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In Search of Leadership's "One Way" Street 

Posted: March 2018

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With the hundreds of books about leadership that have been published, coupled with thousands of Internet posts and articles written on some aspect of that broad subject, those of us seeking to become better leaders can become overwhelmed. Some material seems to contradict other offerings and some seem to be just plain obtuse. It can be daunting to determine what, if any sources, we should tap into to become better leaders. We can easily be intimidated by all the content out there and realizing that we could not possibly ever absorb all of it, some of us may even elect not to even try to make sense of it. Confused and dazed, we may have even gotten to the point of ignoring it all and simply backing away from striving to become better leaders.

 

After completing a four year comprehensive leadership development program as part of my pre-commissioning training as a U.S. Air Force officer, I certainly had lots of content to wade through. Our instructors exposed us to the myriads of traditional human behavioral and leadership concepts from thought leaders such as Maslow, Herzberg, Blake/Mouton, Taylor, Macgregor, and others. With so much content rattling around within my limited gray matter, I sensed that at least for me, trying to remember, let alone correlate and employ, the plethora of leadership axioms and advice written over the last several decades was impractical. (My apologies to one of my outstanding instructors, Major Gerald McIntyre, for my being slow on the uptake).

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Trying to oversimplify broad, comprehensive concepts is one of my many character flaws. Looking toward leadership theory simplification or more accurately oversimplification, I embarked on a quest to find the easy, singular leadership practice or approach (aka the One Thing, the Holy Grail, the Silver Bullet) that could in and of itself be universally and exclusively employed across the board in every leadership situation or role to effectively lead others. I soon discovered that my attempt to simplify how I could effectively lead was equally as futile as the opposite extreme of dealing with the avalanche of leadership material available. So there I landed, on one hand not able to absorb and correlate all the leadership material that I was exposed to, and on the other hand, not being able to find the singularly effective leadership Silver Bullet.  

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Fortunately, over the years, I had the benefit of working for a number of terrific leaders and in particular one gifted leader who made years of leadership training and theory come into focus, become surprisingly relevant, and simply make great sense just when I needed it most.

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Those leaders helped me to realize that I would never find the “One Way” street, because “it” simply does not exist. Instead it became apparent that there are as many “its” out there as there are unique people to lead and unique leadership environments. Resigning myself to the fact that there are few shortcuts to effective leadership practices, I have become a big believer in Situational Leadership versus a one size fits all maxim or approach that I so futilely sought earlier in career. Situational leadership would advise us to lead a group of newly hired high school aged fast food staff differently than a group of experienced attorneys. Even within a seemingly homogenous group, each person will have unique wants and needs. The great leaders that I encountered sought to create a win-win scenario composed of helping each person to excel in their specific role which in turn better enabled the organization to achieve its mission.

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Certainly there are some basic must haves that apply to most if not all leadership situations. Leadership virtues such trust, integrity, approachability, and authenticity come to mind. However, we should not seek to become leadership “clones” by trying to disingenuously imitate other leaders. Instead we need to remain consistent within our own values, personality, and world view. To do otherwise, rightly often results in being viewed as an inauthentic leader, eroding leader effectiveness.

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Leading people as individuals and not as faceless cogs on wheel, understanding their personal wants and needs and what motivates them are key.  That of course takes commitment, time, and energy to uncover for every person within our sphere of influence, both the Intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate them. Extrinsic motivational factors such as pizza parties and staff picnics are important but often not as influential as intrinsic motivational factors such as meaningful work, autonomy, a shared identity, and a sense of purpose.

As Abraham Maslow noted in his iconic Hierarchy of Needs, the lower levels of his pyramid/hierarchy pertain to extrinsic factors. Once those needs are satisfied, one looks more toward intrinsic factors as sources of motivation. Where extrinsic factors may be more consistent amongst our team members, intrinsic factors can differ greatly across the population. This typically diverse range of intrinsic factors certainly makes it more challenging for leaders to find a single, standardized leadership practice that meets the intrinsic needs of everyone that they lead. It is precisely that challenge that makes the role of the leader so necessary.

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So instead of searching for the non-existent “One Way” or conversely, becoming frozen in inactivity, overwhelmed or intimidated by the sheer volume of leadership ideas, concepts, and materials out there, let’s consider another approach. How about picking one good leadership book, or a mentor, or other source as a general guideline, and then working within our unique personality, values, and world view, commit the time and attention necessary to finding the extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors central to each member of our team. That activity, plus a small, Incremental investment, perhaps like signing up for one of the myriad of weekly leadership tip websites on the Internet, aggregated and compounded over time can yield great returns.

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With all the “shiny” objects competing for attention as leaders, we can easily lose sight of the fact that leading, in the form of influencing and inspiring others, is a primary leadership responsibility, not an optional activity or additional duty. Let’s commit to exert truly effective leadership by finding as much as practical the ideal roles, recognition preferences, working environments, and assignments that mesh with each team member’s motivational profile, talents, and skills. Clearly these steps take time but in my experience, not as much time and effort needed to address the typical outcomes of poor leadership (think high staff turnover, low employee engagement, low customer satisfaction). To quote my new friend Kris Boesch, CEO and Founder of Choose People, the staff we manage/lead need to feel they are “known, that they matter, and that they are included.”

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Not only is it the right thing to do for our team members but in a world where automation, globalization, and other factors are redefining our workplaces, the need to become great people managers and leaders may be one of the few essential constants remaining.

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Take Action….Really, it can be that simple!     

Posted:  November 2017

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​Nothing happens until we take some action to make it happen.  All the planning in the world, focus group engagement, or good intentions will not make something happen….only taking action will.​

When I speak to leaders, I often show an image of 5 frogs sitting on a log near the edge of a pond and then ask if anyone in the room is reasonably good at math.  Several members of the audience invariably takes the bait when I pose the following math problem to them.​

The Math Problem:  There are 5 frogs on a log, 3 of them decide to jump off.  How many are left on the log?  ​

Many in the audience shout out that 2 are left on the log, given that 5 minus 3 equals 2.  As some of you have likely surmised, the correct answer is 5 are left on the log since from the information provided, the 3 that most people assumed jumped off, did not do so.  They only decided to jump off but from the admittedly little information provided, they did not actually take the action needed to do so.  No action, no results.​

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As a recovering perfectionist, I am still at times guilty of overthinking options, means to a goal, and otherwise delaying needed action ostensibly to later make a better decision or obtain a better outcome.  That is OK in many cases, but for me, it often resulted in lost or delayed opportunity.  For example, in deciding whether to go for an early morning run, I may decide to first consult a local weather report, weigh the advantage of delaying until after lunch, or to first check my phone for messages.  Once delayed, I tend to lose my motivation and fail to act on what I instinctively knew was the better choice of action….that is simply putting on my running shoes and going out the door. ​

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Examples of not taking or delaying action in our work lives also abound.  Should I ask a colleague to review my proposal one more time prior to submitting it?  Should I read everything I can on the internet about starting an internship program at our company before doing so?  With so much information available at our fingertips in this high tech age in which we live, we can sometimes get mired in “analysis paralysis” and fail to act in a timely manner or even at all. 

How many of us after attending a seminar, have waited a few days to apply our newfound knowledge/skill to our lives but have gotten distracted with other pressing business and as a result of the “law of diminishing intent”, never took action to implement that new learning?    ​

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Yes, some activities and endeavors demand more preparation and engagement before taking action (think pre-flighting an aircraft before a flight) but for me, the vast majority in my day to day work and personal life do not, and instead simply need action. 

I have too often waited for that proverbial “right” time to do something that never came.  I am on a journey to remedy that by resisting the temptation to achieve perfection and to instead take quick action when there is no compelling reason not to do so.  I find that in even taking a small action step, like writing the first line of a long report or reading just 2 pages of a book that I want to read, are enough get into the action mode.  When I do that, Big Mo (aka Momentum) kicks in and before I know it, I am checking that item off of my “to do” list.  

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Toward practicing what I preach, instead of re-editing this blog, I am resisting temptation to do so and decided to take action to post it as is right now.  I ask you indulgences for any grammatical, spelling, or other flaws…but having taken the posting action, this one is history and I am now off to the next thing!       

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Don't forget to actually L.E.A.D.! 

Posted: October 2017

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​With all the “shiny” objects competing for attention as leaders, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that leading, in the form of influencing and inspiring others, is a primary leadership responsibility, not an optional activity or additional duty. At our core, we all know that our leadership development is important, but like the treadmills collecting dust in many of our basements, we can get distracted by the aforementioned “shiny” objects and therefore do not always take the leadership related actions that we should take. 

Simply offering great leadership development tools and resources is not sufficient.  We as leaders need to be absolutely convinced of and committed to the fact that in service to those we lead and to the clients we serve, improving our leadership quotient is a “high gain” activity that requires an investment, even at the expense of other “important” activities that we perform. ​

 

L – Lean into your leadership role (Resolve to learn about leadership theory and more importantly become convinced that any investment made in becoming a better leader will indeed have a positive impact on both us and our entire team. It is a key responsibility in our roles and not an additional duty that is secondary to “real” work). ​

 

E- Empower (Remember that you are in charge primarily to “charge up” others. Provide the vision and goals then get out of the way and let the team find the best way to achieve them). 

 

A – Adapt (Successful leadership is often highly situational. Leadership approaches should ideally vary according to the situation and person specific needs. One size does not fit all). 

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D – Demonstrate (Be the change you want to see. The world needs more demonstration and less instruction).