~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. June 2006 - Volume 9, Issue 9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Leadership Lessons from Lewis & Clark (Part 2) * Leadership@Large – Passing the Torch, What's My Motivation * Book Review – "The Prepared Mind of a Leader" * Quick Quotes – Respect ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM LEWIS & CLARK (PART 2) By Dr. John C. Maxwell Halford Luccock recalled a biography of Alexander the Great in which the writer described the panic felt by the Greek army when Alexander died. They had followed Alexander across Asia Minor and stood facing the Himalayan Mountains that form a natural barrier separating northern India from the plateau of Tibet in China. "And there they discovered that they had marched clear off the map. Their only maps were Greek maps. These maps showed only a part of Asia Minor. The rest of the map was a blank space." The Greek army was not the first group to find itself in uncharted lands, nor was it by any means the last. Amidst globalization, a volatile job market, shifting economic realities, and technological innovations, the leaders of today frequently find themselves marching through unexplored and unmapped terrain. In these moments, no one has marked the road, no precedents have been set, and it falls upon the leader to blaze a new trail. How can a person prepare to lead effectively in such an uncertain environment? In the last edition of Leadership Wired, we looked at the leadership of two great American explorers who dared to march off of the map of their familiar world: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The improbable success of their Corps of Discovery was due to more than their on the spot genius. Preparation preceded their expedition and paved their way to greatness. In this edition, we’ll examine Lewis’ preparation under the tutelage of President Thomas Jefferson to find tried and true principles to aid our leadership journeys. Preparation should begin with the dream, not with the reality. Jefferson began to groom Lewis to lead the momentous expedition across America long before the Louisiana Purchase was even a possibility, and before Congress approved the funds. In other words, Jefferson, the great mind and great president, took a dream and started mentoring a person according to his dream before it became a reality. Jefferson’s foresight reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by John Wooden, “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.” The first responsibility of the mentor is to prepare others for their future. The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people. In the years prior to his famed journey into the American wilderness, Meriwether Lewis was Jefferson’s personal secretary and constant dinner companion. I love the statement historian Stephen Ambrose uses to describe the dinners hosted by Jefferson: “Every philosopher, scientist, geographer, and military expert that the country had to offer came to those dinners.” Through these social dinners, Jefferson was able to acquaint Lewis with the leading minds in America. In actuality, the concept of one person mentoring another is idealistic. No single individual possesses the requisite skills to fully mentor a rising leader. Realizing their limitations, great mentors not only share from a personal reserve of experiences and knowledge, but they also connect their pupils with other authorities and experts to lend exposure to additional thoughts and ideas, just as Jefferson did for Lewis. Preparation consists of many exercises. In the writings of eminent historian Stephen Ambrose, we see the diverse experiences of Lewis’ training: “He trained to use the sextants and the chronometer, and the instruments to aid in the mapmaking that he was charged with…” “He studied medicine in Philadelphia under Dr. Benjamin Rush, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the most eminent American physician of the day…” “Lewis studied botany under the author of the first textbook on the subject published in the United States…” “He also talked with experts in geography and cartography, and by the time that he left St. Louis a year later, Meriwether Lewis had probably the broadest field of knowledge of any American save Jefferson himself.” Clearly, Meriwether Lewis was exposed to a process of continual exercises and had access to the finest minds of the day during his time of preparation. Preparation provides confidence when facing the unknown. In his wisdom, Jefferson prepared Lewis for the trip with the understanding that the expedition would encounter unknown experiences in the uncharted territory of the Louisiana Purchase. With so much uncertainty in front of Lewis, Jefferson felt that he needed to do his best to give Lewis as much preparation as possible to instill the confidence that would be needed when the journey began. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PASSING THE TORCH By Robert P. Gandossy & Nidhi Verma Welcoming athletes from every part of the globe and uniting onlookers around the world, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is an impressive spectacle for both its scope and pageantry. The ever-increasing energy and excitement of the festivities climax when the Olympic Torch enters the stadium and lights the Olympic Flame to signal the beginning of the Olympic Games. While the Olympic Torch’s most famous moment comes during the opening ceremony, the torch travels an immense distance and passes through an astonishing succession of handlers before it ever reaches the Olympics. A few months prior to the Olympics, the official torch is ignited amidst the ruins of the Temple of Hera, in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. Over the course of the next few months, the flame is taken by relay all the way to the site of the Olympic Games. Although usually carried by runners on foot, the torch may also journey by bicycle, plane, car, train, horse, boat, or canoe. En route to Torino, Italy in 2006, the Olympic Torch traversed over 7,000 miles and passed through a succession of 10,001 different torchbearers. While today’s business leaders may not map out an Olympic-sized succession of 10,000 people, the temporary tenures of today’s workers make a comprehensive plan for succession a necessity. No longer do employees spend a full career with one company—in fact, they may not last a full year with one firm. With employee transitions becoming a widespread workplace phenomenon, companies have been forced to adjust to a revolving door climate in which new talent constantly comes and goes. Companies cannot afford to spend precious time and resources searching externally for ideal candidates to fill open positions. As such, the need for a seamless internal succession strategy has risen to the forefront. In the spring 2006 volume of Leader to Leader Robert P. Gandossy and Nidhi Verma offer five principles for proper succession in their article, “Passing the Torch of Leadership.” Alignment Any winning plan for succession takes into account a company’s core values and grooms in-house personnel to be able to operate in alignment with these deeply held beliefs. Commitment A holistic plan for succession requires commitment at all levels of the organization. Too often, organizations agonize over finding their next CEO, while ignoring the natural cycle of transition and replacement throughout all levels of the business. Identification Without proper identification a succession plan will be too vague to have value. Identification includes locating the most strategic positions within a business, finding talented performers to step into those positions, and establishing criteria to assess the outcomes of the succession plan. Development A sustainable succession plan prioritizes employee training, mentoring programs, and other developmental features. Measurement No succession plan can be complete with measurements. Individual placements and overall effectiveness must be regularly reviewed. Fore more on succession planning, read Passing the Torch of Leadership by Robert P. Gandossy and Nidhi Verma at: http://www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks/L2L/spring2006/gandossy.html Return to top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S MY MOTIVATION By Robert P. Gandossy & Nidhi Verma “What’s my motivation?” That’s the question all actors must ask themselves in order to identify the objective they are trying to convey through their facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, and posture. As actors work through a script, a good director continually reminds the actors of their motivation by challenging them to remember why they doing what they are doing. “What’s my motivation?” That’s the question all employees ask themselves when the alarm goes off at 6:30 in the morning. That’s the question posed by your people when the clock rolls past 5 pm and there is still work needing to be done. Good leaders are motivators. They are able to give satisfaction and enjoyment to their people by connecting them to an inspiring sense of purpose. However, companies may be wasting their time trying to give out extra motivation when they would be wiser to search for and destroy the demotivating factors in the workplace. In January’s Harvard Management Update, David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer show how managers can stifle rather than support worker motivation. Citing the Sirota Survey Intelligence, the authors point out that in 85% of companies, employee morale nosedives after workers have spent six months on the job. The authors place the blame on management incompetence—both for the usage of flawed managerial policies and for relational shortcomings. According to Sirota, Mischkind, and Meltzer, employees have three expectations that must be met to maintain their motivation: Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security. Achievement: To be proud of one's job, accomplishments, and employer. Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees. In an absence of any of the three, employee enthusiasm plummets. As such, what can managers do to offer equity, achievement, and camaraderie to those they lead? In their article, Sirota, Mischkind, and Meltzer offer ideas tied to each employee expectation. EQUITY Communicate fully. Employees feel disrespected and undervalued when they are repeatedly left “in the dark.” A lack of communication can lead to assumptions on the part of employees that they are untrustworthy or insignificant. Managers who make a point to disclose information to their teams will avoid employee demotivation caused by scant communication. ACHIEVEMENT Provide recognition. Fewer instances are more demotivating to an employee than a lack of appreciation for the hard work they have given. A short note of sincere encouragement, praise given in front of the team, an additional day of paid vacation, or an unexpected gift are small ways managers can provide motivation based on achievement. CAMRADERIE Promote teamwork. A lack of teamwork triggers demotivating frustration as employees counteract one another and set incompatible goals or priorities. Employees aren’t keen on isolation. They enjoy being part of a team effort to produce great results, and they thrive in an atmosphere of unity and togetherness. To read the complete text of “Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation,” visit the Harvard Management Update online at: http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5289&t=leadership ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The Prepared Mind of a Leader" By Jean Egmon and Bill Welter (Jossey-Bass, 2006) In the rapidly evolving Information Age, leadership can feel like riding a bucking bronco. The leader frantically tries to stay atop wild shifts and barely controllable turns, all the while grasping for stability in a desperate attempt to tame the accelerated pace of change. In an era of short-lived products and abbreviated competitive advantages, is it possible for a leader to stay abreast the complexity in order to think and perform proactively? In The Prepared Mind of a Leader, Jean Egmon and Bill Welter try to give leaders control of the reins so that they won’t be unseated by the jolts and bumps of change. Combining Bill Welter’s 35+ years as a consultant and teacher with Jean Egmon’s perspective as an educator and business executive, the authors have identified eight skills of leadership preparedness. The definition of Prepared Mind leadership, found in the middle of page 21, mirrors the initial tone of the book in Part 1—long, imposing, and academic. However, don’t let first impressions dissuade you from reading on. While Part 2 continues to be wordy and conceptual at times, in it, the authors put forth brilliant material. They also counteract complicated terminology and theorizing by taking pains to structure their thoughts, simplify them, and relate them to the reader through examples and suggested exercises. Chapter 2 prepares the way for a discussion of the eight skills of a Prepared Mind leader. Readers will want to read slowly through this chapter to understand ideas such as the Sense-Response Cycle, mental maps, and anchoring concepts, which together form the foundation of the remainder of the book. In particular, LW subscribers will want to look at the concept of “opportunity space” presented on page 29. Opportunity space is the area outside of a defined job description in which a leader can exert influence and contribute to the cause of the organization. Successful leaders are able to carve out large opportunity spaces and operate within them to optimize their impact as leaders. Chapters 3-10 each feature one of the eight skills of Prepared Mind Leadership. Without exception, the skill chapters offer well-developed ideas that are especially relevant to today’s leader. The chapters can be bulky, and as such, they are probably best read for the highlights. These high points include: - the anchoring concepts or core ideas shaping the skill - the benefits of each skill - the risks of overemphasizing the skill - the challenges to developing the skill “Chance favors the prepared mind,” is the book’s opening quote from famous scientist Louis Pasteur. Without doubt, the prepared mind has a built-in advantage to recognize and to seize opportunities in today’s business climate. LW readers would be wise to acquaint themselves with the skills outlined in the Prepared Mind of a Leader. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RESPECT “Men are respectable only as they respect.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson “Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due.” ~ Eldridge Cleaver “Even a nod from a person who is esteemed is of more force than a thousand arguments or studied sentences from others.” ~ Plutarch