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!

“Discipline is the refining fire…

…by which talent becomes ability.”

No matter how much leadership development, management training or personal coaching we attend or participate in, successful leadership must always include a discussion of discipline. This reference by Roy L. Smith is a great example of the crucial role discipline plays in our success as leaders. In one of my earliest newsletters I spoke of talent and what it really takes to create the ability to be a successful leader. In the years since I have had the pleasure of working with successful entrepreneurs, organizational leadership teams and not-for-profit leaders and boards. In every case, the ability to be disciplined leaders contributes to their sustainable success.

I recently had the privilege of attending a seminar by a fellow coach who spoke of the value of 10,000 hours. If you have read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Outliers” (previewed below) you know about the 10,000 hours. He speaks to the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of purposeful practice to become an expert in your field. If we are to be expert leaders, we need to have practiced successful leadership for at least that many hours. In simpler terms, 10,000 hours breaks down to nearly 3 hours per day for 10 years! It means that for at least 3 hours a day, you have the discipline to be the leader you need to be so that it becomes second nature to you.

Therein lies the issue with leadership development as we used to know it. You cannot go to a class or attend a seminar and walk out a leader, no more than you can take a few golf lessons and play like a pro. When professional golfers practice their golf swing at the practice range, each shot is taken with a purpose in mind. Each shot has a meaning to how they are going to leverage their abilities to win the next tournament they enter. When I go to the practice range to practice my mechanics, it is also with my purpose in mind. I play golf to enjoy myself. That is my purpose. Therefore, my time on the practice range is to become good enough to enjoy myself as I play (that usually means staying out of the woods, water, other fairways etc!). Each shot in practice is with that purpose in mind making the practice time meaningful to success on the course.

So too, leadership is also about leading with a purpose. I recently gave a presentation titled “Keeping your business alignment with your purpose”. One key aspect of this idea is to know what your purpose is to begin with. It is entirely possible we became organizational leaders without a specific purpose in mind. Possibly our purpose is still unfolding as we continue to exercise our leadership abilities. And possibly our purpose has changed as we evolve as leaders through our 10,000 hour leadership journey.

Whatever the case, having the discipline to make each hour, each day, each week as a leader count towards becoming the expert leader your followers are looking to you for must become your purpose. How are you keeping that refining fire lit?

Lead Well!

Your Mission...

…Should You Choose To Accept It

Many of you recognize this line from the Television series or movie (or both depending on your generation) called Mission: Impossible. I recently had the privilege of delivering the Keynote Address to a group of military veterans at a career transition event the day after Veterans Day. The theme of mission is one our military veterans clearly understand so I and the other speakers leveraged the same theme throughout the event. It also provides the theme for this issue as we head into the holiday season.

Last month, we talked about information overload and its impact on a leader’s ability to make knowledgeable decisions. I would submit having a clear sense of mission is just as important to making meaningful decisions as it creates the tangible importance of making the decision to begin with. When a leader loses the understanding of importance, the overall mission begins to falter. We see organizations in many corners of our environment that have lost their sense of mission. In recent years we have seen examples of government, financial, religious and educational institutions with documented lapses in their sense of mission.

So how do leaders renew their sense of mission? They must first ask themselves why do they exist. Corporations, Entrepreneurial ventures and Not-For-Profits all exist for a defined purpose. The second question every organization must ask is, “Whom do they serve?” We use the word “serve” specifically because it creates the mindset of service as opposed to asking, “Who do we sell to?” or “Who is in our market?” Whenever I work with clients whose business has leveled off or hit a plateau, I always start with some variation of that same question. In answering the question of whom they serve, they renew the line of thought creating the guidelines for their organization or business.

The sense of mission also implies the entire organization is engaged to effectively complete the mission. Leaders must be able to effectively communicate the mission to their teams and herein lies part of the challenge – they may not know how or they overestimate their ability to do so. A recent survey by Developmental Dimensions International and published in the Wall Street Journal suggests managers struggle with the necessary skills necessary to execute a sense of organizational mission. Of the 1,100 respondents, only 36% felt they were strong in coaching their teams while only 34% felt they were strong in gaining commitment from their teams. Lastly only 32% mentioned delegating as their strength. These types of blind spots can cause an organization’s leaders to lose their way. Leaders cannot accomplish the mission alone and thus must be able to not only communicate the goals of the team but also the purpose as well. The goals address what needs to be done, the purpose addresses why the goal is important to the organization.

What separates the great leaders from everyone else is their sense of mission and the personal accountability they have to the mission and those they serve. As we head into the holidays and time for reflection, what mission will you choose to accept?

Lead Well!

Lead, Follow…

…or Get Out Of The Way.

This well-known quote from Thomas Paine serves as the basis for the second segment of the Total Leadership Process. Thomas Paine has been called the Voice of the Common Man and as such serves as a backdrop for the People aspect of Total Leadership. Last month, we established Purpose as the foundation of Total Leadership revealing itself through the organization’s Vision and Strategy. This month we invoke the People aspect of Total Leadership as we look at organizational development processes organizations use to determine who can communicate the strategic objectives, execute those strategic objectives and provide feedback on progress made on the strategic objectives. In other words, how are organizations developing leaders at all levels of the organization? (click here to continue reading)

In today’s competitive and turbulent, fast-moving economy developing the right leaders becomes an imperative for survival of the business, whether for-profit or not-for-profit. In much the same context as my comments last month where previous strategic assumptions are likely not to work in our current economy, so too are the attitudes and methods traditionally used to develop leaders called into question. We can no longer assume leadership is about possessing certain personal characteristics but rather about the ability to set goals and achieve desired results.

So what does this mean exactly? It means we have to get beyond the development process that assumes if you grow certain leadership qualities in people then somehow this will positively impact operational results. Too much time, money and energy is wasted creating a yardstick of designated leadership characteristics only to find they are yesterday’s news based on the fact changing external and internal forces for change all organizations face. It becomes a journey of hope that is no more effective in today’s market than the “Field of Dreams” (build it and they will come) business strategy.

The solution is all about defining and justifying leadership development on the tangible outcomes it is intended to produce. It drives a strategy focused on the desired results and then grows and develops the people (and processes) to realize those results. As Peter Drucker so aptly stated, “Leadership is all about the Results”.

The challenge with this solution is it assumes the People development process throughout any organization is aligned to its Purpose. This is true regardless of the size of the business or non-profit organization. Is the Leadership Development process in your organization linked tight enough to the Vision and Strategy so when the Strategy changes to adjust to the post-recession economy your organization automatically adjusts the leadership development to develop new skills to deliver new results? If not, are these leaders really leading or are they just in the way?

Lead Well!

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.

To Be or Not To Be…

…Aye There’s The Point.

These famous and very recognizable words are from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act III, Scene I. I chose them to introduce this month’s topic and did so in what many consider the original, or in our case, authentic form. Authenticity in a crucial element in what I call Real Leadership defined as setting goals and achieving desired results. I also like the way Bill George, former CEO at Medtronic, stated in a Fall 2006 article for U.S. News & World Report titled Truly Authentic Leadership when he stated “The only valid test of a leader is his or her ability to bring people together to achieve sustainable results over time. There is no such thing as the “One-Minute Leader” because real leadership requires years of development and hard work.”

So what makes a person an authentic leader? We all know everyone has the ability to lead and we know we all carry some value set we’ve learned from early childhood. It is the influence from both areas that create the dimensions of authentic leadership listed below:

➢ I recently had the privilege of meeting Tim Sanders, author of Love is the Killer App. During his presentation he reinforced the notion of knowing and following our Purpose with passion. Without Purpose we tend to lose our way as leaders, especially in the face of change and uncertainty. Authentic leaders lead with Purpose.

➢ Authentic leaders live their Values. Many have heard me say “What we believe-we think. What we think-we do”. When we have congruence between our Values (what we believe), our Attitudes (what we think) and our Behaviors (what we do) we lead with authenticity.

➢ One of the individual assessments used in our coaching practice helps clients understand the relationship between how they think with their head and their heart. Authentic leaders lead with both.

➢ We live in a networked world. In large organizations, the informal network may hold as much sway in the overall success of the organization as the formal organization identified on the organization chart. Individually we use technology to help us create and maintain our ever-growing social networks. Authentic leaders effectively leverage their personal power to create and maintain connected relationships.

➢ Self-awareness is an authentic leader’s greatest tool. It only stands to reason then that self-discipline is a key characteristic of an authentic leader to help them stay the course and on purpose when change and uncertainty look to derail them.

As we approach the holidays, many if not all will take the time to reflect on the past, enjoy the present and plan for the immediate future. In doing so you may ask yourself if you are living your purpose and your values to help others in your networks succeed. After all, authentic leadership of ourselves and/or others is what we should want to be or not to be – isn’t that truly the question?

Lead Well.

Rick Lochner