High performing team members demonstrate the top 4 characteristics that we look for in our colleagues. Do you?

Yesterday’s Leadership Insights’ post was about collaborative leadership behaviour and its key to success as organisational structures are becoming increasingly flat.

And the most effective collaboration requires the collaborator to balance his or her personal agenda with that of the organisation. That means being a team player, defined by a search on google as a person who plays or works well as a member of a team or group.

But what does that mean exactly? In their book Credibility leadership experts Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner conducted detailed research and list the top 20 most desirable characteristics that we look for in our colleagues – those we whom we collaborate. The top 4 characteristics by a considerable margin are:

• Honesty
• Cooperativeness
• Dependability
• Competence

While high on the list,  it’s interesting that technical competence is less important than how we conduct ourselves with our colleagues and that means how we behave. So what does that mean in our daily interactions with those we collaborate? To get clarity, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Are you sincere and truthful?
• Do you consistently do what you say you will do when you say you will do it, thereby honouring your commitments?
• Do you demonstrate a willingness and a track-record to share control, power and credit?
• Are you willing to listen – really listen – and that means without judgement and interruption?
• Are you reliable?

Be honest. Give yourself a score out of 10 for each of these behaviours. Or better still, if you have the appetite and the courage, seek feedback from your colleagues and be willing to act on what you learn. After all, your future and that of your organisation may depend on it.

What do you think? Post a reply. Or alternatively, send me an email with your thoughts at mark@roadmapconsultants.com

It will be great to hear from you.

 

100th Blog Piece: BBC Director-General, George Entwistle – Credible Leader Or Not? And What About You?

BBC Director-General George Entwistle’s recent account before the Commons Select Committee to answer questions about the BBC and serial child abuser Jimmy Savile has been widely criticized in the media and raises many questions about the nature of leadership and organizational culture, beyond Savile’s vile actions.

Whether he was (or wasn’t) prepared/coached and informed of the facts, it’s all about the perception he created. And to commentators who forensically examined his performance, he seemed ill prepared and ill at ease, lacking authority, confidence and conviction in his responses to questioning from MP’s.

According to respected leadership experts, Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner in their book The Leadership Challenge, we have to believe the messenger before we believe the message. Based on what we witnessed, George Entwistle lacked what Kouzes & Posner call ‘source credibility’. We recognise the absence of this leadership characteristic – as in George Entwistle’s case – when someone appears out of their depth.

When questioned by the Select Committee about his conversation with Helen Boaden, Director of BBC News, the wheels seemed to come off George Entwistle’s wagon altogether. She gave him a ‘heads up’ about the potential need to change the Xmas tv programme schedules, for which he was responsible at the time – tributes to Jimmy Savile had already been planned for broadcast and the Newsnight programme then in development about Savile’s persistent abuse of children over many years and on BBC premises would scupper these tributes. He simply thanked her for the ‘heads up’ as he described it and left it at that.

This ‘ten second conversation’ at an awards luncheon coupled with his responses to questions posed by MP’s gives us a revealing insight into George Entwistle’s leadership style and the drawbacks of the seemingly rigid, hierarchical structure and organizational culture at the BBC:

• Where was George Entwistle’s ‘natural curiosity’ as one MP put it?
• Why didn’t he ask Helen Boaden to elaborate?
• Why did he think that asking more questions would be ‘showing undue interest’?
• Wasn’t it his responsibility to ask questions and to understand the impact the Newsnight programme would have on scheduling and to make an informed decision?
• Why did he act passively and wait for the ‘BBC structures and processes to report upwards’ and for Helen Boaden to come back to him?
• Where was his sense of urgency to resolve the potential impact on scheduling?
• What does this tell us about his decision making style and the BBC’s decision-making processes and its silo culture?
• Where was his commercial awareness to spot a news scoop, even though he was responsible at that time for scheduling and not journalistic content?

Commons Select Committee member and former BBC journalist Ben Bradshaw made the point to Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight in the wake of the George Entwistle’s appearance before the Commons Select Committee that George Entwistle must “get a grip, assemble the facts and act on them quickly”, and not wait for the findings of the two independent enquiries he has put in place. He needs to demonstrate his agility.

The implication is that the Director General needs to be seen by the public to be acting robustly to restore confidence in the BBC and him. George Entwistle must change perceptions and demonstrate that he is indeed a credible leader and that the stewardship of a national institution is in safe hands.

So as you reflect on this piece, consider your role as a leader, the perceptions others have of you, the vitality and transparency of your organizational culture, particularly when under pressure or in crisis. What will it encourage you to do as a result and when?

Post a reply, it will be great to hear from you.

PS. As a postscript to this piece, the really sad thing is the impact that the BBC has had in ‘Savile-gate’ and the tailspin that George Entwistle and the Corporation now find themselves in could have been avoided. The focus could and should have rightly remained on the victims of Savile’s vile and cruel abuse. If only George Entwistle had dug deeper in his conversation with Helen Boaden or had visibly flexed his muscles as Director General when ITV’s programme about Savile had aired three weeks ago.

How well are you performing as a Leader? 20 statements to help you find out.

How often do you check the road-worthiness of your car? I know people who take better care of their vehicle than they do themselves – whether that be their health, work-life blend and leadership performance – and I expect you know someone like that too.

So for a 3-minute tune-up to assess your leadership performance, check out the following statements and see how many you say can honestly say yes to…

1. I have written SMART goals in my personal life. (Not sure? Click here to check out what SMART goals are).
2. I have written SMART goals in my work life.
3. I revisit my goals on a regular basis.
4. I have written down my top 5 personal values.
5. My personal values are aligned to my organisation’s values.
6. I behave in alignment with my personal and organisation’s values, consistently.
7. I am a level 5 Leader. (Not sure? Click here for Jim Collins’s leadership model).
8. I do what I say I will do, when I say I will do it, consistently
9. I know what emotional intelligence is and have completed an assessment.
10. I know what my drivers are. (Not sure? Click here for Kahler’s drivers).
11. I coach and mentor my team members.
12. I have regular 1-2-1 meetings with my team members.
13. My colleagues complete an annual 360 appraisal on my performance.
14. I invest time in personal development/continual professional development (CPD).
15. When I let down a colleague, I apologise and do what’s needed to put it right.
16. I listen to what others say, without interruption.
17. I practice situational management (Not sure? Click here for Blanchard’s model).
18. I encourage v constructively critique colleagues in a 3:1 ratio
19. I embody the top 4 leadership characteristics (Not sure? Click here for Kouzes & Posner’s top 4 checklist).
20. I believe my leadership role is to serve others, not myself.

How did you get on? What did you learn? Are you taking better care of your car’s road-worthiness than your own as a Leader? What will this encourage you to do and when?

If you would like to discuss any of these points, or would like help, post a reply or email me at markgrant1@me.com  Either way, it will be great to hear from you.

 

 

Leadership lessons – or warnings – from Ed Miliband’s Labour Party Conference address.

Yesterday’s address by Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband at the Labour Party Conference has received some positive reviews in the press. Judging by the Clap-o-meter report in The Guardian, he said what his audience wanted to hear – a speech of 64 minutes included 17 minutes of applause! However, it will take more than an hour’s rhetoric from a confident, relaxed, unscripted Ed Miliband to transform his leadership fortunes in the eyes of the public and to go on to win the 2015 General Election and lead the country out of the continuing economic gloom.

While we have yet to read what the polls make of Ed Miliband’s electability following his speech, a report in the Daily Mail on a recent Populus Poll commissioned by the Tories before the conference shows just how difficult Ed Miliband’s crusade will be:

• Only 1 in 4 believes he can revive the economy
• 67% of all voters think his party ‘chose the wrong brother’
• 65% per cent of Labour voters say David Miliband would do a better job

These findings don’t make encouraging reading and raise the prospect that Ed Miliband is living on borrowed time as a leader. And they raise wider questions about what it takes to successfully lead and for others to willingly follow.

According to influential leadership experts Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, now in its 5^th edition: we have to believe the messenger before we believe the message.

They explain that leaders we willingly follow must have ‘source credibility’. That means they must be:

• Honest
• Forward looking
• Inspiring
• Competent

Drawn from their Characteristics of Admired Leaders Checklist and numbering 20 in total, these four characteristics have consistently topped their list over the last 25 years.

So looking ahead and to  the 2015 General Election, do you believe Ed Miliband possesses these characteristics? For me, the first three characteristics are not in doubt; my problem is with the fourth:

• Does he have the competence to lead the country?
• What are his credentials?

It takes years to master competence in the arena in which Ed Miliband is performing.  And even if he has the competence, it’s all about the my perception of his competence. Echoing the findings in the Populus poll I have serious doubts. Do you?

There are many leadership models and examples of effective leadership.  To paraphrase employee engagement expert Dr. David McLeod: “It’s hard to describe what employee engagement is, but you know when you see it (and when you don’t)”. Can the same be said about credible leadership? And if so, when you see Ed Miliband do you see a credible leader, one who can lead his party to the General Election, win it and transform the prospects of the country? Perhaps in three years he will have developed the mastery required to convince me. And will he be given the time to develop it and demonstrate it or will he just go the same way as so many others and be deposed?

And what lessons are there here for us as leaders in our field?

• Do we have source credibility?
• Are we honest, forward looking and inspiring?
• Are we competent?
• Do we have mastery in what we do and how we do it?
• What do our followers think?

Time to get some feedback?

If you found this Leadership Insight thought provoking and helpful, post a reply. It will be great to hear from you.

The Agile Leader – a blue-print for success in the 21st century?

One of my clients is editing a book and recently asked me to contribute a chapter on leadership in the 21^st century. While researching the subject, a conversation with my business colleague Paul proved very helpful. He talked about dexterity and the need for leaders to demonstrate a level of agility as never before. After meeting Paul, here are some thought about the Agile Leader, starting with a google definition:

Agile leadership: The ability of a leader to be able to lead well in a wide range of circumstances especially new, changing and ambiguous situations.

So what does that actuallly mean in the business or work-related arena for the 21^st century leader? Here are some thoughts which I hope will prove helpful if you are about to move into a leadership position, have recently done so, or if you’re an established leader looking for a refresher or some inspiration…

A demonstrable track record of competence is essential for every leader to have credibility with their followers, according to influential leadership experts Kouzes & Posner, writers of the 5^th edition of their definitive book on leadership: The Leadership Challenge published in 2012. And while leaders may not need to be technically competent and proficient in the mechanics of every function within their organisation, they need to show an understanding and appreciation of all aspects and value the work their people do within each function. And that means recruiting, retaining and developing talent within those functions to competently execute the technical work.  More than that, they will need to be agile: that means in order to be effective, leaders must be able to move seamlessly at all times from…

• one technical function to the next
• big picture to minute detail
• strategy to tactics
• hard to soft skills
• written to verbal communication
• one to one engagement to large scale presentations
• younger to older team members
• internal to external stakeholders or interested parties
• considered thought to swift action

And underpinning this agility is one constant – the adherence to a set of values and behaviours that are consistently aligned and visible – that anchors the agile leader and attracts his/her followers.

So as we approach the half-way point in the second decade of the 21^st century, there is plenty of scope for leaders to succeed and fail. And if you’re a leader, what will it encourage you to do as a result? Post a reply and let me know. It will be great to hear from you.

Being an exemplary leader means being an exemplary role model for your followers. Are you?

According to leadership experts Kouzes & Posner, one of the key tenets of exemplary leadership is to ‘model the way’. That means consistently demonstrating a set of behaviours and skills that set an example for others to follow. As Gandhi put it:

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him … We need not wait to see what others do.”

So as leaders, when we aren’t getting the behaviours and actions we desire, particularly when we have a set of written values to guide those behaviours and actions, then it’s time to look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable.

Sir James Porter’s ‘Observations on the religion, law, government, and manners of the Turks’ (1768), includes this:

‘The Turks have a homely proverb applied on such occasions: they say “the fish stinks first at the head”, meaning, that if the servant is disorderly, it is because the master is so.’

Recent events at Barclays Bank and News International seem to support this belief, even though there is no evidence of complicity or involvement by either Bob Diamond, former Group CEO of Barclays Bank plc or Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation.

So here are 10 questions to assess your situation and run a quick health-check:

• In your organisation, do you turn a blind eye?
• Do you have favourites?
• Do you foster a culture of collaboration or confrontation?
• Do you let your ego get in the way or do you act with humility?
• Is the organisation/team there to serve you or is your role to serve the organisation/team?
• Do you behave in alignment with the values of your organisation, consistently – that means every single day?
• Do you do what you say you will do, when and how you say you will do it?
• Nobody can see 360 degrees of themselves – do you have blind spots that may be a contributing factor and what are they?
• Do you seek honest feedback on your behaviour and then act on it?
• Is your performance/behaviour formally reviewed or is the appraisal process there for everyone else except you/your leadership team?

So, if you’ve been honest with yourself:

• What insights has this quick health-check given you?
• What 2-3 actions will you take as a result?
• What will be the benefit for you/your team/your organisation?
• Who will hold you accountable for the changes you’re committing to?

Post a reply and let me know what you think. It will be great to hear from you.

43% of UK managers rate their own line manager as ineffective. Make sure it’s not you!

In July 2012 the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Leadership and Management Network Group (LMNG) published a paper – “Leadership & Management in the UK: The key to sustainable growth. A summary of the evidence for the value of investing in Leadership and Management Development. ”

One of the most alarming statistics quoted in the report is that 43% of UK managers rate their own line manager as ineffective – and only one in five are qualified.

So if you’re sitting round a meeting table today with your peers – statistically, either you or the colleague next to you is considered to be underperforming by your direct reports. It could be you!!! How can you be sure it isn’t?

Well, according to leadership experts Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, the top 4 characteristics by a considerable margin that we look for in those we would willingly follow are…

• Honesty
• Forward-looking
• Inspiring
• Competent

Those that have these attributes have source credibility, according to Kouzes & Posner. How do you measure up?

• Does your appraisal process measure your performance on these characteristics?
• Have you conducted a 360 appraisal to get feedback on these characteristics?
• Have you informally asked those who report to you how you rate on these characteristics?
• Finally, be honest with yourself – give yourself a score out on scale of 1-10 for each characteristic.

What does this tell you? What actions will you take? What will be the benefits – to you, your team members and your organisation?

Post a reply. It will be great to hear from you.

High performing leaders engender high levels of trust. Do you?

Earlier this week I emailed Callum, a former client. I got a reply within ten minutes saying ‘I’m away until Friday and I’ll get back to you then’.  Sure enough, he replied at 8:15am today, Friday.  I’m sure he had many more important matters to take care of on his return today and yet he was true to his word and I respect him greatly for that. And Callum’s action got me thinking about the importance of trust in our professional and personal relationships…

To start,  here’s a definition from google:

• Trust noun.  Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something
• Trust verb.  Believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of.

Synonyms:

• noun.  confidence – faith – credit – reliance – belief
• verb.  believe – confide – rely – credit – hope – entrust

Leadership experts, Kouzes & Posner in their research spanning over 25 years consistently find that trust is the number 1 quality we look for in those we would willingly follow. *

They go on to say that trust is doing what we say we will do, when we say we will do it, consistently. When we demonstrate high levels of trust, it engenders higher levels of discretionary effort from our followers, leading to increased performance and improved outcomes.

So be honest with yourself. On a scale of 0-10 (0=never, 10=always) where would you put yourself, in terms of doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it?

Now pinpoint where you may need to invest more time to engender higher levels of trust by scoring yourself against the following list, though you may also want to add other points:

• I attend meetings with my peers on time
• I attend meetings with my team members on time
• I attend meetings with my suppliers/customers/prospects on time
• I honour my commitment to 1-2-1 sesssions with my team members
• I honour my commitment to reviews/appraisal sessions with my team members
• I never cancel or postpone sessions in 4 and 5 above
• I answer emails when I say I will
• I call people when I say I will

What’s that telling you? If your scores are low or lower than you would like, what’s the underlying cause? What  actions, if any, will you take? And what will be the benefit to you/your team/your organisation?

If you found this helpful, please post a reply and pass on to a colleague. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

* source: The Leadership Challenge

3 minute leadership tune-up: what makes your team willingly follow you?

Do you know the top four characteristics* your followers look for to willingly follow you? Here are four questions to tune-up your leadership…

1. How honest are you?

That means do you consistently do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it?  Or is there an absence of trust. For example do you…

• call your colleagues back when you say you will
• atttend meetings with them on time
• honour your commitment to 1-2-1’s/appraisals without cancelling/cutting them short.

2. How forward-looking are you?

Do you have a sense of direction? That means having a credible and achievable vision of the future for your company. Or do you dwell on the past -‘driving through life, looking through the rear-view mirror?’

3. How inspiring are you?

Do you communicate your vision with energy, enthusiasm and passion? How encouraged do your team members feel and are they bought into you and your vision?

4. How competent are you?

Do you demonstrate with confidence that you know what to do and how to do it to lead the team in the pursuit of the vision?

How did you respond? Is everthing hunky-dory or have you got things to work on? What actions will you take and when?

Post a reply. It will be great to hear from you.

*source: Kouzes & Posner: The Leadership Challenge.

5 lessons high impact leaders have learned that produce great results. What about you?

Trust We are much more willing to follow leaders we trust and go the extra mile. This means doing what we say we will do, when we say we will do it, consistently. When we don’t, we erode the goodwill that holds relationships together. Disengagement and poorer performance results.

Values Having clearly defined personal and professional/organisational values and behaviour aligned to these values. Giving permission to others to call us on our behaviour when we don’t behave in accordance with our values. This is a powerful calling card to enrol others.

For example: Jacqueline Gold, CEO of Gold Group, the parent company of Ann Summers – recently tweeted the following to her 24,000 followers:

“My ethos is about bringing the team with me “Our People Values spell PRIDE: Passionate, Respect, Inclusive, my favourite Daring & Expertise.” – @jacqueline_gold

Vision Having a clearly articulated forward-looking vision that serves the greater good and is not self-serving. This engages those around us by creating an emotional (not just logical) connection with colleagues, customers, suppliers and fosters a sense of community.

For example: To discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Self-awareness This means having a conscious knowledge of our own character, feelings, motives and desires. Just as importantly, it also means anticipating and knowing the impact that our actions and behaviours will have on others too.

In The Art of Happiness at Work His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D. describe greater self-awareness as the route to a clearer view of reality. When we have an inflated view of ourselves through arrogance, ego or pride we may ascribe ourselves with qualities and skills we don’t actually possess. Conversely, when we have low self-esteem we may view ourselves as less than we are in terms of our qualities and skills. In either case, whether through exaggeration or devaluation, the result is a distorted view of ourselves. To summarise – less distortion means better decisions and that means better results.

Leading v Managing To quote Thought Leader Peter F. Drucker: “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” High performing CEOs, Directors, Executives, Team Leaders, Business Owners understand the distinction that managing is about tasks/programmes etc and leading is about people. And they do both – they manage and lead.

What’s your experience? What key lessons have you learned that can add to the discussion? Post a comment/reply – it will be great to hear from you.