~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. March 2006 - Volume 9, Issue 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Picking Potential Leaders, Part 2 * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – "The 10-Minute Energy Solution" * Quick Quotes – Responsibility ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PICKING POTENTIAL LEADERS - PART 2 by John C. Maxwell The Law of the Inner Circle: Those who are closest to me will determine the level of my success. In the last edition of "Leadership Wired", I shared four of the eleven questions I ask myself when selecting leaders to serve beside me: 1. Do I see a constructive spirit of discontent? 2. Do they offer practical ideas? 3. When they speak, who listens? 4. Do others respect them? Your inner circle will prop you up or pull you down as a leader. You cannot afford to place the wrong people by your side. An unethical or divisive leader can be poison to the bloodstream of an entire organization. That's why I'm a firm believer in making a comprehensive evaluation of a potential hire. Here are questions 5-11 that I ask when choosing potential leaders: 5. Can they create or catch a vision? I have a subset of four questions I try to answer when evaluating a potential leader's ability to catch or cast a vision: Are they able to become a part of someone else's vision before they demand that others follow their vision? I watch emerging leaders to see if they can catch a vision before I determine whether or not they can create a vision. I look for potential leaders who are willing to follow before they lead. I want to see if they can serve before they empower. Do they add value to the vision given to them? In other words, do they have the creativity to take a vision and make it better? Rather than blindly implementing the vision of another leader, potential leaders are able to improve upon the vision and make enhancements to it. Do they show a high level of commitment to the vision? After they buy into the vision, I want to know if they will pay the price to make the dream a reality. Potential leaders are willing to take responsibility for the vision. Are they passionate about the vision? A person can accept a vision and take steps toward its fulfillment, but I am searching for an added dimension of excitement and energy. I want a person with a contagious passion for the vision; someone with an infectious enjoyment who spreads the vision to others. 6. Do they show a willingness to take responsibility? In my opinion, The Statue of Liberty should have a sister-statue— The Statue of Responsibility. People are quick to defend against infringements upon their freedom, but slow to take responsibility for their actions. Benjamin Franklin said, "I never knew a man that was good at making excuses who was good at anything else." Avoid choosing employees who are unwilling to take ownership or averse to responsibility. It's easier to go from failure to success than from excuses to success. 7. Do they finish the job? The bookends of success are initiative and closure. If you cannot initiate, you cannot make things happen. If you cannot close, things that could happen never will. Take notice of the projects you delegate to a potential leader. Do the jobs get completed 100%, or do they end up back at your desk demanding time and attention? The answer will tell you a lot about the leadership ability of the potential leader. 8. Are they emotionally strong? No one can lead without being criticized or facing discouragement. A potential leader needs mental toughness. I don't want a mean leader, but I do want a tough-minded leader who confronts reality and pays the price of success. 9. Do they possess strong people skills? Leaders with people skills will be more enjoyable to work with, and they will get more accomplished. Be wary of hiring a potential leader without friendliness, tact, or team spirit. Observe whether the potential leader motivates or manipulates others. Motivation is moving people for mutual advantage, and it is a necessary leadership skill. Manipulation is moving people for personal advantage. Manipulation is always wrong and damaging to the health of teams and organizations. Even without experience in a leadership position, potential leaders are already exerting influence in some capacity. Research their track record—both their achievements and their impact on the lives of those nearest them. If they can lead people without having a position, they'll do very well when they get one. If they can't lead people without a position, giving them a title will not help. The leader makes the position; the position doesn't make the leader. 10. Will they lead others with a servant's heart? Servant-leaders never pursue a mission at the expense of their people. Rather, servant-leaders earn the loyalty and best efforts of their people by serving the interests and investing in the development of those they lead. A servant-leader leads to see others succeed. Rabbi Kushner was right when he said, "The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you've done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people's lives than you will from the times that you outdid them and defeated them." 11. Can they make things happen? Some people make things happen, and others wonder what happened. Make sure a potential leader can produce. Kansan poet Walt Mason gives expression to the value of a results-oriented producer in his poem, "The Man Who Delivers the Goods". There is a man in the world who never gets turned down, Wherever he chances to stray. He gets the glad hand in the populous town, Or out where the farmers make hay; He is greeted with pleasure on deserts of sands, And deep in the isles of the woods; Wherever he goes there is a welcoming hand— He's the man who delivers the goods. One is too small a number to achieve greatness. To accomplish anything of significance, you must have the right people by your side. I trust these 11 questions will aid you as you pick potential leaders. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GUIDING GOAL SETTERS Perhaps nowhere has goal setting met with more failure and futility than in our collective quest to lose weight. Endless plans and programs to drop pounds stand as embarrassing tributes to our goal-setting ineptitude. We have the South Beach Diet, Sonoma Diet, Atkins Diet, Body for Life, diet pills, body wraps, and much more. Yet the formula for fitness has never been a mystery. Eat healthier, eat less, and exercise more. That's it! We search for secret shortcuts and magical methods—ANYTHING offering the hope of achieving results without the bothersome burdens of going to the gym and giving up junk food in favor of salads. The same aversion to daily discipline and inability to set and follow simple goals plagues the personal growth of potential leaders. Resources for self-improvement are available in abundance, but actual progress remains elusive. A leader who can inspire others to create and commit to goals is a rare and precious commodity. In the winter 2006 edition of "Leader to Leader", Marshall Goldsmith and Kelly Goldsmith explore the primary problems hampering goal achievement and offer suggestions on how leaders can better instill goal setting success in those they lead. Ownership Consider the following marketing promise: "This diet will make you slimmer in only 3 weeks!" Notice how ownership is taken away from the individual and conferred upon the diet. The business world makes similar offers. "Attend this seminar and increase your selling production by 50%!" When goal setters place their faith in a course or a one-time event, they can be tempted to cede responsibility for results to the program and blame a lack of progress on its ineffectiveness rather than their own behavior. While equipping those they lead with tools and resources, leaders must encourage goal setters to embrace ownership of their personal growth and development. Time Health experts warn dieters not to step on the scale every day. The goal of permanent weight loss can only be achieved through time, and progress is imperceptible from day to day. When helping others to achieve goals, leaders must keep the focus on long-term benefits as opposed to short-term returns. As John C. Maxwell says, "Leaders develop daily, not in a day." While each day is important, time is the ultimate test for growth. Maintenance Unfortunately, success can be the beginning of the end for diets. Months of diligence to meet a weight loss goal can be erased in a week of buffet celebrations. After hitting a targeted objective, goal setters can be tempted to revert back to bad habits of the past. To help those they lead avoid a roller coaster of alternating accomplishments and failures, leaders must emphasize the work required to maintain success. For a leader, self-improvement is never a fixed destination, but an ongoing journey of development. For the complete text of the Goldsmiths' article, visit: http://drucker.org/leaderbooks/l2l/winter2006/goldsmith.html. _________________________________________________________________ SUPERHERO SYNDROME Leaders are apt to suffer from Superhero Syndrome: The tendency to believe they can do everything themselves and should do everything themselves. This sort of leader subscribes to the philosophy, "If you want the job done right, do it yourself." In an October 2004 article for "Inc. Magazine", Alison Stein Wellner shares the story of Andrew Nadel, an entrepreneur struggling with Superhero Syndrome. "Two days before checking into the hospital for minor hernia surgery, Andrew Nadel was a blur of activity. The 43-year-old owner of Pride Products, a promotional products and corporate gifts company in Springfield, N.J., knew his convalescence would put him out of commission for at least a few days. So he was scrambling to get a jump on his 40 or 50 daily sales calls, as well as ensure that current orders were proceeding smoothly." At a time when Nadel should be resting, he is working overtime so that his startup business can survive without him. Nadel exhibits a classic symptom of Superhero Syndrome—separation anxiety. Working to turn their ideas into reality, leaders naturally develop an intimate connection with every facet of their newly created business. Each product must be perfect, every operation flawless, and all clients treated as kings or queens. Taken to the extreme, this attitude can breed separation anxiety, causing a leader to skip vacations, micromanage, and place unrealistic expectations on fellow workers. Leaders with separation anxiety live with the fear that their businesses will collapse without them. Andrew Nadel shows signs of another customary symptom of Superhero Syndrome—delegation deficiency. Closely related to separation anxiety, leaders with delegation deficiency do not trust the quality of anyone else's work. As a result, such leaders run themselves ragged trying to manage every aspect of the business. Hires of extra employees with the intent of unburdening a busy entrepreneur have no impact if the leader cannot learn to trust them. Like Nadel, the leader may actually see the value of delegating tasks, and still be unwilling to give up control from day to day. "It's tough running a business all by yourself. But Nadel isn't really by himself. In fact, he has seven employees, including his wife, on the payroll. Nadel simply cannot delegate. 'He's doing sales, he's managing people, he's opening the mail, he's taking out the garbage,' says Wendy Ferber, Pride Products' vice president and Nadel's wife. 'We get a new chair in the office, and he's assembling it.' Says Nadel: 'I admit I have an issue here.'" Leaders will inevitably run into a moment when their business or project will demand more work than they can personally devote to it. At this juncture, delegation is critical to the success of a leader. Refusal to delegate restricts a leader's potential and can damage productivity. When trying to "go it alone," the leader is prone to overlook important tasks, make mistakes, and fail to recognize new opportunities. As Wellner asserts, trust is the bedrock for successful delegation. It is the cure for Superhero Syndrome and the antidote to both separation anxiety and delegation deficiency. Until a leader can put faith in an employee's values and competencies, he or she will undergo undue stress and limit the success of the business. To explore how leaders can avoid the pitfalls of Superhero Syndrome and learn how to delegate, see Wellner's complete article, "Who Can You Trust?" at: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20041001/managing.html. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The 10-Minute Energy Solution: A Proven Plan to Increase Your Energy, Reduce Your Stress, and Transform Your Life." By Jon Gordon (Penguin Group, 2005) Bleary-eyed, we sip a cappuccino on the way to work in a struggle to wake ourselves. The day goes by in a blur as emails tumble into the inbox faster than we can respond to them. Lunch is an energy bar on the run. The phone rings incessantly, and we try to multitask during our spare moments between meetings. After navigating traffic (while on the mobile phone) to pick up dinner, we finally get home…and the day is just starting to get busy! There's a softball game to get to, a friend's birthday party to attend, pets to care for, and multiple home improvement projects in need of attention. Throughout the day we attempt to rally our energy for the next event, but we often end up exhausted, dragging ourselves from place to place in an effort to survive. We are fatigued, and consequently, nothing we do receives our optimal effort. Teetering on the edge of burnout, we are too tired to enjoy life. Our energy is zapped, and we are in desperate need of a recharge. According to Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, over six million people in the USA have chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, while another twenty-five million endure persistent fatigue. A staggering thirty-one million Americans are energy deficient. In 2003, Jon Gordon authored "The Energy Addict", a book with 101 pointers to help people elevate their energy levels. Many responses to the book asked for a structured outline to aid in the application of its principles. In "The 10-Minute Energy Solution", Gordon has crafted a 30-day energy plan to help readers add energizing activities to their daily routine. Each day of the plan includes simple, 10-minute, energy-building exercises. Daily assessments and periodic evaluations help readers gauge their progress. Gordon also includes an 11th minute prayer as an optional spiritual exercise. Gordon reiterates that his book "is not a quick fix approach," but rather was written, "To create a solution that countered the quick fix culture and showed hardworking people that if they make small, simple, effortless changes in their daily routine, they will produce powerful, lasting results." Gordon lives up to his words. He's passionate about his plan, but he realizes that it relies upon lifestyle change and individual initiative. Gordon begins the book by identifying the root of our collective weariness. Page 11 talks about the Seattle effect. Named for the city that birthed both Starbucks and Microsoft, the Seattle effect pinpoints two of the main causes of perpetual tiredness— excessive caffeine intake and an inability to manage technology. In Chapter 1, Gordon also lists insufficient sleep and a lack of exercise as key contributors to chronic fatigue. The "10-Minute Energy Solution's" 30-day plan does not offer any revolutionary ideas or novel approaches to solve the energy crisis. As Gordon himself states, the book, "Reminds you of what you already know but forgot." Think and speak positively (Day 9, 10, 12), be thankful (Day 1, 30), exercise more (Day 3), and meditate (Day 18) are a few of the usual suggestions. The daily exercises are nice given their ease of application and simplicity—although, they are at times slightly corny (see the laughter exercises on page 107 and the positive energy boosters on page 127). However, throughout the book Gordon does cite medical experts to lend credibility to the productivity of the 10-minute activities. The strength of the book is its ability to raise awareness of our energy-deprived lifestyles (Chapters 1 and 2). Another plus is that Gordon's solution addresses the energy problem holistically by confronting physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dynamics. The book may be of value to those searching for an easy and efficient energy boosting plan; however, the daily activities lack appeal, and most LW subscribers will prefer to peruse the 30-day plan for ideas rather than adopting the 10-minute energy solution wholesale. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RESPONSIBILITY "Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them." - Tom Stoppard "Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected." - George Washington "Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation, every possession, a duty." - John D. Rockefeller _________________________________________________________________ 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.