~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. August 2005 - Volume 8, Issue 16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Make a Connection * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Interview – Overcoming Cultural Barriers * Quick Quotes – What Executives Do ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAKE A CONNECTION By Dr. John C. Maxwell Think back to your high school days for a moment. Who were your favorite teachers? Who were your favorite friends? If you were involved in sports, who were your favorite coaches? The answer is the same for each question. Your best teachers, friends and coaches were the people with whom you had a connection. They connected with you, and you connected with them. You know when someone connects with you, don't you? Words flow easily. You laugh readily. You leave the encounter feeling valued and understood. It's a bit tougher to determine whether you've connected with another person or a group of people, although body language is usually a good indicator. For example, if you're leading a strategy meeting and the members of your team are yawning, gazing out the window or looking at their watches, there's a good chance you're not connecting with them at all. Good leaders get the best out of others because they know how to relate—both individually and collectively—to the people they are leading. For some, this comes naturally; for others, it's more of an acquired skill. Fortunately, the more you do it, the more comfortable you become doing it. If you could use some improvement in this area, here is a simple formula to follow: C — Consider others first. O — Open yourself up to them. N — Never violate their trust. N — Never manipulate them. E — Encourage them at every opportunity. C — Constantly add value to their lives. T — Treat them with respect. Relationships built on this kind of connection can have a dramatic impact on the morale and performance of your team. Here's how baseball great Don Mattingly, who played first base for the New York Yankees in the 1980s and 1990s, explained how he learned this. "Team sports are really difficult things," he said. "Sometimes your team wins because of you, and sometimes in spite of you and sometimes it's like you're not even there. That's the reality of a team game. Then at one point in my career, something wonderful began to happen to me. I don't know why and I don't even know how; but I came to understand what 'team' meant. It meant that although I didn't get a hit or make a great defensive play, I could impact the team in an incredible and consistent way. "I learned that I could impact my team by caring first and foremost about the team's success and not my own," Mattingly continued. "I don't mean by rooting for us like a typical fan. Fans are fickle. I mean care, really care about the team, about 'us.' I became less selfish, less lazy, less sensitive to negative comments that were personally given to me. And when I gave up me, I became more to the other players. I became a captain, a leader, a better person; and I came to understand that life is a team game, and that you know what? I've found most people aren't team players. They don't realize that life is the only game in town. Someone should tell them. It has made all the difference in the world to me." Mattingly's statement stuck with me long after I read it because it is so universally applicable. Whether you're playing baseball, providing a service or manufacturing widgets, you don't have to make a direct contribution to be a valuable team member. Home runs are an important part of the process, of course, but so are coming to the ballpark every day, caring for your teammates and helping other people succeed. Of course, no matter how good you are at connecting with the people around you, conflict is inevitable, especially on a team. That's why knowing how to pick your battles is just as important as knowing how to get along with people. The following disciplines will help you gain a better perspective on when to fight and when to acquiesce. 1. Spend time with people who are different from you. This will help you to appreciate others and understand how they think and work, which will make you less likely to judge or battle them. 2. In matters of personal preference or taste, give in. Keep the main things the main things. If you don't save your energy for what really matters, you'll wear yourself out and wear out your welcome with others. 3. Don't take things too personally. Always remember, hurting people hurt people. That doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it can make it easier to deflect insensitive or rude comments. 4. Practice the 101 percent principle. Whenever possible, find the one percent you do agree on in a difficult situation and give it 100 percent of your effort. 5. Finally, be a servant leader. If your mindset is to serve rather than to be served, you will likely encounter less conflict. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STICK WITH IT Four years into his job as Jack Welch's successor at General Electric, Jeff Immelt is "stepping out of Welch's shadow and developing a leadership vocabulary of his own," according to John Byrne, editor-in-chief of "Fast Company". GE's new CEO "speaks about creating 'growth leaders,' holding 'dreaming sessions' with customers, developing 'imagination breakthrough' teams and projects, and the importance of 'simplification' in a big-company environment," Byrne writes in the magazine's July 2005 issue. In a comprehensive Q&A interview, Immelt also touched on many other topics, including the career path that led to his current position, what he reads each day, how to motivate people through a dry spell and whether he is concerned about his teenage daughter's future. Understanding that his work as CEO is a marathon, not a sprint, is one of the lessons he has learned in his new job, Immelt says. "All those books about the first 90 days are kind of rubbish in many ways," he says. "You have to have a plan. You have to stick with it. You have to modify it at times, but every day you've got to get up and play hard. Jack used to see me running around, even after he left, and he'd say to me, 'Remember, it's a marathon. Ten years. Fifteen years. You've got to get up every day with a new idea, a new spin, and you've got to bring it in here every day.' I always kind of knew that, but until you're right in the middle of it, you never get it. His advice was right. It's the sustained ability to change that really counts." To read more, see: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/jeff-immelt.html ________________________________________________________________ CONTRASTING STYLES A few months ago, at a presentation in Kuala Lumpur, Harvard Business School professor D. Quinn Mills offered some intriguing insights about the differences and similarities between Asian and American leadership styles. According to a transcript of his talk published in HBS's "Working Knowledge" e-zine, Mills told his audience that there are nine key qualities people seek in successful leaders: passion, decisiveness, conviction, integrity, adaptability, emotional toughness, emotional resonance, self-knowledge and humility. Some of these traits are important everywhere; others are more significant in the United States and Europe. But even some of the similar traits are demonstrated differently from culture to culture. For example, although effective executives in all countries are decisive, "European and Japanese chief executives are the most consensus-oriented," while "Chinese and American top executives are more likely to make decisions personally and with their own accountability," Mills stated. Emotional toughness is another quality that crosses cultural boundaries, although "Americans spend more time trying not to show it," Mills said. Adaptability, he said, is a "pronounced characteristic of American leadership" that is "less common and less valued in Europe and Asia"—though "it will be needed everywhere soon enough." On the other hand, self-knowledge—a strength of the Asian executive—is "less common a virtue in America." And emotional resonance—the "ability to grasp what motivates others and appeal effectively to it"—is a key leadership trait in the United States and Europe right now, but it will become more critical in Asia "as living standards improve, knowledge workers become more important, professional management gets greater demand and CEOs have to compete for managerial talent," Mills said. To read more, see: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4869&t=leadership ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interview ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OVERCOMING CULTURAL BARRIERS Although Asian-Americans are a highly educated group and represent the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. workforce, very few have made it to senior management positions at Fortune 500 companies. According to executive coach and diversity strategist Jane Hyun, this imbalance may partly be due to deeply embedded cultural values that can prevent Asian-Americans from succeeding in mainstream Western corporate culture. In her new book, "Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: The Essential Guide to Getting In, Moving Up, and Reaching the Top", Hyun—who came to the United States from Korea at the age of eight— describes the barriers that keep Asians from getting ahead and offers practical advice about how they can achieve success in the business world. While she speaks from the vantage point of the Asian-American experience, her book addresses universal themes of cultural fluency, professional development and inclusive leadership that apply to anyone who works in today's competitive marketplace. We talked to Hyun recently about these topics, as well as about how corporate leaders can be more attuned to cultural factors that might be influencing their employees' careers. Leadership Wired: Why did you write "Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling"? Jane Hyun: The title of the book, of course, is a nod to the commonly used term "glass ceiling", referring to the barrier to advancement into executive and upper management roles. Historically, this [phrase] has been used to describe the barriers that women have faced in the workplace and, more recently, to professionals of color. I chose bamboo ceiling because it evokes the same image of a barrier that must be broken while relating specifically to the Asian population. Even before I started working as a human resources executive in financial services, I recognized that there were aspects of the American corporate culture that were at odds with my deeply ingrained Asian values. They're not necessarily just organizational barriers such as discrimination or a non- inclusive work environment; they included personal and cultural barriers that could be hindering one's advancement in the workplace. When I talk about the personal barriers to Asians in the workplace, I refer primarily to the cultural values that often may be at odds with what it takes to succeed in corporate America. Additionally, we need to consider personality, temperament, moral values and other factors that distinguish us from each other and make us unique. I emphasize the importance of attaining success in corporate America by understanding how to gain new skills for navigating without compromising your cultural values. LW: Has the fact that you're Asian affected the growth of your career at all? Hyun: It has definitely impacted me in a personal way. When I started working in corporate America, I quickly realized that long hours, hard work and dogged persistence in getting the job done were not going to advance me on the job. Until then, I thought that if you simply worked hard enough, studied enough and put in your time, you would be recognized for your efforts. Instead, I learned that it was a part of my job to build a deep and broad professional network and acquire mentors who recognize the contributions that you're making so that they can consider you for the kinds of opportunities to help you succeed. Moreover, many Asian cultures tend not to encourage self- promotion and "tooting your own horn." But as we know, in the American corporate culture, if no one knows the work that you're doing, you may not obtain credit for the contributions that you make. I was raised with emphasis on modesty and not talking excessively about your background and making yourself stand out. The first year I started working, my managers gave me feedback about that. Though it was very uncomfortable for me to "market" my work to different departments, I figured out a way to do this in a style that was more natural for me. Furthermore, my managers encouraged me to network with different areas of the firm so I was able to get exposure to other departments. It was absolutely critical for me to realize these unwritten rules early on in my career. LW: You say Asians—even those whose families have lived in the United States for generations—often suffer from the "perpetual foreigner syndrome." Why is this, and how does it manifest itself in the workplace? Hyun: The perpetual foreigner syndrome refers to the perception that all Asians are foreigners; they're not truly American. Often, no matter how many generations you've been here, if you go to a setting where people don't know who you are or where you're the only Asian person, people may come up to you and ask where you're from. That labels you as somebody who's different from everybody else and can hurt your professional credibility if it happens repeatedly. Moreover, such perceptions make it tough for Asians to feel accepted in the mainstream work environment and may undermine the goal of cultivating an inclusive work environment. LW: How are the cultural values with which Asians are raised at odds with the skills needed to succeed—especially in leadership positions—in mainstream Western corporate culture? Hyun: There are a number of ways that the cultural values influence behavior at work. A common way that it manifests itself is in a reluctance to question the expert, stemming from a deeply embedded sense of respect for authority. In a business meeting setting, an Asian professional might hesitate before challenging or questioning the authority out of respect for the expert. While the intention may be different, this type of action may be negatively interpreted by the observer—the observer may assume that this person is disinterested or arrogant or doesn't know what he's doing. Or, simply, that he agrees with the course of the meeting's decisions. However, from the Asian professional's perspective, he is respecting the person in authority and giving that person the stage. The Confucian values emphasize harmony and self-restraint, and again, the respect for authority or the person in authority. So another tendency for someone in a meeting or one-on-one situation is to back down when challenged. Let's say you're a finance director and you're going into a meeting with some internal clients to report on the P&L of a business group. You're talking about the different ways that they've performed that season or that quarter, and someone says to you, "Well, these numbers don't look right because I know that we did better than that this past quarter." Too often when challenged in a setting like that, I see Asian professionals lacking the voice to appropriately counter that statement. If you know you're going to be going into a contentious meeting, and you know that there might be people in there who might not agree with what you say, especially if it's bad news, I encourage people to "prewire" the meeting. You might want to meet with one or two of the stakeholders in the meeting who might actually be able to support you, just to make sure that they buy into what you're going to say. Maybe mention, "These are the numbers that my group came up with. We've double-checked them—what do you think?" Many of these cultural differences stem from Confucian values. Having said that, Asians represent a tremendous diversity of nationalities, religions, languages and ethnicities, as well as varying acculturation levels, so not every Asian person will relate to everything that I'm saying. And non-Asians, of course, will demonstrate some of these tendencies as well. LW: What are other some ways that Asians—as well as other minorities who face similar challenges—can overcome these cultural barriers and achieve success in business and leadership? Hyun: It's important to identify how you're going to achieve cultural fluency in the workplace, and that applies to all of us! Even if you've grown up with a certain type of values or cultural heritage, how are you going to achieve this kind of comfort level in working with almost anybody, whether that person is Caucasian or Latino, African-American or Native- American? As well, I think it's really important to build a broad network, including a diverse group of mentors/advisors from different backgrounds. Open yourself to many different perspectives and not just one type of view. When you have a broad network that includes people from all different backgrounds—from a racial and ethnicity standpoint as well as diverse political backgrounds, different views of life and different values—your decisions will be more innovative, comprehensive and insightful. Having a broad network can also help you advance your career. For example, there are not going to be as many Asians in upper senior management positions just because of the numbers. And if you're looking for an Asian role model, you may not find one. I think it's more important that you find someone who genuinely connects with you—someone who is invested in your career development. LW: Can you give an example of an Asian who has reached a high position of business leadership in America today? Has that person's ethnicity affected his or her leadership style in any way? Hyun: One person I mention in the book is Bobbi Silten, former president of the Dockers brand, who is second-generation Japanese-American. She talked about how she, as a relatively petite Asian woman in a very visible position, used to walk into conference rooms and people were "under-whelmed" by her. She used to think that it was important to build relationships with people first, but she later realized that because she is petite, it's really important for her to get down to business right away so she can present herself as a credible leader. Over the years, she has learned to calibrate her relating style in this way to accommodate for how she was being perceived. LW: What advice do you have for leaders who want to be more attuned to the cultural factors that may be affecting the work and/or careers of their employees? Hyun: It's important that, when you're hiring or recruiting new hires and entry level talent, you source candidates from a diverse array of sources. Particularly as it relates to Asians, you're not going to find Asians in one Asian community group club or one campus group because they're such a diverse population. When you're recruiting Asian students on an undergraduate or graduate school campus, you'll find that Asian students are involved in a variety of extra-curricular activities. They could be involved with a Chinese student association, a Singaporean network, a network of Japanese MBAs or a Filipino student organization. So look at casting as wide a net as possible to get as many candidates for the pipeline as you can. Once they're hired, provide opportunities for your employees to have access to informal networks. Studies have shown that women and minority employees often lack access to those informal networks, so it's important that employers develop a culture that supports this kind of career and soft-skills development— one that fosters internal mobility and information sharing— because this will ultimately benefit everyone in the company. Also, focus on identifying and retaining high-performing employees—give them access to mentors, providing them with coaching and other types of focused interventions. As you identify high performers that you really want to retain to be in the pipeline for middle management or the next level, you should be more deliberate about how to develop them for future opportunities. Open dialogue about race/ethnicity and cultural values are never easy. But once you create an environment that encourages open dialogue in your group/team/department, you will be amazed at the feedback that you will hear. If you're a manager and you have a team of people from different backgrounds, create an environment where you can talk about these types of concerns in a monthly staff meeting or offsite retreat. Ask the group: Is there anything offensive about the way we do business? Are we making any group uncomfortable? You want to set the tone by initiating the dialogue with your team members about diversity issues. If you don't set the tone, it's not going to happen. -- Interview by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT EXECUTIVES DO "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." — Theodore Roosevelt "When you know men and you know how to handle men, you've licked the problem of running a business. The executive's job is to provide leadership, the kind of leadership that develops the best efforts of the men under him. He can't do that if he shuts himself up in his office. He has to get out and get acquainted with his men." — Roy W. Moore "Executives who get there and stay suggest solutions when they present the problems." — Malcolm Forbes _________________________________________________________________ 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.