Wisdom is the Power to…

…put our Time and our Knowledge to the Proper Use.

Time Management is one of the more important and popular leadership topics I am asked to speak about in my seminars. Knowledge, as a function of effective decision-making and communications, is integrated into nearly every workshop I facilitate. It occurs to me addressing both in the context of the quote by Thomas, J. Watson, former Chairman and CEO of IBM made sense in today’s time and knowledge strained business environment.

We’ve all heard the expression “Time is Money”. We know money is either spent or invested. When we invest money we expect a return on our investment. When we spend money, we consume what we buy as a one-time event. Time is no different in the sense that it, like money is either spent or invested. When we spend time, we never get it back as it is a one-time event. When we invest time, we have an expectation of some level of return for the time invested. The difference between spending time and investing time is the presence of goals. When time is used towards accomplishing our goals, we are making an investment in our personal and professional future. When we do not have goals, time used is spent on one-and-done events, which literally do little to advance our future.

We live in a world that is information-rich and knowledge-poor. We can get content from anywhere through the wonders of modern technology and the plethora of data sources available to us in real time. However, it takes a level of understanding and time to put the content into a context resulting in sustainable leadership decisions. It is knowledge which helps leaders know when and where to effectively leverage their leadership skills. When leaders rely only on information, as far too many do in my experience, their decisions have limited effectiveness for their organization. True knowledge-based decisions and communications provide deeper meaning and understanding for all in the organization.

The implication to today’s leader is clear. They are increasingly challenged where they invest time and deal with volumes more information to convert to knowledge than existed in the days of Thomas J. Watson. However, the need to properly invest time and knowledge has never been more important. The key element to both is having clear, written goals that align to the leader’s purpose and vision in a very specific, measurable and time-bound manner. In this way, time is invested towards goal achievement and only relevant information becomes knowledge to achieve desired results.

It is wisdom that forms the foundation of sustainable leadership. Wisdom based on the effective investment of time and the efficient use of knowledge to become life-long leaders. How are your goals taking you down the road to Wisdom?

Lead Well!

“Leadership is not wielding Authority …

…it’s Empowering People”

As I reflected on my coaching activity over the last several months, I realized most of my time was spent with a collective group representing a crucial leadership component in any organization - middle management. I am referring to those Senior Managers and Directors who are typically one or two levels removed from the front lines of the business as well as several layers removed from the boardroom. Yet to be successful, they keep an eye on, and understand the activities of, both ends of the spectrum. Based on recent experience, it is still a challenge as it was when I held similar positions in my own corporate career. In reflection, the expression above from Becky Brodin is a reminder of an integral part of the being a successful middle management leader.

Success in middle management requires the leader to be part tactician, part strategic thinker; part detail-oriented, part big-picture; part manager and every bit a leader! In a constantly changing business environment, middle management leaders have to continuously adapt to changes that come from senior leadership and at the same time effectively manage their teams as they interact daily with the changing demands of customers, vendors and suppliers as well as their own team’s individual goals. With all these demands, empowerment is crucial to their success!

In my own experience, there are four distinct scenarios where leaders in middle management are effective by empowering their teams or being empowered themselves to make the right decisions and achieve their desired results.

The first is being able to be the top when you have to. Being able to make decisions when needed without always having to “run it up the chain of command” is the sign of an empowered leader as well as indicative of a high performing organization. Leaders in middle management should understand the strategic intent well enough to be able to confidently make operational decisions to advance their organizations in alignment with the overall strategy of the business.

The second scenario is the opposite of the first. They need to be the bottom when they have to. Being able to filter and or translate the volume of information that comes from senior leadership requires a current knowledge of what is important to their team and what is not. Passing information on solely based on “it came from the top” has no value other than passing on the message. Effective communication is ensuring the context is meaningful to the audience. Therefore successful leaders either stop meaningless traffic or translate complex messaging into meaningful information.

The third scenario requiring empowerment comes in the form of being a facilitator when necessary. When issues cross the middle management leader’s path, they become opportunities to facilitate a solution rather that solve the problem directly. The ability to empower the parties involved to work through the issue, either directly or possibly through collaboration with other parties the leader can bring to the discussion, is a powerful leadership tool. Not only has the leader helped build new relationships, the parties involved also actively learn through their own empowerment.

The final scenario is similar to the third in that the leader acts as coach when necessary. Coaching helps individuals create their own solutions to issues with the support of the coaching leader. By empowering the individual, the leader once again creates a learning opportunity through the empowerment process and creates a more confident member of their teams through each coaching opportunity.

When I work with leaders in middle management positions, I always explore empowerment on two levels. We look at the leader’s level of empowerment with their own team as well as the level of empowerment they themselves have from their managers. How much is empowerment contributing to your success as a leader?

Lead Well!

Being “Above Average” is to Success...

...what being “Above Ground” is to Living.

This quote is from Jay Niblick’s book “What’s your Genius” I previewed in the November 2010 issue of “What to Read”. It struck a chord with me when I first read it and as I sat down to pen this issue on achieving success, it resonated once again. I believe it speaks to success being more than just getting by, much like truly living life being judged by more than simply standing upright and breathing.

What I find interesting is how much less I hear the term “Success” now than I typically did last quarter. A quarter ago, which to many was the end of their fiscal year, I heard many variations of “We succeeded because...” or “Look what we did to succeed”. What I hear little of now are phrases like, “Here’s what we will do to succeed” or “Our success looks like...” It is as if we only feel comfortable talking about success after it happens. We seem less comfortable planning for success and overtly stating how we will achieve it. Too often we throw together a loosely defined plan and hope it works.

As we find our rhythm for 2011, here is how we can definitively achieve success both professionally and personally. It all begins with goals. Not just any goals, but ones that carry meaning in the context of what you want to achieve. Many of our readers are familiar with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistically High and Time Bound) Goals. I would take it a step further and suggest they be WAY-SMART (Written, Aligned, Yours, SMART) Goals.

Having goals help you identify what you want to do and why you want to achieve them. However, you also have to be capable of achieving success. Do you possess the skills (the know how) required to be successful? Additionally, do you have the knowledge (the know when and know where) to use your skills in their proper context? We spend a good deal of time, many times the majority of our time, developing our skills and knowledge, believing they will help us achieve our goals and ultimately be successful.

But is it enough? Not really. One only has to listen to the battlefield of broken resolutions that typically show themselves this time of year. With great intentions so many set goals to improve themselves aptly equipped with the skills and knowledge to do so. Yet by late January or early February, they begin to break down. What’s missing? It is our attitude that makes the difference. It defines our want to achieve our goal and be the success we have pictured in our mind’s eye. While attitude contributes nearly 75% of our success, how much time do we spend developing our attitude? Probably significantly less than 75%! Instead, we continue to invest heavily in skills and knowledge hoping they will make up the difference. They won’t!

The right combination of Goals, Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes provide us our greatest opportunity to create a future of success. In a Victor Hugo quote forwarded to me recently, he states, “The future has many names. For the weak, it means unattainable. For the fearful, it means the unknown. For the courageous, it means opportunity.” Do you have the courage to live more than just “above ground”?

Lead Well!

Change Occurs...

…At The Outer Edge of Your Comfort Zone.

As we wind down 2010, many of us are reflecting on what we accomplished in 2010 and what changes we will make to continue our successes into 2011. In my own work with small and medium businesses as well as non-profit organizations, managing change is the most common topic of conversation; and why not? The uncertainty that remains in the economic and political environments have leaders in the unenviable position of making the next right strategic decision in the face of all this uncertainty.

How do leaders mitigate this uncertainty enough to make the crucial decisions before them? While there are many moving parts to a successful business strategy, two elements of leading any organization is understanding the general environment you are competing in as well as knowing how your current capabilities match up to that environment. Key to a leader’s strategic thinking process includes a recurring assessment of their general environment against six different factors: Demographic/Psychographic, Economic, Political/Legal, Socio-Cultural, Technical and Global. Regardless of whether you lead a global organization or do business directly with the government, all six factors will influence your ability to adapt and evolve your business. As I briefly outline each factor below, ask yourself how they impact your business, non-profit or corporation.

• Demographic/Psychographic – we are already seeing debates around the impact of the new census results and the changing demographics of the US population. Psychographics reflect the personalities, values, attitudes and lifestyles of the population.
• Economic – while the recession may be over, businesses generally are still taking a cautious road ahead having a direct impact on the economic recovery. As you assess your own organization’s economic health, how did your supply chain and value chain fare as well?
• Political/Legal – all eyes are on Washington DC these days to gauge the impact of Congress’ decisions and how they influence the current level of cautiousness across the business landscape. How are current federal, state and local budget gaps impacting your organization?
• Socio-Cultural –We see more and more organizations hiring temporary workers, even in management and other predominantly white-collar positions. How “Green” is your organization?
• Technical – an article in the 12/20/10 Wall Street Journal opines how Dr. Seuss would love the e-Readers because they enable children to read more effectively. While technology is changing at a rapid pace, is it effectively advancing the way you conduct your business?
• Global – you may not be a global business, but events around the globe impact your business instantaneously. Have you figured out how and why?

While understanding the general landscape provides today’s leaders with a current view of their external environment, it is only useful if put in the context of their business. The tool most often used for this aspect of the strategic thinking process is the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Process. This assessment of the internal environment captures the current capabilities (strengths and weaknesses) and puts them in the context of the external environment (opportunities and threats). While the SWOT is a very versatile tool used to help leaders proactively deal with changes in their business, they must keep in mind it only provides a one-shot view of a moving target and must be used routinely to be effective. Additionally, because we identify an organizational strength through the SWOT process does not mean the strength represents a competitive advantage.

We know change is inevitable, but growth in our business because of the change is not. Leaders must constantly assess which way the winds of change are blowing and adjust their strategy accordingly. I am reminded of the closing scene in The Truman Show when Jim Carrey’s Truman finally makes it to the outer edge of his known world. After a brief dialog, Truman opens the door, literally and figuratively, to a whole new world of possibilities. When you get to the outer edge of your comfort zone, are you prepared to open the door to your new possibilities?

Lead Well!

Leadership Lessons…

…From Running Triathlons.

Several weeks ago I ran a Sprint Triathlon in our hometown, something I’ve done for the last four years. However, what made this year special is I ran it with my youngest son who was running the race for the first time. Since it was his first race and our plan was to run it together, our motto for the race became “Start Steady, Finish Strong”. Undoubtedly, most of you reading this have heard of the famous Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. The Sprint Triathlon is the shortest of the four official distances but still involves the same three events – swimming, biking and running in that order. So as I reflected on the race, it occurred to me the parallels between training and running triathlons with the leadership coaching I do as part of my practice.

When I first began competing in triathlons, I viewed them as separate events in which to train. I was a competitive swimmer and runner in both high school and college so it was natural for me to train in each event as I had before. This is no different when we find ourselves approaching new professional and personal challenges by relying on the skills and knowledge we developed from our past. Even when we set goals for ourselves to improve in an individual endeavor, it is still the past that governs our execution unless we consciously make a change. And as I realized my training regimen wasn’t enough, I needed to make a change - in my attitude regarding the race itself!

I had to change my mental approach to the race to ultimately achieve my goal. I actually made two changes. First, I changed my mental approach to the race from three individual events back-to-back-to-back to one race with five aligned competitive pieces. I say five because the transitions between events are really mini-events in and by themselves as the clock continues to tick during the swim-bike and bike-run transitions. Secondly, I realized I could not do this solely based on my own experience. I reached out to accomplished tri-athletes and read blogs from others who were also trying to optimize their triathlon experience. These two changes helped me align my actions to accomplish my overall goal.

So what does this have to do with leadership? How much are we relying on the experiences of the past to deal with today’s challenges? Are we going about change alone or are we reaching out to others to help us develop new leadership attitudes? Is our business a series of disparate, misaligned goals preventing us from achieving our ultimate objective? These are questions all leaders should regularly ask themselves.

I recently read a quote from Fred Lebow, founder of the New York City Marathon, a race I’ve run twice who said, “In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say ‘I have finished’. There is a lot of satisfaction in that”. As my son and I completed the triathlon, I had no idea where in the pack we finished but I do know we Started Steady and we definitely Finished Strong! Are your goals aligned for a strong finish?

Lead Well!

Rick Lochner

We Can Learn a Lot about Purpose Driven Leadership…

From the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints.

Now this may seem like a strange way for me to discuss leadership as those who know me know I am a lifelong Colts fan. However, I did spend half my military career in Louisiana and Mississippi only hours from New Orleans and the French Quarter. It is during these times we came to appreciate the food, music and culture of the city. I do know what it feels like to have to evacuate in front of an oncoming hurricane and if nothing else, Sean Payton, the Saints coach is from our hometown of Naperville, IL. So it is with some attachment I use their recent Super Bowl victory as a backdrop for Purpose Driven Leadership.

Purpose Driven Leadership supposes, in spite of all the talk of the recession, jobs, expenses and profits, people want more. This translates through the organization’s Vision and Values. Organizations (public, private and non-profit alike) who have a clear Vision of what they want to become have a distinct and clear advantage over their competitors over the long haul, especially when dealing with change. These same organizations have and live a set of Values embraced by all in the organization and reinforced daily by their leadership. The Saints had a purpose that transcended what happened on the football field earlier this month. They played to not only win the Super Bowl but to provide a sense of higher belief in a home city still rebuilding both physically and culturally. What makes the ideal even more important in my mind is by staying true to their purpose, leaders must take risks to achieve the desired results. The Saints certainly made that point clear with several risky plays including the now famous on-side kick to begin the second half of the game.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to hear from another member of a Super Bowl team, Jim Covert from the 1985 Chicago Bears. In his speech on leadership he highlighted the idea of Values. As the President and CEO of The Institute for Transfusion Medicine he sees his purpose as creating fundamental and sustainable change through leadership. In doing so, he identified three Values he uses to achieve his Purpose:

➢ Honesty and Integrity – Lead By Example
➢ Set Expectations – Use Effective Goal Setting
➢ Accountability – For You and Those Around You

A story he relayed was of Mike Ditka, the Bears coach at the time, setting a goal to win the Super Bowl at the beginning of the 1983 training camp. What stood out is he also said half of the assembled players would likely not be there, which turned out to be true two years later when they did win the Super Bowl.

So what is the Purpose of your team and is everyone on board to help you win your Super Bowl?

Lead Well.

Does anybody really know...

-what time it is? Does anybody really care?

Many of you might recall these lyrics from the band Chicago from their hit song by the same name. As we work our way into the last few months of 2009 we and those in our organizations might be asking "Where did the time go?" or saying "2009 went by so fast!".

As leaders, time management is a crucial element of our success, especially at the rate of change in today's business environment. Many of us rely on a myriad of technology to keep us organized. Smart phones that sync to our email systems and integrate with our web or PC-based calendar systems are the norm these days. In spite of this technology as many as 75% of people do not have an effective system to manage their time. Technology, like any tool is only as effective as the people who use them. Success lies in how we think about our time as none of these tools actually manage our time. We manage our own time and it is our attitude toward time management that ultimately determines our success in doing so.

Consider, for example, a situation we all run into as leaders - meeting obligations and commitments. When we give our word to another person, we create the potential to succeed. When we keep our word to that person, we increase our own personal power as someone who is reliable and can be trusted on his or her word. This combination of potential and personal power leads to being a highly effective leader using the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else around them has available to them. Also consider what commitments and obligations your organization is making to your customers, suppliers and strategic partners. Is everyone in your organization realizing their personal power whenever they commit your organization? Does your organizational alignment promote that personal power by creating an accountable culture that respects the value of time? What are the most common excuses and how tolerant is your culture to being late for meetings or deadlines? How respectful are your sales teams for customers, suppliers and/or company time?

So what is the difference between these highly effective leaders and those who are not? Successful leaders do not manage their time for the sake of filling out their day. Successful leaders understand that time management is really goal management and they invest their time in the pursuit of achieving their goals. Without goals we end up using time, or in the more common vernacular, wasting time because the time we have has no immediate purpose. With goals we have a mechanism to prioritize our time and to ensure the right resources are doing the right tasks during a given amount of time. Time management is goal management and effective goal management gets to the heart of what makes a leader successful - setting goals and achieving desired results!

What time is it in your organization?

Lead Well

Rick Lochner