The Practice of Leadership » Lessons

Mark Sanborn’s Lessons in Leadership

George Ambler — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:18:09 +0000

Mark Sanborn has a great blog and addresses leadership issues in many of his posts. One of his posts that really caught me attention is “Lessons Leaders Need to Know” In the post Mark lists his leadership lessons, some of which are:

The responsibility and service of leadership always outweigh the recognition and status.
Anyone can lead but not everyone should lead. If you don’t have your heart in it, you’ll be mediocre at best.
Leadership doesn’t make a difference; leadership makes the difference, personally and organizationally.
Anything the leader does that benefits only him- or herself was done out of ambition; leadership done right benefits others as well.
Consensus building is harder but far more powerful than control.
Your impact will rarely be bigger than your vision.
People draw big conclusions for little gestures and interactions.
As John Maxwell says, “It shouldn’t be lonely at the top.” If it is, you’ve done something wrong getting to the top.
I learned from the autobiography of John Ashcroft that as a leader more people will befriend you than be your friend. Understanding the difference is critical.
The best way to gain cooperation is by asking, “How can I help you?”
Leaders make time for what’s important.

We can all learn from these lessons. The fact that “your impact will rarely be bigger that your vision” really hit me between the ears! I found myself asking myself if my vision is big enough? How about yours?

8 leadership lessons from Nelson Mandela

George Ambler — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:58:31 +0000

Richard Stengel , who worked with Nelson Mandela on his autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom” has an article in Time titled “Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership”, these 8 lessons of leadership are:

Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it. “Mandela was often afraid during his time underground, during the Rivonia trial that led to his imprisonment, during his time on Robben Island. ‘Of course I was afraid!’ he would tell me later. It would have been irrational, he suggested, not to be. ‘I can’t pretend that I’m brave and that I can beat the whole world.’ But as a leader, you cannot let people know. ‘You must put up a front.’ And that’s precisely what he learned to do: pretend and, through the act of appearing fearless, inspire others. It was a pantomime Mandela perfected on Robben Island, where there was much to fear. Prisoners who were with him said watching Mandela walk across the courtyard, upright and proud, was enough to keep them going for days. He knew that he was a model for others, and that gave him the strength to triumph over his own fear.”
Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind. “For Mandela, refusing to negotiate was about tactics, not principles. Throughout his life, he has always made that distinction. His unwavering principle — the overthrow of apartheid and the achievement of one man, one vote — was immutable, but almost anything that helped him get to that goal he regarded as a tactic. He is the most pragmatic of idealists.”
Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front. “Mandela loved to reminisce about his boyhood and his lazy afternoons herding cattle. ‘You know," he would say, "you can only lead them from behind.’ He would then raise his eyebrows to make sure I got the analogy. As a boy, Mandela was greatly influenced by Jongintaba, the tribal king who raised him. When Jongintaba had meetings of his court, the men gathered in a circle, and only after all had spoken did the king begin to speak. The chief’s job, Mandela said, was not to tell people what to do but to form a consensus. "Don’t enter the debate too early," he used to say. … The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. ‘It is wise,’ he said, ‘to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.’”
Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport. “As far back as the 1960s, mandela began studying Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans who created apartheid. His comrades in the ANC teased him about it, but he wanted to understand the Afrikaner’s worldview; he knew that one day he would be fighting them or negotiating with them, and either way, his destiny was tied to theirs.”
Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer. “Many of the guests mandela invited to the house he built in Qunu were people whom, he intimated to me, he did not wholly trust. He had them to dinner; he called to consult with them; he flattered them and gave them gifts. Mandela is a man of invincible charm — and he has often used that charm to even greater effect on his rivals than on his allies. On Robben Island, Mandela would always include in his brain trust men he neither liked nor relied on.… Mandela believed that embracing his rivals was a way of controlling them: they were more dangerous on their own than within his circle of influence. He cherished loyalty, but he was never obsessed by it. After all, he used to say, ‘people act in their own interest.’ It was simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect.”
Appearances matter — and remember to smile. “When Mandela was running for the presidency in 1994, he knew that symbols mattered as much as substance. He was never a great public speaker, and people often tuned out what he was saying after the first few minutes. But it was the iconography that people understood. When he was on a platform, he would always do the toyi-toyi, the township dance that was an emblem of the struggle. But more important was that dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive smile.”
Nothing is black or white. “Life is never either/or. Decisions are complex, and there are always competing factors. To look for simple explanations is the bias of the human brain, but it doesn’t correspond to reality. Nothing is ever as straightforward as it appears. Mandela is comfortable with contradiction. As a politician, he was a pragmatist who saw the world as infinitely nuanced. Much of this, I believe, came from living as a black man under an apartheid system that offered a daily regimen of excruciating and debilitating moral choices: Do I defer to the white boss to get the job I want and avoid a punishment? Do I carry my pass? …. Mandela’s calculus was always, What is the end that I seek, and what is the most practical way to get there?”
Quitting is leading too. “Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make. In many ways, Mandela’s greatest legacy as President of South Africa is the way he chose to leave it. When he was elected in 1994, Mandela probably could have pressed to be President for life — and there were many who felt that in return for his years in prison, that was the least South Africa could do.…. ‘His job was to set the course,’ says Ramaphosa, ‘not to steer the ship.’ He knows that leaders lead as much by what they choose not to do as what they do.”

Mandela is a great leader and role model for us all..

Happy 90th Birthday Madiba!

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Madiba, Nelson Mandela, Role Model, Example, Management, Lessons

Six leadership transition lessons from the new CEO of Citigroup

George Ambler — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:14:25 +0000

A leader is likely to be challenged by a number of leadership transitions as they develop and grow their careers. These transitions may be from team member to team leader, from manager to divisional leader or from director to CEO. Other difficult leadership transitions can occur as leaders move between companies or even between industries. Research reported in Management-Issues, conducted across 18 industries and 11 countries by the Institute of Executive Development and Alexcel Group found that the

"ramp-up time for new external hires is worryingly long. Around a third of those questioned said that it takes between six and nine months while a further quarter of respondents said it takes more than nine months… Ramp–up time for those making transfers within the same organization was less, but not by a huge margin. The most commonly cited period was between three and six months, with a quarter saying it takes longer than six months…. Moreover, one in five (21 percent) of executives who make internal transfers fail to meet expectations in first two years."

Given these findings and the risks associated with leadership transitions, it’s of critical importance for leaders, to learn how to transition effectively between different leadership roles. Some great advice on making an effective transitions is provided by Dan Ciampa and Michael Watkins in their post discussing the transition of Vikram Pandit, to become the new CEO of Citigroup and provide the following guidelines to help leaders make manage their leadership transitions.

Identify the critical alliances. "To transform their organizations, new CEOs must gain the support of powerful internal and external constituencies. Influential players must perceive it to be in their interest to help realize your goals. You must therefore begin to identify them and at least begin to gain their support during the transition."
Get the right top team in place — fast. "Like most new CEOs, you will inherit a group of senior executives. Some will have the knowledge, skills, and background needed to drive the business forward. Others will not….. The decision to remove a senior-level manager is among the most serious and complicated that any leader makes. But among the most common regrets CEOs have is not replacing senior-level people once it becomes clear they are not the right fit for the situation and for the CEO’s style or vision."
Secure early wins. "To create momentum, you must secure some early wins. …. This means marshalling resources to focus on issues that meet three criteria: (1) they yield tangible financial benefit, (2) they address issues that employees understand to be important, and (3) results can achieved early in the new leader’s tenure. New CEOs secure early wins by identifying substantial problems that can be tackled in a reasonable period of time and whose solutions result in tangible operational and financial (not just behavioral/attitudinal) improvements in performance."
Lay the groundwork for effective communications. "New CEOs prepare for derailment when they fail to get their messages about priorities across, to convey the values that they hold as important, or to clearly define expectations. As a result they create vacuums of understanding and emotional connection that undermine their effectiveness. ….. Everyone is parsing your actions and words closely and critically, hunting for signals of direction, purpose, motives, and, especially, for the answer to “who is this person?” Leaders lay the seeds of their own destruction when they fail to gain control of the communication processes of the company. As a result, do not effectively get their messages across to the people whom they most want to influence; nor do they shape the mood or morale of the organization."
Shape your vision. "…. What we mean by vision is a vivid mental image that depicts your view of the desired future state of the organization in an inspiring way. It is not a statement of mission, a set of objectives, or a list of values. It is a picture of what will be seen, heard, and felt when the organization fulfills that mission, and achieves those objects….. If it’s not inspiring, for the leader and for key people in the organization, then it’s not a vision."
Build and use a balanced advice network. "…Finally, and perhaps most important, you have to build and use the right kind of advice and counsel network. No leader is an island. …. So its essential that you find ways to accelerate learning about markets, products, technologies, organizational capabilities, team, politics and culture. Identifying and leveraging the best advisors — internally and externally — is the most effective way to do this."

This useful list of guidelines can assist in your leadership transition and compliments a previous post "5 tips on making a successful leadership transition". Another great resource for planning a successful leadership transition is the Harvard Business Review book "The First 90 Days" which I’ve previously reviewed here. Before jumping into a new role or hastily accepting that new leadership position take some time to plan your first 90 days and thereby increase your chances of success……!

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Transition, Business, Management, Planning, Change, Career, Success, HBR

10 Leadership Mistakes that We’ve All Made

George Ambler — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:58:53 +0000

Church Solutions has a great article on the “10 Stupid Leadership Mistakes I’ve Made” by Tony Morgan, these 10 leadership mistakes really resonated with me as I have made some of them myself. Leadership mistakes can be time of the greatest learning for leaders, provided we recognise we’ve made a mistake, take some time to reflect on the situation and your behaviour and learning how you would do things differently next time. Tony has shared these mistakes in the hope that we don’t go a repeat them in our leadership, they are as follows:

Mistake #1: Hiring too fast and firing too slow. “When a position is open that you know needs to be filled and the right person isn’t available, it’s hard to wait. The tendency is to fill the role with the best available person, but sometimes that’s not the right person…. On the flip side, I’ve made the mistake of waiting too long to let someone go. I can remember one particular situation when I let a problem go for months….”
Mistake #2: Trying to fix the problem rather than the process. “Not to be crass, but I’ve found that it’s a lot better to potty-train my kids than to continue changing messy diapers. Regrettably, though, there have been too many times in leadership roles when I’ve found myself reacting to a problem, rather than addressing the process to prevent the situation from occurring in the first place.“
Mistake #3: Putting the projects before the people. “Others may have the opposite challenge of letting their love of people get in the way of actually accomplishing the purpose of the organization. But, because I’m not naturally a people-person, I tend to get too task-driven. Good leaders find that perfect balance between getting the job done and embracing the relational component of doing life as a team.“
Mistake #4: Delegating tasks instead of responsibility. “When pushed into a corner, I naturally revert back to my perfectionist tendencies. I know in my mind the way it should be done. And, if I let myself, I’ll fall into the trap of thinking I’m the only one who can get it done. First of all, I’m not that good. Usually, someone else can do it better. Secondly, the failure to empower others with real responsibilities is a guaranteed recipe for limiting the potential….“
Mistake #5: Assuming it’s always black and white. “…..maybe it’s just because following prescribed rules is easier than dealing with the mess of following God’s lead and making wise decisions. The reality, of course, is that much of life isn’t black and white.“
Mistake #6: Not following my gut (…or is that the Holy Spirit?). “… people’s strengths can also lead to their biggest challenges. For me, discernment can lead to paralysis through analysis. When that happens, I tend to get in the way of what God’s trying to accomplish. In an effort to make the best decision, I sometimes get stuck trying to acquire information, rather than seeking God’s direction and taking action.“
Mistake #7: Dwelling on the worst-case scenario. “Again, this is what happens when I let my focus wander from God to the circumstances around me…… I’ve wasted way too much time worrying about ministry challenges that never happened.“
Mistake #8: Waiting until there’s a problem to provide feedback. “….I’ve always had this strong sense of what the end product needs to look like. One of my biggest mistakes as a leader has been withholding encouragement when the team delivers, and only speaking up when expectations aren’t met. I’m trying to improve, but I’m not there yet.“
Mistake #9: Staying busy. “I’ve fallen into this trap too many times. In my mind, I tell myself if I’m busy, I’m adding value. The reality, of course, is that our busyness can get in the way of effectiveness. We can be busy about the wrong things. And, if we don’t discipline our lives, we’ll find ourselves investing a lot of time with little impact.”
Mistake #10: Spending too much time on the details rather than the dreams. “This is a natural corollary to the mistake of staying busy. When life gets busy and I get invested in all the dirty details flowing my way, I lose site of the dreams that God has for me. Here’s the reality; those dreams usually come when the pace of my life slows enough to do stuff like read, pray, rest, experience new places and meet new people. Dealing with the dailiness of life doesn’t allow for that. It needs to be planned and prioritized. We need to create space to experience God and all that he has for us.“

This is a great list of mistakes, many of which I have made. How about you? Have you made any of these mistakes? Any mistakes you’ve made that are missing from this list?

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Ten Habits of Incompetent Managers

George Ambler — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:52:25 +0000

Fast Company discusses the “Ten Habits of Incompetent Managers” by Margret Hefferman which are as follows:

Bias against action: “There are always plenty of reasons not to take a decision, reasons to wait for more information, more options, more opinions. But real leaders display a consistent bias for action. People who dont make mistakes generally dont make anything.”
Secrecy: “….If you treat employees like children, they will behave that way — which means trouble. If you treat them like adults, they may just respond likewise. Very few matters in business must remain confidential and good managers can identify those easily…. Secrets make companies political, anxious and full of distrust.”
Over-sensitivity: “An inability to be direct and honest with staff is a critical warning sign. Can your manager see a problem, address it headlong and move on? If not, problems wont get resolved, theyll grow…… Interestingly, secrecy and over-sensitivity almost always travel together. They are a bias against honesty.”
Love of procedure: “Managers who cleave to the rule book, to points of order and who refer to colleagues by their titles have forgotten that rules and processes exist to expedite business, not ritualize it.”
Preference for weak candidates: “…Who did our manager want to hire? The junior. She felt threatened by the super-competent manager and hadnt the confidence to know that you must always hire people smarter than yourself.”
Focus on small tasks
Allergy to deadlines: “A deadline is a commitment. The manager who cannot set, and stick to deadlines, cannot honor commitments. A failure to set and meet deadlines also means that no one can ever feel a true sense of achievement.”
Inability to hire former employees: “… Every good manager has alumni, eager to join the team again; if they dont, smell a rat.”
Addiction to consultants: “A common — but expensive — way to put off making decisions is to hire consultants who can recommend several alternatives.”
Long hours: “In my experience, bad managers work very long hours. They think this is a brand of heroism but it is probably the single biggest hallmark of incompetence. To work effectively, you must prioritize and you must pace yourself. The manager who boasts of late nights, early mornings and no time off cannot manage himself so youd better not let him manage anyone else.”

Margret goes on stating that “Any one of these behaviours should sound a warning bell. More than two — sound the alarm” I found the last point especially interesting….!