~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. February 2006 - Volume 9, Issue 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Personal Growth * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Review of "Joy at Work" * Quick Quotes – Trust ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PERSONAL GROWTH By Dr. John C. Maxwell I vividly remember a conversation I had many years ago in 1974, which marked a turning point in my leadership journey. I was sitting at a Holiday Inn with my friend, Kurt Campmeyer, when he asked me if I had a personal growth plan. I didn't. In fact, I didn't even know you were supposed to have one. Up until that point, the best term for my growth would be "accidental growth." I didn't grow on purpose, but I loved people and worked hard so that I caught a few things along the way. That night with Kurt, I realized that to grow like I wanted, my personal development couldn't be hit-and-miss. I needed to initiate and activate. I made a decision to devote myself to personal growth. I literally made personal growth my personal mission. In my book "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership", I talk about the Law of Process, which says, "Leaders develop daily, not in a day." Our natural inclination is to overestimate the event and underestimate the process. We wait for a special occasion or an intense experience to boost our growth instead of appreciating the process. In the words of my friend Kevin Myers: "Everyone is looking for a quick fix, but what they really need is fitness." We don't mature momentarily, but over the long-term. As we continue on our quest to become more skillful as leaders, let's look at seven statements about the growth process. 1. Growth is not automatic. Paul Harvey said it best: "You can tell you're on the road to success; it's uphill all the way." You can't coast uphill. Growth doesn't happen by itself; it requires an active investment of time. Earl Nightengale said, "If you'll spend one hour a day, every day for five years on a given subject, within five years you'll become an expert on that subject." In 1974, I made that decision—to set aside one hour per day for personal growth. Over thirty years later, I find that the more I learn and grow, the more precious that hour is to me. 2. Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it's almost always due to personal growth. As Bennis & Nanus say, "It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from followers." When I went to college, there was no gap between me and my peers, none at all. Since 1974, I have diligently followed through on my commitment to grow an hour every day, and now the gap, in most cases, is wide. Am I smarter than my former classmates? Not at all. Many of them danced circles around me academically. The growth factor—my long-term commitment to personal development— made the difference. 3. Growth takes time, and only time can reveal certain lessons to us. We've all heard, "Experience is the best teacher," but it never has been and never will be. Evaluated experience is the best teacher. Reflective thinking is required to turn experience into insight. If you're a young LW subscriber without a wealth of personal experience, borrow the experience. Ask questions, listen, and learn from a successful leader that has gone before you. 4. The more we grow, the more we know we need to grow. In other words, when you start developing yourself, instead of feeling wise, you'll be struck by how much you don't know. Alvin Toffler, in "Future Shock", once observed, "The illiterate of the future are not those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." 5. Growth equals change. To develop, we must step away from comfort and welcome fresh and challenging experiences. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, and relationships that have lost their meaning. 6. Growth inside fuels growth outside. The highest reward of our toil is not what we get for it, but what we become by it. At the age of 17, I decided to read extensively, file my favorite articles, and prepare lessons. Little did I realize that out of the simple discipline of reading, filing, and preparing lessons, I would receive content, develop creativity, begin to speak, and eventually author numerous books. 7. Choose to grow in the areas of your strengths, not in the areas of your weakness. There are only four things I do well, just four, and I focus exclusively on them. I lead, communicate, create, and network. That's it. I spend all of my time on one of those four strength zones. The secret of successful people lies in their ability to discover their strengths and to organize their life so that these strengths can be applied. Benjamin Franklin personifies the spirit of inventiveness of the modern world. His accomplishments read like an almanac of greatness: Inventor; poet; philosopher; pamphleteer; distinguished member of three national academies of science; America's first Postmaster General; founder of Philadelphia's first police force, lending library, and the academy later to become the University of Pennsylvania; founder of the first fire insurance company; delegate to the Constitutional Convention; Drafter of the Declaration of Independence; one of America's most effective statesmen and ambassadors. Yet for all of his achievements, the epitaph that Franklin wrote for himself simply reads, "Here lies the body of Ben Franklin, printer." In honoring his humble roots as a printer's apprentice, Benjamin Franklin reveals the mystery to his greatness. It was in the world of printing where Franklin was first exposed to new books, writers, and ideas. His fame, accomplishments, and accolades would never have been possible without the love of learning and habits of growth imprinted in his life during his early days as a printer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHY LEADERS FAIL When a high-profile leader fails or a leading corporation self- destructs, the repercussions are far-reaching and leave us asking, "How could that happen?" In a recent article for "Leadership Now", Mark Sanborn delves into the cracks and fissures under the surface of a faltering leader, and identifies surefire warning signs of impending failure. #1: A Shift in Focus A clear focus dictates a leader's goals and strategies, aligning all activity toward a central mission. Clarity of focus endows a leader with the confidence and sense of purpose to successfully hone in on the mission. Leaders stumble when their focus drifts or becomes divided. Many leaders flounder when they stray from their strengths and shift focus to opportunities they are ill-equipped to pursue. Faced with a variety of business options, leaders may lack the decisiveness to commit to any one of them. During the Vietnam War, the focus of the America's wartime leaders vacillated between two extremes—total military engagement and complete withdrawal. The uncertainty and instability that resulted from choosing an indistinct middle course led to the disastrous consequence of over a decade of bloodshed. #2: Poor Communication Leaders who lose the ability to articulate their vision and values are doomed to stumble sooner or later. Inconsistency or ambiguity in communication paralyzes an organization. To translate values and vision into company culture, they must be communicated repeatedly and modeled consistently. Until an organization's vision and values become a common refrain in the speech, writings, and personal example of leadership, they will remain empty slogans and ineffectual intentions. The infamous collapse of the energy titan Enron illustrates the destructive consequence of poor communication. Certainly, Enron's demise began with a lack of integrity, but a climate of clear and open communication could have exposed this deficiency. Instead, secrecy and closed door meetings overran Enron's core value of communication and perpetuated a culture of dishonesty. "Communication: We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one another…and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people." –Excerpt from Enron's Statement of Core Values #3: Risk Aversion When leaders cling to comfort and forgo change, they are virtually guaranteeing their demise. Businesses and markets are, by nature, in constant motion, and organizations must continuously risk changes in established models and methods in order to succeed. Embracing risk requires a leader to innovate and evolve. New- found technologies, variable consumer tastes, and alterations in legislation are a sampling of the scores of changes confronting today's leaders. Leadership demands adaptability. To successfully chart the course of a company, a leader must be forward-thinking and willing to make adjustments on the fly. Xerox pioneered a plethora of computing and printing inventions at its Palo Alto Research Corporation in the 1970s and 1980s. These inventions should have catapulted the company to record- breaking profits and corporate wealth, but risk aversion and short-sightedness sent Xerox spiraling into a market share freefall. For Mark Sanborn's complete list of leadership warning signs, go to: http://www.leadershipnow.com/sanborn.html. _________________________________________________________________ WORK ADDICTION Charles Dickens paints the consummate picture of work addiction in his classic novel, "The Christmas Carol". In it, we see Ebenezer Scrooge pent up in a dark and dingy office working late into the night, his sole companions the stacks of coins littering his desk. Shackled by his striving to gain and get, the cantankerous Scrooge has cut himself off from all relationships and devoted himself entirely to his employment. Having wrapped his work so tightly around his life, Scrooge can think or do little else than scheming to turn a greater profit. While the modern workaholic may not appear as disagreeable or extreme as Scrooge, an alarmingly high percentage of work addicts in today's workplace share his symptoms. Workaholism is accompanied by a reduction in relationships, leading to isolation. The work addict's excessive preoccupation with office tasks crowds out time for friends and family. Foregoing time with others in favor of work, the workaholic gradually marginalizes the relationships in his or her life. Like Scrooge, the work addict lives a lonesome life devoid of the warmth and vitality of close relationships. Sadly, the work addict is seldom the only one affected. More often than not, children and spouses suffer from the absence of attention shown to them by the workaholic. Workaholism is characterized by a lack of boundaries between work and life. Even in the evenings the work addict mulls over the workday, checks and rechecks emails, and unconsciously steers conversation to job concerns. Although no longer chained to the desk like Ebenezer Scrooge, the workaholics of the 21st century cannot escape the leash of wirelessly enabled laptops or the incessant buzzing of BlackBerries. The work addict has lost the fundamental ability to disconnect and disengage from the demands of the office. Aside from personal health concerns, workaholism negatively affects job performance by depriving work addicts of rest and rendering them powerless to meet new challenges with the necessary energy reserves to solve complex problems. Described by psychologist Bryan E. Robinson as the nation's "best-dressed addiction," workaholism stems from a shortage of confidence and self-esteem. The work addict toils endlessly in an effort to compensate for insecurity. Work can become a form of escapism for those with inner pain. Through extra effort and long hours, the workaholic tries to earn the praise and admiration of co-workers in order to gain a measure of self- validation. Are you a workaholic? Take the quiz and read more about work addition by visiting: http://www.forbes.com/careers/2005/11/16/workaholic-career-management-cx_sr_1117bizbasics.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job" By Dennis W. Bakke (PVG, 2005) In many job experiences, "joy" and "work" are absolute strangers. Work is seen as drudgery, stress, and obligation, and the only glimpse of joy comes at 5 pm on Friday. Depending on your sleeping patterns, you have between 112 and 126 waking hours in a week, and likely spend 40 to 60 of them at work. This means anywhere from 30-50% of life is work. If you account for commute time, after-hour emails, etc., the percentage grows even higher. With work playing such a substantial role in our lives, wouldn't it be nice to enjoy our employment? In "Joy at Work", Dennis W. Bakke explores how to make the workplace fun. Drawing from his 20+ years of experience as co-founder, president, and CEO of the AES Corporation, Bakke advocates an innovative approach to corporate decision-making that empowers employees to make choices and increases their personal investment in results. At times bland, the book reflects the businesslike nature of its author and lacks the creative spice to be highly engaging. At the same time Bakke's depth of experience brings immense credibility to the book. The principles he espouses are not merely theoretical, but developed from the decades he spent crusading a value-laden and enjoyable work environment. LW readers will benefit from a look at the argument set forth in Chapter 2, "The Miserable Workplace." In it, Bakke points to absence of control as the root of worker frustration. In his words: "Lack of freedom may be the single most debilitating and demoralizing factor in the workplace today." The more an employee feels like a puppet on the strings of management or a pawn to the schemes of executive leadership, the greater that worker's dissatisfaction will be. Chapter 4, "‘Honeycombing': Dynamics of a Joyous Workplace," is the heart of the book in which Bakke suggests his solution to a dull and cheerless workplace. "The primary factor in determining whether work is joy or drudgery in the workplace, is the degree to which they control their work...making decisions and taking responsibility for them." LW subscribers in management positions will find tremendous value in digging through Bakke's practical approaches to uplift employees by entrusting them with greater decision-making responsibilities (Chapters 4-7). "Joy at Work" is particularly relevant in a today's business market, where jobs are less stable than ever and employees increasingly follow fulfillment rather than searching for security. Companies without the ability to create an enjoyable workplace run the risk of a talent drain as the best workers leave for more pleasurable places of employment. If you wade through word by word, "Joy at Work" may not be a joy to read. However, Bakke's passion for making work better shines throughout, and LW readers can glean much from his commitment to invest greater control in workers on the front lines. Specifically, managers holding the authority to shape the climate of their workplace will walk away with innovative ideas to consider. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRUST "To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved." - George MacDonald "Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him." - Booker T. Washington "You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible." - Anton Chekhov _________________________________________________________________ Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe at: 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) 2006, INJOY, Inc.