Category: Leadership

The fire chief is clearly displeased. He angrily upbraids his firefighting team for disregarding his direct order to evacuate a building that was on the verge of exploding. The firemen had their reasons for doing what they did, but in overriding direct orders they put themselves and their unit in added danger. Notably as the chief is chastising the team, he makes it clear that he considers the unit to be among the very best at what it does.

This scene is from Rescue Me, the long-running drama series created by and starring Denis Leary. While the particulars are fictional, the behavior of the chief and the firefighters should be a lesson to anyone in management. Highly performing teams, especially those that have worked together for a while, often abide by their own rules. On the one hand, it is a secret to their effectiveness; on the other hand, when teams ignore directives from their management, it can spell trouble.

Managers of such teams are blessed with effective productivity, but cursed with dealing with attitudes that lead to teams doing whatthey want to do when they want to do it. This makes for good drama in a television series, but causes rifts that can fracture organizational effectiveness. The challenge for the manager is to insist on discipline as well as underscore respect for the team’s abilities and accomplishments. Here are some suggestions for mining the team’s effectiveness but maintaining organizational unity.

Pay tribute. Recognize the team for what it has achieved. Make certain individuals on the team know how much you respect them and their work. Go out of your way to make them feel welcome. Talk up their accomplishments to higher ups. In short, make the team feel special. Compensation should reflect how well the organization regards the team’s contributions.

Instill values. Critical to team success is cohesiveness, pulling together for the greater good. The same applies to teams within the organization. Make it clear that no team is above the company. At the same time, respect the fact that individual members will have greater allegiance to their team members than to members of other teams. A savvy boss will find ways to leverage the team’s cohesion to benefit the entire organization by putting the team into positions where its success will reflect well on the entire organization.

Adhere to policy. High-performing teams like to do things their own way. This is a key reason for their success. Allow the team, as you would individuals, to figure out things for itself and execute its ideas in its own way. However, make it clear that whatever the team does must be done on time and on budget. Above all, hold the team accountable for both good and not-so good results.

Finally, strike a balance between creativity and discipline. You want to challenge the team to think and act creatively because its ability to do things differently contributes to its success. At the same time, its creativity must be in service to organizational strategies and objectives. That is, the team can “freelance” methods but not objectives. Projects it undertakes must complement the organization’s mission.

Let’s face facts. When push comes to shove, a highly productive team should be given the latitude it needs to achieve. Treating this team as a first among equals is appropriate. All teams need to be treated fairly but those that do more than most deserve special treatment. So often it is the collective triumphs of high-performing teams that enable the whole organization to succeed.

Bottom line, a savvy manager will give a highly productive team plenty of room to succeed. Experienced managers learn the boundaries so they can keep all of their teams, not simply the high achievers, on a path that maintains individual team pride and benefits the entire organization.

First posted on HBR.org on 8/03/2009

Wise leaders look at what an employee can do rather than what he cannot do.

The lesson for leaders who evaluate people — that is, every leader — is to adopt a “glass half-full” versus a “glass half-empty” attitude. An executive who is evaluating talent should ask three questions about the individual:

• Does this person have the skills to do the job?
• What has been holding this person back from achieving?
• What can I do to help this person succeed?

Talent is not a commodity. It is the lifeblood of the enterprise and those leaders who look for it, nurture it, and seek to capitalize on it are ones who achieve their objectives.

First posted on SmartBrief.com 4/12/2013

Want to make better use of your time? You might want to consider taking a nap.

A new study from Pew Research shows that one-third of all people who earn $100,000 or more take naps. These folks spend more time napping than those earning between $30,000 and $100,000. (Too much napping is not good for your income: those who napped the most earned less than $30,000 annually.)

While I cannot attest to the earning power of napping, I can vouch for its leadership effectiveness. Winston Churchill and John D. Rockefeller took regular naps, as did my grandfather. For nearly thirty years, Grandpa John worked full-time and ran a weekly newspaper on the side. Naps were essential to his ability to keep working productively.

Napping is something I’ve been preoccupied with lately as I recuperate from foot surgery. Since I have been instructed to stay off my feet as much as possible, the tendency to snooze has caught me more regularly — typically it’s a quick doze on a hard floor. When I awake, I am refreshed and recharged, and possess an extra stipend of energy.

The chief purpose of a quick nap is less about the time spent resting and more about the energy it produces. Some refer to this as power napping. Here are some suggestions for making your naps more productive.

1. Find a comfortable spot and stretch out. This can be hard to do in an office setting but it’s not impossible. If appropriate, keep your eye out for a clean stretch of carpet, perhaps in a conference room or unoccupied office. [You can also snooze in your chair but make certain you are not cramped and that you are positioned for safety so you won’t fall out when you fall asleep.]

2. Close your eyes and focus on a project. Do not get wrapped up in details like budgets and deadlines. That will only provoke anxiety; focus on possibility, that is, on how you will accomplish the project and with whom.

3. Relax as you mull over concepts. As your mind wanders, let your body relax, too.

4. Doze. For me, fifteen to thirty minutes works. Any longer makes me a bit groggy, but do what works for you. (Note: naptime is not heavy REM sleep; often I do not actually fall asleep but I do feel rested upon waking.)

5. Wake up. Rise slowly, and as you regain your balance, stretch your arms and legs. Time to get back to work. Enjoy the sense of renewal that comes from a quick nap.

Chances are if you follow these simple tips, you will be more than ready to get back to work. You may find yourself with a bit more pep in your step and zip in your thought processes. You may not make more money but you will likely be more refreshed and able to tackle the challenges the rest of the day presents.

From my point of view, naptime is not slack time. It is self-time. Use a nap as you would exercise or reflection; it is a time to connect your thoughts to your eventual actions. And for leaders that can be a very good thing.

First posted on HBR.org on 8/06/2009

Have some tough news to deliver?

Use a one-two approach: affirm their value, then critique their performance. Too often managers open with the tough stuff, and when they do they cause the other person to go into a defensive posture — or shut down as psychologists say — and hear nothing else.

If you play it straight and with dignity, you demonstrate that you care about your employees.

First posted on SmartBrief on 4/26/2013

 

The speaker was doing his determined best to continue speaking but the audience had other ideas. Those in attendance were restless and eager to get to a reception for free drinks and snacks. Still, the speaker plowed on through his presentation, seeking to talk over the catcalls and murmuring. 

This scene came back to me when watching news coverage of protesters disrupting town hall meetings on health care reform that congresspeople are holding in their districts. Most members of congress are not as naïve as the speaker I described; they know enough not to ignore hostile crowds. Some seek to engage the protesters; others pack it in and call it a day.

There is no best way to handle an unruly crowd but clearly the executive just described did the wrong thing; he ignored the audience. More adept speakers, like politicians, will seek to engage the audience. If that is your choice and it is safe for you to speak, then here are some suggestions when dealing with a tough and vocal audience.

Be prepared. Every speaker must learn what her audience expects before she arrives to speak. In the case of the executive, he did not consider the fact that he was the final speaker of the day and the only thing standing between the audience and a reception. On a more serious note, if you expect people to be hostile to your message, study up on the reasons why they may be upset. You want to integrate your counter arguments into your presentation, or be prepared to deliver those arguments if questions arise.

Be flexible. If someone heckles, acknowledge it. Comedians, who often earn their stripes by performing in small nightclubs, learn early in their careers how to have fun with hecklers. Sometimes you can parry the jibes and have a quick back-and-forth dialogue. This demonstrates that the speaker is in control, not the heckler. But cut off the debate quickly and move forward with your presentation. You cannot cede control to the crowd.

Be resolute. If the shouters will not be silenced, then give the rest of the audience an opportunity to voice their opinions. Negotiate time to continue but promise to take questions from the audience as soon as you finish your remarks. If this occurs, abandon the script and speak directly to the audience. Be brief. And keep your cool. Shouting back makes you one of the mob; speaking with confidence acknowledges your authority over the message.

There is no guarantee that any of these suggestions will quiet a crowd. As we have seen with the health care protests, some attendees are not coming to listen — they are coming to disrupt. As with unruly and spoiled children, there is little reasoning that can be done. When a disruptive mood prevails, or if you feel unsafe, walk away. Do so calmly and purposefully. Stride confidently off the stage to a quiet and protected space. (Of course if people are throwing things at you, exit hastily.)

It takes a strong sense of self to face a restless crowd. The operative principle when engaging an audience is control. If you have it, continue; if you lose it, retreat.

First posted on HBR.org 8/11/2009

Coaching your employees requires commitment. It must be planned in advance, not done off the cuff.

Management today is really about enabling people to succeed and that means providing them with the guidance, resources, feedback and support they need to do their jobs.

Coupling feedback with expectations is the foundation of manager-to-employee coaching. It’s also the method by which managers can help employees and teams get the work done and promote higher levels of engagement and productivity.

First posted on SmartBrief 5/17/2013

The first time I heard department stores referred to as dinosaurs (e.g. facing extinction) was at least twenty-five years ago, and even then it was old news. So when Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s, gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal talking about how he was using the downturn to improve operations, I thought it wise to pay attention.

First and foremost, Lundgren is a realist. When asked if he “worried about” customers holding out for discounts, he replied: “I’m not worried about it. I’m counting on it.” Leaders need to face facts and adjust expectations to those realities. That is something that Macy’s, along with every other retailer, does. In other words, you don’t count on a turnaround, you make a turnaround happen.

How you do that varies from business to business. Leaders such as Lundgren teach us how you can use the downturn to your advantage. Not overnight, but over time. Here’s how:

Make tough choices. Now is the time to get rid of anything and everything that does not add value to the bottom line. Adhering to the principles of value engineering will help an organization optimize operations, but that is not enough. A leader must look to kill old habits. Reduce practices that “feed the monster,” that is, projects that inflate egos rather than earnings. For example, reduce the number of staff and skip-level meetings. Let people do their work rather than prepare for meetings with senior staff.

Look for the up and comers. When times are flat or in a downturn, look for new ideas. Challenge your best and brightest to make suggestions to improve operations, attract new customers, or work more collaboratively with vendors or each other.

Live resilience. This is the first significant downturn that younger employees have faced. Keep spirits high by emphasizing self-determinism. Show them how seasoned leaders respond to tough times by focusing not simply on the business, but also on the people propelling the turnaround. Good leaders use these opportunities to describe what is going right as well as what is going wrong. Acknowledge the obstacles, but show people how to go around them or climb over them.

Reality dictates that business turnarounds require economic rebounds. No leader can tweak his operation into success; you need customers to buy what you offer. But if you do not improve what you offer and how you offer it, you may miss the upswing.

Preparation for the upturn should be well underway at most organizations, but turnarounds cannot rely upon what those at the top tell financial journalists and analysts. Leaders must shepherd the spirit of the turnaround through every level of the organization so employees not only see the possibilities, but more importantly, discover what they must do to make them real.

First posted on HBR.org on 8/14/2009

Techniques fiction writers employ to develop characters can provide insight into how managers develop their employees.

Learn the secret that one novelist, Ellis Avery, uses to develop her characters.

This technique can give managers real-world insight into how they can help their employees succeed.

First posted on Smart Brief on 6/15/2013

Leave it to a comedian to invert perceptions of the leader-follower dynamic.

In 2009 Jon Stewart asked chief White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee “Is [the President] going to impeach us?” After all, Stewart mused, might the unpopularity of the President’s health care reform be due to people’s failure to follow rather than the President’s ability to lead? While Stewart, as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, was being funny, there is truth in his comments about the leader-follower relationship; both sides have roles to play.

Leaders must work hard to explain their initiatives and create conditions for people to succeed when they implement them. But equally so, followers need to work to fulfill their responsibilities to the organization that pays them. While the majority of employees do pull their weight, we all have seen examples of employees simply clocking time.

While such behavior is never acceptable, it is even less acceptable when times are trying, as they are now. So leaders need to exert their management skills to engage employees and set clear expectations. Here are three questions managers can ask to ensure that employees follow through on their responsibilities.

1. Do people know what is expected of them? Too often we assume people know their jobs. People may know the specifics, but often lack knowledge about how what they do helps the entire organization. For example, if an employee works in accounting, she needs to know how vital her job is to the efficacy of the company. Her attentiveness, as well as that of her colleagues, is essential to the company’s ability to profit. People need to be told, and reminded, of the importance of their work.

2. Do employees know what they can expect from you? It is important to let employees know that you as their manager are available to them. How you define “available” may vary from employee to employee. For new hires, you might be more teacher than boss. For veterans, you will play the coaching role. For the team, you will be the supplier of resources as well as their champion.

3. Do employees know what is expected of each other? While managers need to make certain employees are doing what is asked of them, employees must also do their part to coordinate with each other. Whether a self-managed team makes its own assignments or a manager makes the assignments, what matters most is that employees know who does what so work can be completed in a timely and responsible fashion.

Pushing for employee responsibility is not an excuse for roughshod management. If managers expect their employees to be accountable, then they must set the right example. These leaders need to handle tough issues, volunteer for tough assignments, and go the extra mile to help the organization succeed.

First posted on HBR.org 8/18/2009

 

Character is essential to leadership and so educators and executives alike are wise to focus on it.

Recently I came across a definition of “leadership skills” offered by Jeff Nelson of the One Goal organization, which works with disadvantaged youth in Chicago.

Nelson believes that kids need to learn are “resilience, integrity, resourcefulness, professionalism and ambition.” These traits are important because they are inherent to a leader’s character.

First posted on Smart Brief 7/05/2013