Passion

Whenever it occurs, passion reflects an individual’s commitment, strong opinions and dedication to their position. In other words, passion may be described as a person’s unwillingness to maintain their composure. With a particularly strong belief in the matter at hand, passion is often the byproduct of someone deeply engaged in serving their organization. Therefore, I believe passion is a great characteristic to have in your team members.

Emotion

In contrast, emotion often stems from a person’s inability to maintain their composure. This is not necessarily a bad thing, depending upon the circumstances. For example, someone receiving negative feedback in a performance review may reveal their disappointment in tears. In addition, frustration from an inability to effectively influence others often results in anger – too often in public settings. While unfortunate, the former emotional scenario is somewhat understandable and, particularly given the confidential nature, generally acceptable. In contrast, losing one’s temper as a result of their own ineffectiveness is not acceptable. Either way, because emotion is generally perceived as a reflections of one’s inability to control their reactions to given situations, emotion is generally considered negative characteristic.

Call me crazy (or passionate), but I want people on my team that believe deeply in those they serve and therefore may reflect their passion through strong words and actions. Yes, I want people on my team who have the ability to maintain their composure.  However, if someone is passionate enough about their commitment to serving a person or group and therefore not willing to maintain their composure all the time, I’m okay with that. Provided, of course, they know when those right times are.

Question: Have you seen passion confused for emotion? Do you like having passionate people on your team?

1. Evaluate Competitor Products: Within your company and beyond, what are the most admired leaders offering as a part of their “product”? Look at the managers within your organization with the best 360 feedback scores. Also, look at some of the greatest leaders outside your company – those highlighted from Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For or similar studies. The leadership products offered from these competitors are ones you should consider adopting features from for your own leadership product offering.

2. Conduct a Market Study: When was the last time you conducted a survey of your team’s reflection on the quality of your leadership product? 360 Feedback is great, but consider going beyond the standard HR processes and policies. One of the greatest tools I’ve seen is an anonymous Q&A session. In this process, employees on the team submit their questions to a human resources representative. The HR representative filters the questions, rephrases them into their own words to ensure anonymity, then asks the leader these questions live, in an open dialog with the team. Why not conduct your own, similar, marketing study?

3. Invest in Research & Development: Over time, the best products evolve through investments in R&D. Your leadership product should be no different. To maintain the interest and support of your team, you should continuously improve your leadership skills. Invest time with mentors and perhaps even a professional coach. Devote time to personal development and reading the latest leadership books and industry periodicals. If you fail to evolve your leadership product over time, your competitors will become more attractive while your product remains stagnant.

Your leadership is a product purchased by your followers. The team invests time, effort and creativity into your organization, at least in part due to your leadership. Therefore, as you serve the organization, it’s employees, customers, investors and other stake holders, you owe it to them to develop your leadership product. Failure to continuously develop this product could be more costly than failures in your organization’s end product and services.

Questions: What other ways do you invest in your leadership Product? How does your leadership develop their product?

Note: This post is the fifth in a series of Servant Leadership Lessons from the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast 2010.

John Maxwell has an amazing ability to connect with you – whether you are one member of an audience of 65,000+ (as we were this day) or one-on-one. This is appropriate, given that his latest book is entitled, “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect.” This was the main topic of his presentation – Connecting with Others. The best leaders serve their organizations in many ways, but one critical attribute is through their ability to connect. Highlights of Maxwell’s comments on serving and connecting follow:

• “Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.”
• Definition of “Connecting: the ability to identify with and relate to people in such a way that it increases our ability to influence them.”
• “Some of my best thinking is done by others.”

It’s Not About Us

• “Connecting is all about others… It’s not about us”
  • “If you help other people get what they want, they’ll help you get what you want.” – Zig Ziglar
  • “You put other people first”

It’s Not Lonely At The Top

• Some people say “it’s lonely at the top” but that’s not true.
• “If you’re up at the top all alone, nobody’s following you.” It’s not lonely at the top.
• What real leaders do, is they get off of “the top”. They go to where the people are.

• Then they bring the people (followers) to the top, with them.

Selfless

• When someone thinks of themselves first, they’re immature. They’re selfish.
  • That’s okay when you’re a small child.
  • However, it’s not okay when you’re 35, 45, 55, and you haven’t figured out that it’s not about you yet!
  • “When you become a leader, you give up your right to think about yourself first. Leadership is always about others first.”

Connecting Requires Intentionality

• “Connectors understand if they’re going to connect, they’re going to have to give it a lot of energy.”
  • “It requires intentionality, it requires energy to connect.”
  • Who is that person you need to expend energy to connect with.
  • Find Common Ground
  • “What makes connectors effective is they are constantly looking for common ground.”
  • Make time. Walk slowly through the crowd. Let people connect with you.
  • “Anybody that’s kept at a distance won’t hurt you, but they won’t help you either.”

More From John C. Maxwell

Website: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/
Latest Book: Everyone Communicates, Few Connect
Free Download:

• Give it Time PDF

The Power of Motivation MP3

Note: This post is the fourth in a series of Servant Leadership Lessons from the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast 2010

Mark Sanborn had many great phrases and memorable leadership quotes. In fact, Mark’s website includes the subheading, “Leadership doesn’t make a difference, it is the difference.” How true that is, at every level of the organization. His presentation focused on leaders as story builders, improvers and tellers. Below are highlights from Mark’s presentation:

Making a Better Story

• “Leaders don’t just tell a better story, they make the story better.”
• “We want leaders who can help us make our stories better than they would have been.”
• “…Consider your life (to be) a non-fiction book on the shelf of the bookstore of the world.”
• “Are you a better person because of your manager?”
  • The above is a question Sanborn asks employees of managers confidentially
  • Are you treating your employees like a WIP or WAC?
    • WIP= Work In Progress – how we often view ourselves
    • WAC=Works Already Completed – how we often look at others.
      • “Why do we treat them (those we meet) as foregone conclusions rather than a future possibility?”
      • “…it’s called Leadership not Controllership”
      • “The antidote to ‘stuck’ is hope.”
      • “You, as a leader, might have to resell people on their own value… You might have to renarrate their story…You might have misinterpreted your own story”
• “Reenergize people by giving them hope… Hope is having something new try and be willing to try.
  • • A future that is different than the one they currently occupy
    • “Refocus people from current struggles to future hopes.”
• “Redefine Failure”
  • “Failure is something that happens to you, not something you are…Failures are indicators you are making progress”
  • “Your resume is current until the day you retire. Your legacy will live beyond you.”
  • “We as leaders need to pay attention to how our stories are affecting others.”

C.R.A.F.T. Model

• Catch
  • Catch the other person’s story
  • Requires slowing down, make space to catch the other person’s story

• Respond
  • Don’t reject the story
  • People have no reason to change until we accept them
• Ask
  • Ask questions
  • What is your greatest hope here (at organization / business)?

• Feel
  • Listen with your heart.
  • A cynic is a passionate person that doesn’t want to be disappointed with you.
• Tell
  • Tell your Story
  • That’s where you find the connectivity
  • The focus is not on you or what you learned – but on how they can be better (their story can be better) because of what you learned in your story

I am grateful to Mark for his participation in the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast and especially enjoyed his CRAFT model. I see great alignment here with servant leadership principles.

More From Mark Sanborn

Website: http://www.marksanborn.com/
Latest Book: The Fred Factor
Free Download:

• Be The One – 13 Strategies for Self-Motivation PDF

Note: This post is the third in a series of Servant Leadership Lessons from the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast 2010.

Mark Sanborn interviewed Tony Dungy in a pre-recorded meeting. Dungy’s story and success in both the NFL and life read like a case-study in Servant Leadership. If you’ve not read them, I highly suggest his books, particularly the first, “Quiet Strength”. Below are some of the highlights from Tony Dungy’s Chick-Fil-A Leadercast interview:

• Q: How do we get people “unstuck”?
  • “Energize them…Show them the potential they have… what they are truly capable of.”
• Q: How do you get others committed to your vision and mission?
  • You need to explain, “It’s about more than us, the big picture, the whole team, the whole community… Even more than teamwork, the ultimate goal that all of us can strive for. That’s what you have to sell.”
• Q: What if they’re struggling before they see progress?
  • “You have to talk about perseverance…Show the examples that may not be obvious. Explain that this is not the time to give up, we’re close… Let them know we’re in it together.”
• Q: You have a Mentor-Leader book coming out in August, can you tell us a bit about it?
  • “The Mentor-leader helps people get where they want to be” (vs. pushing them).
• Q: You have a very different coaching style than the stereotype in the NFL, can you explain why / how?
  • You must “be yourself, you have to lead in your own way, don’t imitate others”
• Q: You’ve flagged players in the NFL as “DNDC” – What does that mean?
  • “Do Not Draft Because of Character…”
  • They had the talent, but something in their makeup would not make them a good addition to the group or team
• Q: Do you think Character is taught or caught?
  • A little of both
  • You need to take people w/ potential and build those character traits in
• Q: How do you avoid the “big head” syndrome after success?
  • His mother taught him “it’s important to understand where your success comes from, and it comes from the Lord.”
  • He also referenced a poem from John Wooden, given to him by Dungy’s High School coach:

Talent is God Given; be thankful

Praise is man given; be humble

Conceit is self-given; be careful

• Q: Sometimes you must mentor and sometimes discipline as a coach, how do you handle this?
  • “All coaching is mentoring and disciplining is part of it”
• Q: How do you ration your time and energy?
  • That’s always the dilemma for him
  • “You want to be the best at what you’re doing…people at work are depending on you…people at home are depending on you… Family has to come first – that’s who’s going to be with you the rest of your life.”
• Q: Any other thoughts you’d like to leave with the audience?
  • “God’s put you where you are for a reason. You are impacting a lot of people, whether you know it or not.”
  • “The biggest thing you’ve gotta have is perseverance”
  • “You can make an impact today, right where you are.”
  • Look inside you, figure out what you can do and you can be the one.”

Again, I highly recommend Dungy’s books as they are packed with Servant-Leadership material. It sounds like his forthcoming book this Summer, The Mentor Leader, will continue down this path. My gratitude to Tony for his continued support and promotion of servant leadership principles.

More From Tony Dungy

Website: http://www.coachdungy.com/
Latest Book: The Mentor-Leader (08.03.2010)

Note: This post is the first in a series of Servant Leadership Lessons from the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast 2010.

At the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast, Connie Podesta focused on connecting our personal and professional lives. She also covered a range of topics including some humor (and interesting facts) surrounding the common differences between male and female communication styles. However, the servant leadership themes I took away from Connie included: leaders should align work and personal lives and they must remember that everyone is always leading by example (my words, not hers). As leaders serving your organization, aligning your personal lives with work lives and not attempting to balance the two, is something I wrote about here. It’s also critical for the serving leader to remember they are always on stage – setting the example for others, as their teams are for peers. Below are some highlights from her talk, aligned to these themes:

Work / Life Alignment, Not Balance

• “There is no separating your personal and professional life”
• Leadership is a 24×7 job
• When consulting, clients often suggest there is not enough time to address the employee’s personal lives and interests, but she finds that is the most important part and necessary.
• “When it comes to material possessions we need to focus more on what we need and not so much on what we want.”
• If you think you need your job, you’ll never be happy at work.

Everyone Is Always Leading, By Example

• You’re on stage every single day of your life
• Your kids, clients, family, employees, church congregation, etc. are all in the audience – they are watching you and trying to decide how you are going to influence them
• “There’s not a human being in your life you can make happy”
• Leadership has changed from 20 years ago, employees and children have not.
  • Employees and children have always looked to leaders and parents, taking their cues for how to behave from them
  • “Character is defined not by how you are when life is going good… Leadership comes out when your life is so far from what you had planned, that you can barely breathe.”

Before leaving, she asked the audience if they are happy with the personal choices they’ve made. Then, are they happy with the professional choices they’ve made. She let it hang there, before exiting.

More From Connie Podesta

Website: http://www.conniepodesta.com/
Latest Book: How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep
Free Downloads:

• Change Habits PDF
• Be #1 In Leadership PDF

The Hope College Anchor

Last night, I was honored to participate in a panel on Servant Leadership at Hope College’s Center for Faithful Leadership.  The panel was part of the college’s mentoring program. Below are the questions we covered and my responses (including more content than covered in the session) :

1. What does Servant Leadership mean to you?

For me, Servant Leadership is the only real form of leadership.  After all, if you’re not serving others, you are not leading.  If your primary ambition is self-motivated for personal success, fame and fortune and not for a greater cause, then all you’re really doing is pursuing vain ambitions.

In contrast to the self-serving individual, servant leaders seek to help others become something greater.  They put all stakeholders before themselves in some degree.  Some people think servant leadership means only serving your employees, the poor or any singular constituency, but it’s really about understanding the needs of the broader organization.  So, in business for example, this means yes, serving your employees, but it also means serving your customers, supervisors and investors.

2. Why should we strive to become servant leaders?

Not only is servant leadership the only real form of leadership – it’s also the greatest.  When you think of leaders that motivate you, chances are they’re serving you and others, first.  While it is possible to become successful in business, athletics, academics or other fields by yourself, you can only go so far on your own.  Nobody changed the world by themselves. People, supporters and team members want genuine, authentic leaders with noble motives and intentions.

Fewer people support the leader today who just wants to make a profit.  Instead, people want to follow greater causes.  This is true in every field – not just altruistic causes. In business, people don’t just want to make more money – they want to provide a better lifestyle for their investors, while making their customer’s lives better. So the greedy CEO who is willing to win at any cost will find fewer and less dedicated followers.

3. How does one become a servant leader?

Put the needs of others before your own.  You don’t have to sacrifice everything, but you should strive for the greater good before your own fame, fortune or glory.  From my own experience, I did not start this way.  When I was a college student myself, I had never heard the term servant leadership.  In fact, I was pretty close to the opposite. If someone asked me if I believed in these principles, I am sure I would have agreed, from a theoretical perspective.  However, the reality was quite different.

I wanted to be the next Bill Gates, Donald Trump or any wildly successful technology entrepreneur. I wanted my name in lights. But then something happened. I met my first servant leader in business.

This man was contrary to everything I thought you had to be in business. I thought you had to be cold and heartless. I thought you had to always be looking out for number one.  But this manager was always looking out for others, always had time to hear my concerns, always helped his staff and always framed decisions in how they would impact the broader organization.  Over time I met several other servant leaders and worked for many similar managers.

Then something changed. I began to experience other leaders and organizations that were much less service focused. Yet in some way, every manager or leader was successful.  The difference I witnessed was in how each leader got their results. The servant leaders had a great degree of sustainability. Their happy staffs had lower turnover, the organizations ran on lower overhead as a result and people enjoyed their jobs. In contrast, the more self-centered, autocratic leaders had higher turnover, lower morale and greater overhead expenses as a result.

This all culminated when I worked for a true narcissist.  This senior executive had a nasty habit of hiring and firing people within a year.  I was responsible for one-half of his team and we’d grown successfully over the course of two years. We had great results to report and the team seemed, overall, fairly happy with their work. In contrast, the other half of his team had turned over three full times in the same 2 years. They faced serious audits and were under great scrutiny both internally and externally. Much of the work in the area had to be outsourced for continuity and stabilization.

I had to find a better way of explaining this better way of leadership I now tried to practice.  And so began my long journey to raise awareness and support of Servant Leadership. So while I still have a long way to go, it is possible for someone not initially servant leader-focused to develop these skills.

4. What is most rewarding about servant leadership?

Seeing others succeed. I’ll never forget the day I heard an employee on one the teams I was responsible for say he wanted to ensure he always tried to practice servant leadership. I introduced the concept to him months earlier and he was so impressed at how it generated broader success and results for all that he’d adopted it as his own philosophy.  When I saw it listed in his career development plan later that year, it was all I could do to keep from shouting with joy.  The concept is infectious and it helps us all win together.

5. What is most challenging about servant leadership?

For me, it’s checking your own pride and ego at the door. I still struggle with this myself and I suspect I’m not the only one. Would I still like to see my name in lights, on that magazine cover or attached to some big award or title?  Sure, at times.  But when I die, I don’t want them to say I won some great awards or was recognized as some great expert. I want them to say I helped build something greater than myself, something others were proud of and that I helped spread that approach.  So you have to be willing and wanting to truly help others. Again, not just your team, but all stakeholders.

Feedback, Q&A

Following the formal panel, I was impressed by the students and their mentors’ questions and comments.  The group recognized a growing trend among “generation Me” to focus on self-promotion and the resulting need for greater servant leadership.  Yet, at the same time, there were great examples they referenced of servant leadership in business, both from direct experience at organizations like Ford (which also had an example of autocratic leadership), Fleetwood and a local restaurant as well as among non-profits and service organizations. The students recognized the greater results and benefits from servant leadership and seemed clearly aligned with these beliefs. As a result, I was encouraged by the session, these student’s perspectives and Hope College’s development of those they serve in this space.

Note: My thanks to Dr. Steve VanderVeen, Marcia Floding, Hope College, Center for Faithful Leadership staff and co-panelist Jinny DeJong for this opportunity to develop greater awareness and support for Servant Leadership principles. You are all great servant leaders. Please continue the great work.

Question: What servant leaders have you known and how have they helped you?

As I rushed outside in the still dark morning, a shuffling of leaves by the door made me pause. I stopped to let my eyes adjust and found myself practically within arms reach of two beautiful deer. One was bracing to sprint, but the other seemed calm and curious. Impressed by the pleasant surprise, I took in the moment. Then, backing away slowly, I loaded the car. In the small magic of that moment, my new friends reminded me to focus on what was important. Had I been “on time” I would have missed that special experience. I then realized I needed to make the time to serve my family by helping them start their day right.  I also needed to serve my colleagues by ensuring my mind was focused on the right topics and preparation for our meeting on my drive in.

I went back inside, more calm now, strolled up to wife and kissed her gently on the forehead. I then smiled at my son, tickled him a little and slowly carried him into his awaiting car seat. My deer friends had gone, but I was content. My morning was set right. I made it to the office just in time and was in the right state of mind to lead the important dialogue that morning.  Afterward, I thought to myself what a difference those few extra minutes made for my family, ultimately my colleagues and how important it was to foresee the need for a moment of pause at work as well. As a result, I compiled a few…

Signs you may need to take a “minute” and pause at work:

1. You are in a constant state of reaction, rather than planning

2. You make decisions to get them off your plate rather than to address the problem

3. You delegate without full guidance and communication of the situation to the recipient

4. You know you could do a better job, “if you only had more time”

5. You find your team questioning your decisions more than normal and you don’t understand why

We’ve all been there before.  While you won’t have the benefit of deer roaming through your office, these signs may remind you to stop and focus on what matters. You owe it to those you serve to make the time to get it right.

Question: When did you find a moment to pause at the office, or at home, helped?

Ask the Right Questions at the Right Time

Great leaders ask the right questions at the right time. While great leaders are better at this than others, there is no magic to asking the right questions. By focusing on serving the organization, one can position themselves to identify the right questions at the right time. Below are some tactics that may help you serve the organization and ask the right questions:

1. Active Listening
It all begins with listening first. The meeting multitasker often misses key concepts and asks the dumb question. The person that actively listens, repeating back what they hear to ensure comprehension, is best positioned to ask the right questions.

2. Speak Your Mind
If you have a burning question and you’ve been actively listening, it’s likely others have the same question. Whether you’re right, wrong or simply asking for clarity, you are where you are for a reason and the team is counting on you to speak your mind.

3. Timely
Asking the right question at the wrong time is useless. If you have a concern or issue to raise, be timely in raising it. Waiting for the perfect moment or every detail to evolve may be too late.

4. Owner
When in doubt, ask yourself, “if I was the sole proprietor of this organization, how would I respond to this investment / topic?” Would you be happy about it? Or would it keep you up at night worrying about an adequate Return On Investment?

5. Independent
Remember all those great questions and ideas you had when you first joined the organization? Go back to that time and clear your head of all the methods in which you’ve “conformed” to your organization’s way of doing things. What would you challenge? Challenge them now.

6. Customer
If you were the customer or end consumer, what would you think of the project or matter at hand? Would it excite you or make you take your business elsewhere?

Of course, I need ways to remember tactics like these. So, if you’re like me, the next time you’re in a meeting and trying to find the right questions, just remember: A STOIC (Active listening, Speak your mind, Timely, Owner, Independent & Customer) individual remains calm and asks those great questions.

Question: When did the right question at the right time, save you, your project or your team from making a big mistake?

We Forgive Because, Together, We Work

It was my last night in Italy on what was was a particularly draining, transatlantic business trip.  The average day included 12+ hours of working sessions, followed by 2 or 3 hour email marathons.  The trip was immensely successful, but I was drained – physically and emotionally.  I plopped down in a leather chair in front of the fireplace.  It was nice to finally appreciate the comfort our Italian villa bed & breakfast intended.

Soon after I sat down, two fellow business travelers struck up a conversation with me.  The British pair were account representatives for another manufacturing firm and were wrapping up “aggressive negotiations” with one of their partners.  As the dialog progressed, I was struck by how well these two balanced each other.

The more senior gentleman was more reserved and filled the role of the conservative, voice of reason and patience in negotiations.  The younger gentleman was much more tenacious and referred to as occasionally ”unrelenting”.  Throughout the conversation, there were comments from the superior such as, “that’s why I didn’t bring you along on that negotiation – you would have destroyed them!”  Yet the younger gentleman did not mind, responding “of course!  I understood and agree with you – I would not have been a good fit in that trip.”

This trip had been a success for them because, as they confided in their new found friend, “our partner had every right to be angry with us – frankly, we’ve got some issues to work on.  But we were able to leave with what we needed.”  No doubt due, at least in part, to the great balance of these individuals.

Shortly before retiring for the evening, the older gentleman summed it up well:

“I’m not perfect and he’s not perfect.  We both have weaknesses.  However, he forgives bits of me and I forgive bits of him, because together, we work.”

I went to bed pondering that thought and the implications for Servant Leaders.  Serving our organizations includes making the necessary sacrifices to balance our own weaknesses.

As I look back on my greatest success stories, they’ve often been in positions where I had a great partner – someone that balanced me well.  A great partner is not someone who is perfect, but someone that fills your gaps to make both of you, together, better.  It is when we can focus on our strengths and we have someone with strengths in our weaknesses to balance us, that we are most successful.

Question: Who balances you?  Do you forgive bits of that person because, “together you work”?

Leaders Who Cry Wolf May Leave Their Flock to be Eaten

As the story goes a child shepherd, seeking attention, cries false alarms of “Wolf! Wolf!” on several occasions.  Over time, the townspeople and neighbors learn to ignore his cries and soon, stop responding at all.  As a result, when a wolf really does come and the boy shouts for help again, he’s left to fend for himself.  The wolf eats the flock and, in some versions, even eats the boy.  This tale offers wisdom to us in a business context as well.

Have you ever seen someone jump from fire drill to fire drill because their boss believed every issue was a crisis?  Often, this stems from the culture of the organization and the overreaction is simply passed down the chain of command.  Regardless of their source, constant fire drills may:

1. Burnout employees

2. Reduce creativity and innovation

3. Emphasize expedience over quality

So what can you do in response to unending cries of “crisis”?  Here’s a couple ideas that may help:

1. Clarify Priorities – Ask your boss which “emergency” must be addressed first, calling attention to the potential of multiple emergencies you must address.

2. Define Timelines – Be sure to understand by what date / time each emergency must be addressed and the driver fot that time.  By understanding the driver behind timelines, you’ll be better equipped to juggle priorities as you hear more cries of “wolf”.

3. Gauge Others - If you’re not sure something is really a crisis, observe how others, especially your peers and those of your boss are responding to the matter.  Communicate the response to your boss in this framework (for example, “Jason’s boss has given him a longer timeline – are we aligned to deliver on the same date?”).

Certainly, there are plenty of true emergencies in business.  The trick seems to be learning to distinguish between an actual crisis and exaggerated enthusiasm.  With the right response, hopefully we can avoid losing our sheep when the real wolf comes.

Question: Have you had a boss that cried Wolf?  How do you manage expectations in similar  situations?

Crashing Into a Ditch Teaches A (Leadership) Lesson

At 7:15 AM, I was already well on my way down the hour-long commute.  On that morning I drove “the wife’s car”, because my regular vehicle was in the shop.  It was a classic Midwest winter day, with plenty of lake effect snow, but the region was prepared for the conditions.  As such, the roads were fairly clear. Still, occasional sections looked suspiciously like ice.  As a result, I drove under the speed limit, but still passed a few people who “probably shouldn’t be on the road anyway”.

It was during one of those passes that I felt the back end start to slide out.  After several counter-steering attempts, the fishtailing continued and I realized there was no escaping it.  The car crossed from one shoulder to the other, traversing two lanes and back, before crashing into the median.  Thankfully, with the exception of my ego, there was virtually no damage.

I counted my blessings and pulled up the maps on my iPhone.  The GPS located me precisely.  I called AAA, which had me back on the road in an hour.  A quick inspection by my regular mechanic and I was still in the office by noon.

Making the best of an unfortunate situation, I realized there were several leadership lessons in this experience that were worth sharing:

1. Observe Warning Signs – Remember those people that “probably shouldn’t be on the road”?  Their caution was a warning sign.  They had experiences (or lack thereof) which caused them concern.  Don’t ignore the warning signs in your organization.  Nay sayers may not just be pessimists.

2. Manage Change – I drove a less familiar vehicle.  This should have created more caution, especially in poor weather. When have you treated a new environment in business as “the same old situation”?

3. Balance Risk / Reward - As discussed in Project Tailgaters and Brake Checkers, it’s important to understand the risks and rewards or cost / benefit of each decision.  Here, by passing other cars, I could arrive 15 minutes earlier.  I assessed the road and it seemed clear and safe, but was it worth the risk?

4. Monitor Progress - As I sat in the ditch, covered in snow, I had only a vague idea of my location and was not certain how to guide someone to me for the tow.  If your project goes awry, will you know the quickest route to recovery?

5. Have the Right Tools - Thankfully, I had the right technology tool (GPS) to support a quick recovery. Do you have the right technology to support your needs?

6. Have the Right Team - With a AAA membership, the right people were just a phone call away. I also had a trusted mechanic who fit me into his schedule quickly and provided an assessment I trusted. When you get into trouble at the office, do you have a team to do the same?

7. Learn From Mistakes - Hence this post.  If I end up in a ditch again, after sliding on ice, hopefully I can say I learned from these mistakes and it was something new, that caused the crash this time. Will you learn from mistakes at work?

Question: Now the fun part.  After looking at all the things I did wrong, what other lessons can you take away from my mistakes?  Go easy on my ego though, please.  I’m already doomed to months of jokes at the office for my failure to stay on the road.

Turn Whiners Into Winners

For technology executives, the one constant is change. However, as humans, we are by nature, creatures of habit. This could easily explain why so many folks are resistant to change. Change does not, by definition, feel familiar. It’s awkward, different and for many, uncomfortable. But like all things new, we can choose how we respond to change. My experience suggests there are not many folks that respond to change with indifference. Instead, it seems most people fit into one of two categories: Winners or Whiners.

Winners
When I was working on turning around a large back-office technology project, there was one individual who was thrilled to be a part of the “new solution”. Although she had a vested interest in the old way, she looked to the future, realized things were broken and was anxious to be recognized for a successful project. As a result, she often came with a proposal for improvements, new technologies, processes or ideas. She understood the need for change, would lay out the problem in detail, explain why it was a problem and often have two or more recommendations for solving the problem. She was a winner because she embraced the change, identified roadblocks and problems with the old school of thought and proposed solutions based on solid examples.

Whiners
Of course, at the opposite end of the spectrum are individuals that resist change with a defeatist attitude. While the term may seem derogatory, “whiner” underscores where most of the effort is placed by these individuals. Certainly, it is not intentional. I don’t think anyone, regardless of their frustration level, says, “today, I am just going to complain about what’s going on at the office”. Instead, some personnel, when faced with change, spend a lot of effort thinking about the negative side (not unlike their winner counterparts). The problem is, whiners stop there. And why not? It’s easier to stop there and just tell their coworkers about the pain. Where whiners turn into winners is when they make that extra effort, they go that extra mile and do something about the negatives. Instead of simply communicating the problem(s), they become a part of the solution.

Whiners and Winners are in every organization. When you find winners, great, leverage them as examples to the whiners. When you find whiners, remember – they’re not setting out to just complain, they’re just stopping too soon. Ask them what they would do about the problem they mentioned? How would they improve the environment? What process would they use to avoid it from happening again? Then make them a part of the accepted solution. Without commitment and a role in the solution, it will be too easy to revert back to the Whiner.

Whatever you do, do not become a whiner yourself. Anytime you catch yourself complaining – especially in front of your team, be certain you come up with a solution and communicate it to them. This holds true for commiserating as well. Nodding in agreement with complaints without putting the complainer to task at finding a solution, makes you a whiner too. So make sure you’re thinking like a winner and presenting solutions to your problems while putting your team to task, doing the same. Go the extra mile, set the example for your teams and build winners out of the whiners.

When it comes to leadership, there are many named styles, variations within each style and countless evangelists and critics of each. I have been fortunate enough to work under many different styles and found servant-leadership delivers the greatest benefits for all stakeholders while generating optimal long-term, sustainable growth. As a result, I researched the concept of servant-leadership and found it to be an ideal leadership style for executives in all fields. However, I also found limited knowledge of servant-leadership in most industries*, especially information technology. Below I highlight some of the core attributes of servant-leadership in an attempt to reveal how this leadership style excels where most leaders today fail.

The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.
- Robert K. Greenleaf

Serving First
Robert Greenleaf, who coined the term “Servant-Leader”, explained that the servant-leader wants to serve first, then finds leadership their optimal method of service. When the primary motivation for a leader is their own career growth, the main aspiration is not placed on the organization’s sustainable growth, but on the actions that will most quickly promote that individual’s success. Unfortunately, these actions often directly conflict with the methods that will generate sustainable results. This is why it is important for organization’s to identify and promote individuals that seek to serve first.

There is nothing wrong with the career-minded individual. Certainly, few people are successful that care little about what they achieve professionally. The problem rests with individuals that do not understand they are a part of something larger than themselves. When one’s sole or even primary motivation is their own selfish gain, they are taking their eye off the ball that is the corporation’s sustainable success. The proper servant-leader therefore can, and should still pursue career growth. However, the servant-leader pursues their career aspirations as secondary to serving others – their staff, customers, organization and stakeholders.

Stewardship
Meriam-Webster dictionary defines Stewardship as “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care”. Servant-leaders understand their role as a steward of the company’s resources. For example servant-leaders are more likely to say “our team” than “my team”, “the budget” than “my budget”. Stewards recognize that resources are not given to them, but temporarily placed in their care with the expectation of strong returns. The best leaders therefore understand it is up to them to leverage those resources for optimal performance for the organization, not for their career. As stewards, servant-leaders do not possess anything the organization provides, but accept responsibility for the ROI of those resources.

Humility
One of the reasons it is difficult to find publications referencing servant-leaders is the inherent humility these individuals possess. By nature, those who want to serve first are unlikely to seek public attention for their accomplishments. In fact, the servant-leader often defers credit for accomplishments to their team, while accepting responsibilities for the team’s failures. As a result, these humble individuals rarely grace the covers of Business Week, CIO magazine or other trade publications. There are exceptions though, outstanding servant-leaders like Herb Kelleher, founder and former chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, that still receive press coverage for their famous success. Still, the vast majority of servant-leaders understand the success is not about them, but about their organizations, their staff, customers and other stakeholders that they serve. The result is humility that contradicts the over-the-top, shameless self-promotion so dominant in narcisisstic managers.

Sustainability
Quick wins at the cost of future success is not an option for the servant-leader. Instead, in their role as servant first, good leaders understand that any solution that is not sustainable, is not acceptable. Successful leaders realize their track record does not end when they move on, but instead, just begins to play. The successor that was developed and ideally chosen by the servant-leader, is the final determinant in the predecessor’s success. Leaders that insist team members find their own replacement before accepting promotion, have the right idea. In contrast, managers interested in self-promotion often hop around, stretch the resources to the furthest extent and leave a shell of an organization behind.

Obviously, deriving quick results is great and even necessary. Working hard and expecting your team to do the same is important. Pushing for results, stretching your team for development and driving unnecessary costs out of the system are all expectations of good leaders – especially in turnaround scenarios. The difference is that servant-leaders draw the line when cuts become too deep, excessive hours drag on too long or engineering cuts results in abysmal quality. The servant-leader does not achieve immediate success at the cost of sustainable solutions.

Continuous Development
All too often, leaders who achieve a certain level of success, feel they “made it” and cease to focus on developing their skills as leaders. Assumptions are often made that because they have “been there, done that” for positions beneath them on the organization chart, they knew all they needed to lead. In contrast, servant-leaders understand there “are no human beings, only human becomings”** and recognize the importance of continuing to develop leadership skills. In fact, most good leaders do not consider themselves deserving of the description servant-leader. Instead, most of these individuals consider themselves students of servant-leadership, striving to develop the skills, but recognizing that becoming a full-fledged servant-leader in all one does is a nearly impossible achievement. As a result, most servant-leaders are life-long learners, excellent at proactive listening and never afraid to say, “I did not know that”.

Given the apparent positive results generated in the short-term by narcissistic managers, organizations could almost be forgiven for supporting and promoting these individuals into increasing levels of seniority. Almost forgiven, that is, were it not for the well known fact that people, especially leaders, are the most important factors in the success of an organization. If organizations seek long-term results, sustainable growth and leaders who are out to benefit the organization, not themselves, they need to identify and promote servant leaders.

Of course, the above examples are only a few highlights of what defines the Servant Leader. Fortunately, there are great authors on the subject that are far more astute and comprehensive when explaining what it means to live the paradox of servant-leadership. For a short presentation introducing the concept of servant-leadership and other resources on servant-leadership, please visit www.lichtenwalner.net/servantleader.html.

* Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about what servant-leadership is and is not, that may be proliferating this lack of awareness and support for servant-leadership. I intend to clarify some of these misunderstandings in a subsequent post.
** Attributed to the wife of James C. Hunter, author of The Servant .

When I was preparing for graduate school, I was torn over whether to pursue an MBA or a Masters, when a professor asked me: Do you want to be a CIO or a CTO. This advice stuck with me.

If it’s a CIO you want to be, you may want to consider the MBA. The business skills, strategy and management expertise will server you well. If it is a CTO you want to be, the Masters degree, especially in a Science field, will gain you the respect of the technical staff and establish more technical credibility. Of course, both will truly server you very well in either role.

If you are incredibly smart, or just a glutton for punishment, you can, of course, do both. I’m no glutton though.