Things are the  same and then they are not. Last year the team was all under the same roof.  Then the world changed as did the work. The work team is now geographically
dispersed. It is becoming an international melting-pot composed of people  who dress, speak, think and believe differently and are spread out around
the world.  This is as exciting as it is  challenging. Leading such a team requires new skills, greater knowledge and technology and likely time away from home and family.

We hear it and see  it every day. The world is changing faster and in greater magnitude than ever.  With those changes comes the fact that what we knew as true yesterday may
not be true tomorrow. These are realities over which we have no control. As leaders we not only have the responsibility that we all have to keep ourselves on the crest of  the waves of change, but
also to anticipate emerging factors that require our teams to undo paradigms and related behaviors  in order to succeed in new uncomfortable realities.

If behavior is driven by perspectives or beliefs, it follows that to stay on the crest of  waves of change a persistent scrubbing of perspective is in order.

1. Blow-up stereotypes. “Generation ____ is lazy, selfish, entitled, non-committed, etc.”. “Baby-boomers are greedy, lazy, entitled and out-of-touch.” All of this has become media white-noise whether in the pages of WSJ,  on the nightly news, or in documentaries.  Good people doing great work exist across all generations. Effective leaders know their people as individuals and lead them as such. To do otherwise is lazy leadership. Judge people based on stereotype and you will find what you’re looking for and in the process make it more difficult for good people to be successful.

2. Multi-tasking is not the solution. More with less is an endemic mantra and in the down economy it went from bad to worse. It is time to stop pretending about head count reduction. The work of three people will not going be done by
one. The math doesn’t work; one person still does the work of one. There may be fractions of three but remember giving 110% is hyperbole and getting 300% from one person is more than fantasy. Survival mode requires the leader caught in the middle to quickly get exceptional at prioritizing, eliminating, saying no and being able to take a punch or more.

3. Fireman is not the leaders highest value. Putting out the fire may seem expedient and be so in the short run. Leaders do it because it’s exciting where the action is and it’s rewarding to jump in, get a quick tangible result and move on. Gratifying to the leader at the time, this approach is costly to the team. Jump in and make a decision when subordinates disagree and you take over their accountability. Others miss the opportunity to learn to make collaborative decisions. Facilitate them through log jams and they learn to do it themselves next time.

Effective leaders are good at anticipating change, adapting and positioning themselves to succeed quickly and lead their teams to do the same. No matter how good you get at this, leading through changes that are good for the business yet bad for people you care about never gets easier.

4. Work for mutual advantage. The work relationship only works when it works to the mutual advantage of both parties. Not every change you must implement does so. Leadership presumes there are people to lead.  It is essential to get clear on the life you want and how your company and your role within it is helping you get what you want. Is it helping move you towards your personal objectives and live the life that is best for you and your family?

Ignore fear mongering and unemployment stats. There are more opportunities out there than you can imagine. You are a professional leader. Remember, leadership is the solution to what ails us and plenty ails us. There is no job security. There is career security in leaders who can guide solutions to what ails. It is built on reputation and connection. Build them as well outside of the business as you do within. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

Boss, peers, subordinates evaluate a leader’s performance in multiple criteria in such assessments. The subject (you) also assesses themselves in the same assessment and rich data emerges.

Results can be a powerful dose of reality, wake-up call or two-by-four smacked against the side of the head. Performance improvement is the intent.

There is no news here. There is also no link to the study. Yet it does underline and validate what we know from experience with such assessments.

1. Personal blind spots are the cement blocks chained to the ankle of the leader who lacks self-awareness.

2. When your perception of your performance is out of alignment with the perception of those who depend on your leadership, you better get it in alignment and take action to improve.

Conclusions from the University of Minnesota study:

Those leaders considered by their direct managers most likely to derail received
failing scores on the following behaviors:

• Demonstrates awareness of own strengths and weaknesses
• Creates an environment where people work their best
• Expresses disagreement tactfully and sensitively
• Has the confidence and trust of others
• Develops effective working relationships with higher management
• Develops effective relationships with peers

Scoff at the importance of emotional intelligence at your own peril. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

One of the most frequent things I hear from senior leaders is a desire for a stronger sense of accountability and greater ownership from subordinate leaders and other employees. Sounds to me like an expectation that people make it personal.

You want people to feel that their work is an important part of who they are? Do you want people in your business, on your team to be proud of the company and proud of their contributions? That’s personal.

Your leadership actions impact people and that’s personal. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

Mobley began by commissioning an extensive evaluation and assessment of successful executives to identify the tangible commonalities. The results? “The only thing they seemed to have in common was to have nothing in common.” Mobley persisted. He had a blank check and clear direction from the CEO. What Mobley determined is that he was looking in the wrong place. Skill and knowledge was all over the board. The commonalities great leaders shared were in values and attitudes. The following ten became the foundation of IBM executive development.

1. Great Leaders Thrive on Ambiguity
2. Great Leaders Love Blank Sheets of Paper
3. Great Leaders are Secure People
4. Great Leaders Want Options
5. Great Leaders are Tough Enough to Face the Facts
6. Great Leaders Stick their Necks Out
7. Great Leaders Believe in Themselves
8. Great Leaders are Deep Thinkers
9. Great Leaders are Ruthlessly Honest With Themselves
10. Great Leaders are Passionate

It is worth the 3 minutes to read the details of this article Ten Leadership Lessons from the IBM Leadership School by August Turak in Forbes April 2, 2012. While much has changed in the world of business over the past 55 years, Mobley’s work is enduring. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

Jim didn’t have a job title. He had a lot of power, none of it positional. He didn’t care much for heirarchy or the way things had been done. Jim was exceptionally smart. He created significant positive change in the business at a time when it was badly needed. Most of what he accomplished was done through one-on-one discussions.

Jim didn’t sit behind a desk. In fact he did not have a desk. His office was book shelves and open space and that worked fine because he did not meet with people in his office or any office.

“Come on, let’s take a walk,” was  Jim ’s invitation to a discussion and that is how he conducted business. This was not the traditional “management by walking around.” A walk with Jim had no boundaries. No boundary in the geography covered and no boundary limiting the discussion.

What discussions are on your priority list? Who would benefit from a coaching discussion? Which important relationship could be improved through better discussions? Invite an important colleague to join you on a walk. Get out and about. Being outside and on the move stimulates better discussion. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

Home Depot came to town a few years back. The who’s in-charge sign has the managers name in a small white box on a piece of removable tape. That’s good as multiple GM’s have come and gone through the revolving door of Home Depot management.

Top Grocery is the local super market. One of a Washington State chain of thirty-two community stores.  The local Top store manager is not a Haggen yet his name is on the entrance to the store and presented in a way that shows real ownership. I am guessing Tim is not an equity owner in this business yet he sure does appear to have ownership in and accountability for his store.

In both cases the GM has big accountability. A hundred or more employees, a many million dollar facility, the safety of all who enter and profitability top the list. In one case optics demonstrate corporate confidence in the GM. Top Grocery creates an expectation of a high performing professional leader and a top notch store. The store lives up to that expectation. Home Depot doesn’t.

Maybe Home Depot has a musical chairs policy for GM’s, or maybe they create a self-fulfilling prophesy. Is there conscious thought behind the simple tacky sign with the small box for the removable tape with the store managers name?

Leaders of leaders, give some extra thought to the optics of expectations. What’s important here is what the quality of the sign says about the value the business places on the employee whose name is on the sign.

If you have decided to sit in one of the musical chair GM roles like Home Depot, make an investment.

Get your own sign. Have it professionally designed and produced. Give yourself a professional image to live up to. It’s a hardware store. There are tools. Hang your sign prominently and proudly. Be sure it is portable. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

Leaders make good decisions and bad ones, smart decisions and dumb decisions. Good organizations may take actions that sully a previously solid and reputable history. Such things are costly and tough to undo. When personal filters drive irrational decision-making, fasten your seatbelt, there is a wild ride ahead.

Susan B. Komen for the Cure learned that lesson last week. The related learning for leaders has nothing to do with individual personal positions on the issue of abortion and/or Planned Parenthood.

It has everything to do with leadership accountability. If you have been out-or-touch for the last week… Karen Handel, Komen’s VP for Public Policy drove a decision to stop Komen financial contributions to Planned Parenthood. Her position was based on a staunch anti-abortion personal value.  Ms. Handel is one of thirteen members of the Susan B. Komen for the Cure leadership team.

There were three big leadership failures here for which a big price will be paid.

1. Personal belief and political game trumped good of the organization. Ms. Handel reportedly said,  ”If we just say it’s about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.” Busted! You can’t call a duck a cat and expect that no one will hear the quack.
2. Twelve were MIA.  Leaders Cause, Participate in or Allow (CPA) bad decisions.  A decision of this magnitude may have been driven by one tenacious executive, yet clearly did not follow a thoughtful team decision-making process. Who were the dissenters and why were they not heard? Where was the collective ability of the leadership team to follow Aretha’s direction and think.
3. Harming the mission is phony integrity.  An individual leader can choose to fall on their sword for personal principle. There can be integrity in such an act. That integrity is personal and greatly diminished  when the leaders actions force the organization to fall on its sword in ways that harm the mission.

Live your values. Sometimes there is conflict with what is expected of you as a leader. If that is big and persistent and beyond your ability to change, integrity demands that you go elsewhere. Ms. Handel will likely be doing so, soon. It will take a while longer to restore public faith in the leadership of Susan B. Komen for the Cure. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

It seems that every group of people working together in any organization is now referred to as a team. Few actually function as a high performing team.

Be aware and cautious of the tendency to  dumb-down individuality for the sake of team harmony. Give smart people a forum to disagree. A clearly understsood  mission to which every team member is aligned and committed is the starting point. Get clear on how the team will engage in a way that builds and maintains trust. Anticipate the factors that may get in the way.

The ability of a team to leverage the intellect, drive and commitment of the “I’s” on a team is what makes membership on the team valuable to the members and the business. The best leaders create shared perspective, build team skills and use team leadership tools in ways that make it easier and more satisfying to get great results. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think

Mother Theresa is not on your payroll. While great sacrifice and compassion were hallmarks of her work in the slums of Calcutta, she got something of value for herself as a result of the work.

WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) is always in the equation. The answers to that questions are as varied as there are people helping you achieve the vision.  WIIFM  is not selfishness, it is reality – the way humans are  wired.  People engage with a leader to  help achieve a vision because they get something out of it for themselves. That  something is a different mix of tangibles and intangibles as unique as there  are individuals on the team.

Increasing shareholder return is a non-starter in terms of motivating people who are not shareholders.

In these times of high unemployment some leaders deceive themselves into thinking, “my people are just happy to have a job.” That mentality has a shelf life that is just about over and the people in the business who sit on that shelf are not likely the best performers. Understand, the unemployment rate for educated professionals and  skilled trades people hovers around 4.5 – 5% even in what we are still calling
a bad economy.

The golden rule in the employment relationship was long thought to be the one with the gold makes the rules. That remains true yet the best leaders understand that the agreement  between employer and employed must be mutually beneficial, and the battle for talent rewrites the rules. Effective leaders, top floor to shop floor are committed to helping others get what they want in exchange for the blood, sweat
and tears that go into helping the team and business get where it is going.

Competitive salary and benefits are baseline price-of-admission elements, the starting point. The answer to the WIIFM question is the reason the best, most productive people are on your team. If you can’t answer that question accurately, specific to each of these people, you have some work to do. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.

Inherent in the belief that employees are human beings who must produce rather than simple instruments of production is the commitment to respect the dignity of those led. People will do stupid things, make bad decisions, and make mistakes. So will you. Learn from them and help others do so. In the rare situation when someone’s behavior violates ethics, integrity and demonstrates an unacceptable character flaw, get rid of them now. The team expects it. Do it in a way that respects dignity, whether you think they have any or not.

Anyone who has worked with a highly competent and effective leader has grown as a result of the experience. “People are doing the best they can, they will do better when they know how,” is an adage that has been around awhile in the realm of human development. A good addendum to that quote is that it is the leader’s job to help them know how.  Consider adopting a personal value that everyone that works under your leadership will grow, improve and be better as a result.

The best leaders build better human beings, not just better employees. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.