Those activities are often helpful, of course. But the key to career success, in Buckingham's view, is to "discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it." To some, that might seem overly simplistic—perhaps even impossible. After all, there aren't many people who can just up and quit a job they don't like, whenever they feel like it. But, in "The One Thing You Need to Know", Buckingham offers a cogent argument for this counterintuitive piece of advice (and even explains how to do it without finding a new employer). He backs it up with personal experience, noting that he once "wasted" 18 months because he failed to remove certain activities from his life that he found especially draining. Ironically, the assignment that Buckingham found so exhausting— managing a group of people—is one of the areas of expertise that has made him one of the hottest stars in the business guru game today. "USA Today" reports that the 39-year-old British "management sage" gave 45 speeches at $55,000 each last year, which "puts him in a league with Jim Collins, Jason Jennings and Tom Peters" when it comes to celebrity business speaker rankings. Now an independent consultant, Buckingham previously spent 17 years with The Gallup Organization, interviewing thousands of top leaders and managers about how they think and work. That research resulted in two ground-breaking bestsellers—"First, Break All the Rules", co-written with Curt Coffman and "Now, Discover Your Strengths", co-written with Donald O. Clifton. With "The One Thing You Need to Know"—his first solo effort as an author—Buckingham took a different approach. Building upon previous studies, he zeroed in on a few top performers—the "best of the best"—in a variety of fields to discover the secrets to their extraordinary success. He looked for one factor or "controlling insight" that led to each person's greatness as a leader, a manager or in an individual career. The three controlling insights he found—including the admonition to "discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it"—form the basis of this book. Some of the material in "The One Thing You Need to Know" seems to have been recycled from the author's previous books. But there's enough fresh material to keep even the most ardent fans of "First, Break All the Rules" interested. One highlight is Buckingham's frank discussion about the differences between leading and managing, which includes a fascinating illustration from the Pennsylvania coalmine rescue that gripped the country's attention a few years ago. Buckingham's conversational writing style makes "The One Thing You Need to Know" an enjoyable read. Despite his star status on the leadership circuit and his comprehensive knowledge of his subject matter, he comes across as a likeable, transparent guy who doesn't mind poking fun at himself every now and then. For example, referring to those 18 months he "wasted" trying to be a manager, he writes: "After a lifetime of interviewing, I know more about great managing than I ever thought I would know, but I can't do it. In this sense, I'm a shining example of the maxim ‘If you can't do, teach. And if you really can't do, consult about it.' " Buckingham may not think much of his managerial skills, but he certainly has a knack for cutting through conventional leadership wisdom and helping readers to think about what they're doing, why they're doing it and whether they should keep doing it. -- Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USE YOUR IMAGINATION "Imagination lit every lamp in this country, produced every article we use, built every church, made every discovery, performed every act of kindness and progress, created more and better things for more people. It is the priceless ingredient for a better day." — Henry J. Taylor "The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand with as much regularity as an accountant settles down each day to his figures. They didn't waste time waiting for inspiration." — Earnest Newman "A strong imagination begetteth opportunity." — Michel de Montaigne _________________________________________________________________ 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) 2005, INJOY, Inc.