Leadership – Page 12 – New Horizon Partners

Healthy Leaders Have Needs Also

As a leader, have you ever had times when you felt emotionally spent or empty? That the well had run dry?

It is not unusual for a leader to reach a point where they feel like they have used all of their emotional energy and have nothing left to give. Yet, relating to followers and meeting their emotional needs in the work setting is a basic function of an effective leader. The people that we lead need affirmation, encouragement, understanding, challenge, and other such emotional support in order to face their challenges and perform at a high level.

A typical leader has a large store of emotional energy and they use it liberally. Often a leader uses from their emotional tank without getting the tank refilled. The result is a feeling of emptiness, of being spent out.

The statement, “it’s lonely at the top” is generally true. Often leadership can be lonely. Leaders are especially susceptible to emptying their emotional tank, despite its large capacity, for reasons such as the following:

Leaders are servants. They have a keen awareness of emotional needs in the people that they lead and they seek to fill those needs. They want their people to be healthy and productive.
Leaders do have a large store of emotional energy and they can dispense it liberally without realizing that they are running a deficit.
The people around leaders often perceive their leader as being strong, capable, and not having any needs. Leaders tend to “have it all together.” So, while leaders watch for opportunities to provide emotional support to others, those others do not see any need to reciprocate.
Leaders sometimes view themselves as a bit of a superhero, able to take on anything and not show any needs.

Every person has emotional needs. There are those people that are emotionally unhealthy and overly needy, but we are not talking here about them. Leaders tend to be very emotionally healthy. But even the healthiest person needs to take in some emotional fuel occasionally. Some people do not want to recognize that they have any emotional needs because they have been taught that needs are weaknesses. But this is not true; emotional needs are a part of human nature. We were created for relationship and a part of being in relationship is both having and filling emotional needs.

Sometimes we need to learn how to recognize and voice our emotional needs. The idea of having needs is so foreign that we may have trained ourselves (or been trained) to not recognize that they exist. So a first step might be to learn what emotional needs are and how they manifest themselves. An emotional need can be a simple hunger for affirmation after having done something difficult. It can be a desire for empathy (not sympathy, by the way) after suffering a loss. It can be a need for encouragement or challenge when facing a difficult task or decision. It can be a need for understanding or acknowledgement when facing tough circunstances.

How does a leader go about getting his or her emotional needs met? They need to develop a group of people where they have a safe relationship. They need to be able to voice their need and have others who care about them step in to meet this need. (We can’t wait and hope that others perceive these needs.) Within an organization this might be a few trusted colleagues. Sometimes people develop a sort of personal board of advisors who serve in such a role. Often the most effective means is to join a peer group of similar leaders who can develop relationships and provide connection and support to each other.

A leader can be thought of as a high-performance jet. Our emotional energy is the jet fuel that makes us effective. But if we spend all of our fuel in helping our people and then run dry ourselves, we are in danger of crashing and burning, or at least being less effective. We need to get our emotional tank topped off once in a while so that we can run at maximum efficiency.

Do you recognize your emotional needs? Do you have a means of getting your emotional tank refueled?

Attitude Drives Action

In leadership a positive attitude has many benefits, both personally and corporately. It makes the leader more productive. It influences those around us to lift their attitude and helps them be more productive. We are no doubt familiar with situations where a negative or defeatist attitude puts a cloud over the organization and saps energy.

A positive attitude helps a person to be more creative and open, producing ideas for new and better ways to move forward. A positive attitude makes thinking about the future attractive rather than foreboding. Positive people are more confident. While the stress of a negative attitude saps energy, a positive attitude provides more energy to accomplish the tasks before them. Positive people approach tasks with expectations of accomplishment and success. Obstacles seem smaller when approached with a positive mindset; it is easier to see solutions when we expect to continue moving forward.

A positive attitude is infectious. Positive people are more likeable and develop relationships more easily. Therefore, a leader with a positive attitude is more likely to draw positive people into her team. The attitudes of leadership are generally reflected in the culture of an organization. A positive attitude in a leader leads to a positive culture, especially in a smaller organization.

A positive leader and culture is more likely to encourage a positive attitude in the people in the organization. Therefore, the positivity of the leader trickles down into more energy, creativity, and productivity from the people in the organization. So a positive person not only attracts other positive people but also leads those around them to become more positive.

A negative attitude can result from a negative self-critic; low self-esteem; high levels of stress, fear, resentment, or anger; or past experiences. Depending on the circumstances, a more positive attitude can be developed with some work. Some of the tools for building more positivity in life include the following:

Choose to look at the bright side and be optimistic.
Replace a negative self-critic with more positive self-affirmation.
Be grateful.
Develop positive relationships; seek out positive people.
Keep things in perspective.
Have fun.
Exercise and manage your health.

Does your organization have a positive culture? What steps are you taking to be more positive?

Celebration!

One year ago today, on September 5, 2016, we introduced our new website and this blog on leadership, character, and business strategy. Our goal at that time was to publish a relevant and interesting article on the subject of leadership, character, or business strategy about once a week. This is now the 58^th article in this series. Over the past 52 weeks there have been a few weeks when the crush of projects has made it difficult to write, but we have met the goal over the year. Hopefully, our readers have found some food for thought and opportunities for growth.

In addition to the articles that we publish here, we also write a series on leadership that you can find at the PolymerOhio website.

At this time I would like to express my appreciation for the many visitors to our website who have taken the time to view our blog articles. Thanks for reading! It’s a gift!

It’s What’s Inside that Counts

Leadership is the result of the combination of character and competency. Character is the far more important ingredient.

“It’s what’s inside that counts” may sound like a trite marketing statement. But leadership is influence and that influence is based on establishing a relationship of trust between leader and followers. Followers want to know that their leader is capable and competent. They want to have confidence that the leader can make good choices and guide positive change. But before they place trust in the skills of the leader, they must first be able to place their trust in the person of the leader. They need to see what is inside.

Another popular saying is appropriate here. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Followers entrust their careers, their livelihood, even their health and safety into the control of a leader. Before they are willing to go all in they need to see the character of the leader and make a judgement as to the trustworthiness of the person. Character shapes the relationship that leaders have with followers. It is the foundation of a trusting relationship.

Character can be defined as the traits, values, and virtues that guide the decisions that a person makes. It is what’s inside a person that defines how they will interact with others. Some of the most important character traits necessary to build this relationship of trust are the following:

Honesty
Forward-looking / Vision
Positive outlook / Confident / Inspiring
Results oriented
Empathetic / Caring
Openness / Approachable / Personable
Flexible / Resiliency
Principled / Integrity
Authenticity / Vulnerability
Humility

Without the character of leadership followers will hold back their loyalty and commitment. The results then are a half-hearted effort, limiting productivity and innovation.

Both character and competency can be learned or built, but character requires more effort. Building competency is a matter of learning new skills. Building character is more often a matter of changing what we think and who we are.

Do you have the character of a leader? How are you further developing your character to become the best leader possible?

“The Advantage” by Patrick Lencioni

The big idea from Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Advantage“, is summed up in the subtitle, “Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business.” The book weaves together company culture, business strategy, and leadership philosophy to describe the path to organizational success. Lencioni makes the case that without health, organizations are prone to confusion, politics, and frustration that saps energy and makes them far less effective than their potential. The book makes the case that the best strategy, the best products, or the best people are all crippled within organizations that have not developed organizational health. With organizational health, the people within the organization are focused and efficient, therefore achieving higher goals more quickly.

Lencioni defines organizational health as integrity within the organization, “when it is whole, consistent, and complete, that is, when its management, operations, strategy, and culture fit together and make sense.” Another way to describe organizational health is a united leadership team with a clear business description and direction. He describes two fundamental requirements for success of an organization, when it is smart (demonstrated by effective strategy, marketing, finance, and technology) and healthy (demonstrated by minimal politics, minimal confusion, high morale, high productivity, and low turnover). His view is that most organizations spend the bulk of their effort on the smart requirement and very little effort on the organizational health requirement. This despite the belief that organizational health is far more important.

To achieve the advantage of organizational health, the book describes four disciplines, as follows:

Build a Cohesive Leadership Team.
This leadership team is defined as “a small group of people who are collectively responsible for achieving a common objective for their organization.” The key to building a healthy organization is in building cohesiveness in the leadership team, where the team members sacrifice their personal desires or interests for the benefit of the team. Lencioni lists five behavioral principles that must be embraced to build cohesiveness, as follows:

Building trust
Mastering positive conflict
Achieving commitment
Embracing accountability
Focusing on results

Create Clarity.
Too often we find organizations that exist as a group of silos, each with their own view of what is best for the organization or simply focused on their own departmental interests. A healthy organization is based on the leadership team rallying around a clear and consistent description of their business and its direction. Lencioni defines these six critical questions to provide the organization with what he terms clarity, describing the organization and its goals and direction:

Why do we exist?
How do we behave?
What do we do?
How will we succeed?
What is most important, right now?
Who must do what?

These questions define the business, its strategy, and the tactical priorities for achieving success. In Lencioni’s view, these six questions sum up the rallying points that bring the organization together.

Overcommunicate Clarity.
Of course, the author could have said that organizations need to communicate the answers to the six questions that provide clarity. But too often leadership sees this communication as a one-time activity rather than a continuous requirement. People in the organization will easily forget or become distracted unless leadership continually reinforces these critical elements of clarity. So that everyone in the organization is working toward the same goals, they all need to be reminded consistently and the leadership team needs to be sure that they are all giving the same message. Some organizations think that presenting the plan to all employees once should be enough to get buy-in. Other organizations never communicate; they just want people to do their jobs without any understanding of their employer and what needs to be accomplished to be successful. Instead, Lencioni suggests that organizations overcommunicate using every means possible so that everyone is focused on the same priorities.
Reinforce Clarity.
The fourth discipline that Lencioni describes as a necessity for building organizational health is through all of the human systems of the organization. For example, the hiring process needs to be structured so that candidates are screened first by their ability to fit with the values of the organization and then secondly for technical skills and past accomplishments. Similarly, the onboarding or orientation process should be considered a prime opportunity to communicate the answers to the six clarity questions. In the same way, the clarity questions should play a part in performance management, recognition, and compensation. Employees that do not fit with the values should be managed out of the organization, since they will cause a distraction to the rest of the organization

A theme throughout the book is simplicity. Bureaucracy and complicated systems defeat the purpose of uniting the entire organization with clarity. After describing the four disciplines of a healthy organization, Lencioni spends a final chapter describing his view of effective meetings consistent with the concept of a healthy organization.

Most of Patrick Lencioni’s books are written as business fables in which he focuses on elements of company culture and demonstrates failures and successes in building a successful organization. “The Advantage” is a practical guide that incorporates many of the concepts from Lencioni’s other books. While he tends to be a bit dogmatic, this book has a lot of great advice for building a healthy organization and healthy organizations outperform the rest of the world.

Leaders: Extroverts or Introverts?

Which personality type makes the best leader, extroverts or introverts? For perhaps the past century there has been a bias toward extroverts, although this is much different than the prior historical view. Wharton professor, Adam Grant, conducted research that found 96% of leaders self-identify as extroverts. Of course, part of the explanation of this high number could be the cultural bias that extroversion is more preferable than introversion. In fact, there are reasons why introverts make great leaders and there are reasons why extroverts might be the better leaders. But rather than a preference for a certain personality type, it seems that the best explanation for leadership capability is character.

People often think of introverts as quiet and extroverts as gregarious or outgoing, but this is an oversimplification. Introverts focus inward, into their own thoughts, and extroverts focus outward, into the world. The difference is sensitivity to stimulation. An introvert is prone to being overstimulated by intense or prolonged social interaction. Extroverts crave stimulating activities like social interaction, social gatherings, and even activities that provide stimulus such as amusement parks or mountain climbing. Another simple way to describe the difference is extroverts gain energy from social interaction while introverts use energy.

At one time it was thought that people were one or the other – extrovert or introvert. It seems more logical that everyone has some of both, with one being more predominant. Also, the predominance of either extroversion or introversion can vary in different settings or circumstances. And people can train themselves to be more of what they deem desirable. Since extroversion is more socially acceptable, at least in the western world, there are many people that would naturally be introverts but have developed the habits of an extrovert, except that they may find it more tiring than a true extrovert would.

The strength that the extrovert personality type brings in leadership is perhaps boldness or persuasiveness. An extrovert is especially effective when leading a group of passive followers, providing energy and direction. The downfall of an extrovert in leadership can be failing to listen and allow team members to express their own thoughts and feelings, resulting in dissatisfaction of those that want to be heard.

The strength that the introvert personality brings to leadership is the ability to think deeply and seek out the input of those around them. An introvert is especially effective when leading a team of highly capable and motivated people where the group’s input and interaction are crucial. The downfall of an introvert could be some degree of isolation or the inability to energize certain followers.

While they differ in how they seek and react to stimuli, both extroverts and introverts are capable of building the character of an effective leader. And it is character more than personality type that determines the effectiveness of a leader. Character traits such as honesty, integrity, authenticity, and humility are not a function of personality type. Both extroverts and introverts can be strong in their respect and appreciation of other people and the thoughts and feelings of others. Extroverts may need to restrain their voice to hear others and introverts may need to become more intentional about seeking out interaction with others. But the personality type of extroversion – introversion does not define a leader.

The lesson for organizations is to not be caught up in what shows on the surface, which is where introversion and extroversion reside. Rather, organizations should make decisions on hiring and promotion based on underlying character traits, the more important definition of leadership ability.

For an interesting discussion of the societal shift toward extroversion, see the TED talk by Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.

Where are you on the introversion / extroversion scales? What do you see as the advantages or disadvantages of these two personality types?

Leaders Are Servants

The best leaders are, by their nature, servants of those that follow. This servant mentality comes from the character traits that define the best leaders. To be a leader is not a title or position that is assigned to a person. The role of leader is one granted by followers who deem a person worthy of trust to the degree that they are then willing to follow. The characteristics of a servant leader are the traits that draw people to trust and follow.

The servant leader should not be viewed as wimpy or subservient. The traits that define leadership presence are not in conflict with the traits of serving. The best example of a servant leader might be Jesus Christ who, regardless of his position as Son of God, did not regard himself as better than those who followed him. And his servant attitude did not make him subservient to anyone except his heavenly Father.

The servant attitude of a leader is a result of character traits such as the following:

The servant leader respects and values people. They think you, not me. The leader would not ask anyone to do what they themselves would be unwilling to do. They value the opinions, thoughts, and emotions of team members.
The servant leader acts with humility. They are not haughty or proud. They rely on their inner person rather than using position or title. There is a sense of equality and team.
The servant leader encourages those around them. They have a positive attitude and they believe in their team members. Their confidence is contagious.
The servant leader seeks the success of those around them. They are committed to help people grow and blossom. They develop leaders in those that they lead.
The servant leader is authentic. They are comfortable with who they are and are willing to allow others to see both their strengths and weaknesses.
The servant leader develops a culture of trust. They are consistent in keeping their word and caring for others.
The servant leader has a long-term view. They are thinking of the benefits to the organization and their people over time. They are willing to invest in others for future results.
The servant leader values results for others. They are not self-centered or selfish but seek benefits for those around them.

Leadership is influence and influence is based on relationship. The underlying theme in all of these traits is that servant leaders think of others rather themselves and the end result is that their people respect and trust the leader. This respect and trust leads to performance and results.

Are you developing the character of a servant? What other characteristics do you see as valuable in serving those that you lead?

Leaders Are Communicators

Leadership is influence and influence can only be achieved with good communications. Whether we are promoting a shared vision, encouraging team collaboration, developing our people, or any other part of the leadership role, communication is a key element that determines success as a leader.

Leadership is composed of character and competency. Since good communication is so fundamental to leadership it should be no surprise that there is also both a character and a competency component to good communications.

The best leaders have a drive to communicate, the character element. Because these leaders have a respect for people and a desire to build relationships, the desire to communicate is a part of who they are, a part of their character. These leaders have a desire to know and be known by the people with whom they interact. Communication ties in with the character traits of transparency, humility, openness, empathy and other key traits of leaders.

This desire to communicate should not be confused with the personality factors of introversion and extroversion. Extroverts gain energy through interaction with others while introverts use energy to interact. But the desire to know others and to communicate is a separate trait.

The other part of a leader’s communication is the competency or skill developed to do so most effectively. Great leaders are great communicators. They work hard at learning to communicate effectively. Some of the essential elements of communication competency are clarity, candor, consistency, congruency, and connection.

Clarity – leaders must communicate clearly at a level that is easily understood by the audience.

Be proactive; people left in the dark wander from the vision and waste energy speculating.
Understand the purpose of every communication, define the objective, and tailor the means and content to meet the objective.
Make it simple and concise, understandable to the audience, and focused on the objective; communicate specifics not ambiguities.
It’s not just the “what” but also the “how” of communicating – appropriate to the purpose, with authority.

Candor – leaders need to be trusted in order to be followed.

Speak the truth; honesty and transparency builds trust.
Be open and authentic; communicate from the heart.
Admit mistakes; people don’t relate to those pretending to be perfect, they relate to those that are human and humble.
Be willing to embrace the negative, both to admit it and to hear it.

Consistency – maintain a continual flow of information to stay connected.

Develop and implement a communication plan that schedules periodic communication, both written and verbal, to institutionalize communications.
Make a point of communicating both with the larger audience and on an individual basis with people throughout the organization.
Another part of consistency is making the message continually reflect the culture.

Congruency – communication is more than just the words that you write or speak.

In speaking, both to individuals as well as to a group, be sure that your body language reflects the message that you are seeking to deliver.
In written and oral communications, check the tone as well as the words you use.

Connection – communication is more than speaking and writing, leaders need to know and relate to their audience.

Communication is not just distributing information, it includes listening to understand and perceiving emotions and attitudes.
In individual communication, read body language.
Speak to the concerns of the listener, know the context.
Promote two-way communication, solicit feedback.

Your leadership success is dependent upon your communication character and competency.

What are doing to build your communication capability? What are the stumbling blocks to great communications?

Solutions, Not Problems

Leaders are forward-thinking. As important as completing today’s tasks, leaders focus on building their people and the organization in the process. An element of developing the members of the team is identifying the behaviors that hinder performance and coaching to new levels of capability.

When team members fail or underperform, one of the keys of successful coaching is to focus on solutions, not on the problem. Rather than saying “Why did this happen?” we should say “What did you learn?” or “What can you do different the next time?” Every failure should be viewed as a learning and growth opportunity.

If we focus on the “why” or the problem we are not developing for the future, but are focusing on the past. In fact, neuroscience tells us that we are raising the attention on the problem and likely to further imbed it into the team member’s thought process, therefore possibly increasing the likelihood of repetition in the future. If our discussion focuses on the “what” or the solution, we reinforce that mindset and make it more likely as a future behavior. When the next instance arises, we will have developed a thought process that can achieve a better outcome.

There are instances where a focus on the “why” or the problem makes sense. When we are addressing failure in a process, the “5 Why” methodology can lead to root cause identification. In this way, “why” leads to process improvement. But when dealing with people, the better question is a “what” question. For example,

Not “Why did you not close the sale?” but “What would be another way to try to close the next sale?”
Not “Why did you produce so much scrap?” but “What can you improve that will increase your quality levels?”
Not “Why did you fail?” but “What will you do next time to increase the chance of success?”

When dealing with processes, ask “why?” When dealing with people, ask “what?”

By focusing the discussion on the solution rather than the problem, the leader helps the team member develop the analytical skills to break down the problem, consider alternatives, and make decisions. A discussion of the problem is a negative discussion of the past. The solution discussion is a positive discussion that looks to the future

Are you spending too much of your time and energy on the past or are you moving forward?

Competency and Character

Great leadership is based on a combination of both strong competencies and excellent character. The best skills without the positive character traits leaves people cold. Great skills alone can obtain results for the short term but a stressful or highly emotional situation draws out true character and, if that character is weak, will cause followers to not trust and follow. . Great character traits without the skills can make a leader likeable but people don’t see a benefit for the future. Without strong leadership skills, people don’t see enough substance to develop long-term results.

Leadership competency or skills include such things as the ability to communicate, manage change, create a vision, read and understand people, influence others, and negotiate effectively. It includes the ability to digest information and think strategically. Relevant technical and functional skills are important such as scientific knowledge or a strong financial background. Competencies include decision-making and the ability to organize and manage. Competencies in the area of communication include the ability to write or speak clearly and convincingly, the ability to teach, and the ability to organize and manage meetings.

Competencies are learned skills. We develop them through experience, following an example or model, or some education process. This might be from a book or seminar. In a sense, competencies can be viewed as tools in a toolbox.

While competencies are what a person knows or is capable of doing, character is who we are. Character can be defined as the sum of virtues, values and traits. The character of a strong, effective leader includes such traits and virtues as integrity, honesty, confidence, humility, authenticity, passion, selflessness, ethical, and respect for others. Character is built into our lives through our beliefs and the practice of those beliefs over time.

In an effective leader competency and character flow together. It may be difficult at times to differentiate whether actions are based on competency or character. On the other hand, when a person is attempting to lead without a base of both competency and character, it can be both obvious and ineffective. Some further examples of both one-sided and blended actions are shown below.

A person with good communication skills can craft a document that presents the facts clearly. A leader with both communication skills and a respect for others presents the facts clearly and in a manner that values the audience and considers the impact and likely emotions of the reader.
A person with meeting management skills can organize and conduct an efficient meeting. A leader with both competency and character can conduct a meeting where the attendees feel a part of the process and that their input is valued.
A person with the ability to teach others can present information clearly when asked to do so. A leader with both competency and character looks for teaching opportunities in every interaction.

Evaluating and building our competencies can be straight-forward. What skills do we have and where do I need to build more or deeper skills? Evaluating and building our character requires a deeper look and a greater effort as we often actually need to change who we are as we strengthen our character.

Where do you need to grow and what is your plan for doing so?