~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. July 2006 - Volume 9, Issue 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – The Crucible, Part 2 * Leadership@Large – Perfectionism and Swagger * Book Review – Courage: the Backbone of Leadership * Quick Quotes – Change ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Crucible, Part 2 By Dr. John C. Maxwell In the winter of 1964, Nelson Mandela arrived on Robben Island where he would spend 18 of his 27 prison years. Confined to a small cell, the floor his bed, a bucket for a toilet, he was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. He was allowed one visitor a year for 30 minutes. He could write and receive one letter every six months. But Robben Island became the crucible which transformed him. Through his intelligence, charm and dignified defiance, Mandela eventually bent even the most brutal prison officials to his will, assumed leadership over his jailed comrades and became the master of his own prison. He emerged from it the mature leader who would fight and win the great political battles that would create a new democratic South Africa. (“The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela”, Frontline) Nelson Mandela used his powerful character and imagination to thwart his jailor’s attempt to dehumanize him. “If I had not been in prison,” he told Oprah in an interview in 2001, “I would not have been able to achieve the most difficult task in life, and that is changing myself.” Mandela didn’t see himself as a passive victim, someone who was imprisoned by others, just as an individual who had been “in prison.” Instead of allowing his jailors to define him, Mandela fashioned a heroic identity for himself, one that inspired millions in Africa and also around the world. What qualities allow a leader to prevail, just as Mandela did, in the toughest crucibles? Perspective People who successfully go through a crucible as leaders have the right perspective—the ability to see the bigger picture within the heat of the moment. Leaders have the ability to look beyond the problem, the issue, or the dark hour to find the will and composure to overcome the situation. They see opportunity in the obstacles. As author Robert Clinton said, “The primary difference between a follower and a leader is perspective.” In my book Winning With People, one of the people principles is the Big Picture Principle. It’s a picture to help people see past their selfishness and to recognize a greater reality than themselves. After all, the entire population of the world, with one minor exception, is composed of others. Faith Faith is another essential quality of people who persevere through the crucibles of life. Faith is the belief that something better is ahead. In the words of Mother Theresa, “Faith keeps the people who keep the faith.” Nelson Mandela held on through 27 years of brutal imprisonment because he had an unswerving faith that his suffering would ultimately contribute to freedom and justice in South Africa. His faith generated hope, and hope gave him the optimism that his situation could change and would change. For many leaders like Mandela, faith was the only thing sustaining them through the crucible and the one thing allowing them to hold on to hope. Adaptive Capacity—the knack to understand context and adjust one’s course; A leader with adaptive capacity possesses an awareness of the surroundings. Such a leader has an intuition that senses the needs of the moment and prioritizes them over personal comfort. In the moment, the leader adapts and adjusts to help others and themselves through the moment. They have the capacity to acclimate to the demands of their situation. Gail Sheehy says it this way: “The secret of a leader lies in the tests he has faced over the whole course of his life and the habit of action he develops in meeting those tests.” Five final comments on crucibles: The first crucible is the toughest, since you don’t have past experience or a prior victory to look back upon. Ensuing crucibles get more difficult if they are handled incorrectly. When we do not allow the crucible process to have its way with us, if we quit or bail out, it becomes more difficult the next time around. Crucibles require patience, perspective, and reflection. Crucibles never leave us the same. Successfully conquering a crucible allows us to help others, which I think is my desire for this edition of LW. If you and I can go through our crucibles as leaders, we gain great confidence and can pass that confidence on to others in the midst of the crucible experience. Work Cited “The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela.” Frontline. May 1999. 25 June 2006. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/prison/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PERFECTIONISM A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curious thing, and she went nearer to watch them… `Would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, `why you are painting those roses?' “Why the fact is, you see, Miss, this here ought to have been a red rose-tree, and we put a white one in by mistake; and if the Queen was to find it out, we should all have our heads cut off, you know.” ~ Excerpts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Customers and clients are drawn to excellence, companies are profitable when they attain excellence, and leaders are deemed successful when their teams achieve excellence. However, a leader’s pursuit of excellence can degenerate into fixation on failure-free work, also know as perfectionism. Like the Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Wonderland, a leader can become unreasonably intolerant of mistakes, unable to accept even the smallest errors, and impatient when execution is anything other than quick and flawless. In her recent article “Maintaining a Mindset of Excellence (Not Perfectionism),” Jamie S. Walters notes the damaging qualities a perfectionist leader portrays to his or her employees, and she writes about the transition away from perfectionism. An exacting and overly demanding leader demeans and intimidates those they supervise by being: Critical Impatient Unapproachable Unforgiving Stressed Unwilling to celebrate success Walters recommends steps to break free of perfectionist pitfalls: Identify what’s most important Leaders tending toward perfectionism magnify the importance of small tasks and simple procedures. In the heat of the moment, a leader would be wise to recognize the relative insignificance of most of their employees’ shortfalls. Proper perspective can defuse a leader’s anger over minor mistakes. Set clear and realistic expectations Employees feel hopeless when given unworkable assignments, and they become discouraged when their leader holds them to impossibly high standards. Much frustration can be avoided when a leader communicates goals with clarity and a firm grasp on reality. Be on guard against perfectionist triggers By gaining awareness of pet peeves and perfectionist triggers, leaders can filter out negative behaviors prevent their perfectionism from dragging down those they lead. For the full text of “Maintaining a Mindset of Excellence (Not Perfectionism)” by Jamie S. Walters, visit The CEO Refresher at http://www.refresher.com/!jswmindset.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWAGGER The word “swagger” conjures up images of John Wayne starring in a classic Western movie or Mohammed Ali brashly proclaiming “I am the greatest.” Does such swagger fit within the skill set of a leader? In his article “Confidence: Putting Grace in Your Swagger,” John Baldoni describes swagger as “a healthy dose of confidence without overconfidence,” and “the subtle display of confidence and capability.” Leaders with swagger radiate a positive pride in their ability, work, and purpose. Leaders with swagger refuse to be defeated or downcast, but rather expect to win or end up on top. Leaders with swagger carry a certain charisma that motivates and inspires those they lead. As Baldoni writes, “when displayed appropriately, swagger can help a team or an entire organization feel better about itself and its people, and in turn deliver more to its customers.” A leader’s confidence is contagious, but arrogance alienates followers. How can a leader be sure to show swagger appropriately? Baldoni sets out the following suggestions: Know Yourself Play to your strengths. Operate in the areas in which you naturally excel, and find teammates who can fill the gaps in places where you are weak. Being in your sweet spot will spark your swagger. Know Your Team Understand relational dynamics and promote unity. Delegate tasks based upon the collection of talent you have surrounding you. Make sure each member has the tools to succeed and is positioned in their area of enjoyment and expertise. A well-positioned and harmonious team that is set up for success will have swagger. Share the Glory Accept the blame and pass along the glory. Praise and encourage those you lead and affirm their hard work. Make it a habit to shine the spotlight on the achievements of team members to promote swagger. Know Your Limits Leaders stuffed with themselves make those around them sick. Suitable swagger must be infused with humility, otherwise your leadership is prone to the blinders and confines of self-importance. An attitude of superiority will separate you from their team, and egotism will rob your appeal and influence with those you lead. For the complete article, “Confidence: Putting Grace in Your Swagger,” which appeared in the May 2006 edition of Wharton Leadership Digest, visit http://www.johnbaldoni.com/directions/articles_pdfs/wharton-baldoni-swagger.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Courage: the Backbone of Leadership By Gus Lee (Jossey-Bass, 2006) In 1982, Johnson & Johnson was confronted with a nightmare scenario when its product, Tylenol, was linked to deaths in the Chicago area. Several bottles of the Tylenol tablets had been replaced with poisonous cyanide capsules. Prioritizing the health and safety of its customers, Johnson & Johnson recalled upwards of 30 million bottles of Tylenol, immediately halted production of the pain-killer, and developed a tamper-proof container so that such a crisis would not happen again. In 2000, Firestone was forced to recall 6.5 million tires after investigations linked faulty tire treads to auto accidents. A Senate hearing on the matter later revealed that Firestone had prior knowledge of its defective tires, but chose to cover up the issue in the hopes of avoiding the negative publicity of a product recall. As many as 200 deaths were traced back to blowouts from Firestone’s bad tires. In Courage, Gus Lee looks at the essential quality separating character-driven leadership, like Johnson & Johnson’s socially responsible behavior, from fear-driven leadership, as witnessed in the Firestone denial and cover up. Having grown up in ghettoes of the inner city, having served the U.S Army as a paratrooper, and having confronted corporate malpractice as a four-time whistleblower, Gus Lee speaks with authority when he talks about courage. Filled with true stories in which corporations face courage-defining decisions, Lee’s writing advocates courage with instructive images in addition to prose. The book’s style has color and life and makes for an easy read. In Chapter 9, Lee juxtaposes pragmatism and courage. In doing so, he contrasts the calculating person who must first assess the outcome before behaving ethically with the leader who has the innate character to act courageously no matter the result. “Courage is addressing wrongs in the face of fear, regardless of consequences, or risk to self, or of potential practical gains. That’s why everyone practices pragmatism and risk balancing while so few of us cross the river (act with courage).” LW subscribers searching for application in Courage will want to comb through Chapter 11. In it, Lee lays out three building blocks of courageous behavior: honoring and respecting all persons, encouraging and supporting others, and challenging wrongs. Throughout the book Lee spots the fear of conflict as a measure obstacle to courage. Chapters 12 and 13 give practical strategies for engaging in conflict. In Chapter 15, Lee presents an exercise that allows readers to measure their character quotients, but the exercise’s questions, while worth pondering, are too broad to offer a meaningful measure of the reader’s courage. Courage goes to bat for consistent modeling of convictions. The author, Gus Lee, communicates in a way that cuts through the haze of ethical dilemmas, and he espouses a behavior based on unflinching character. For the leader looking for the fortitude to do what’s right in tough situations, Courage comes highly recommended. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHANGE “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” ~ John F. Kennedy “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” ~ Leo Tolstoy ”Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” ~ Harry Truman