I saw an interesting tweet from Dan Rockwell (@LeadershipFreak on Twitter) yesterday.

“Find harmony within yourself before looking for alignment with others.”

It caught my attention and I thought, hmm…wouldn’t that mean you might spend not so much time with people? So I tweeted back, ” I saw your tip about finding harmony. Wouldn’t that be lifelong quest? Not sure can’t happen in tandem”

Most people spend a good portion or all of their lives seeking to understand themselves better. Leadership is a relational journey. It can be a journey to get to a position where you are in a one-up position over others. That may not be the most pro-social relationship but it does exist. For others, the key is being compassionate and competent in having the difficult conversations.

Great leadership comes from developing one’s maturity. Things like developing patience and knowing that one’s outlook and mood can encourage or limit the productivity and morale of the staff. But the more I think about it, the more it seems that time and experience season us as leaders. We see our foibles and warts when we bounce off other people. But it isn’t necessarily a negative. Sure, in the moment, it might be an unpleasant lesson about ourselves. But we wouldn’t see things so clearly without people stopping us in our tracks.

Managing conflict may be the greatest test of how leaders manage relationships. Click here to read more »

Okay, I may have taken some liberties with the English language and with Mr. Dickens’ fine book title.

Background story

There are these two grocery stores that I shop at each week. One is your basic store. There are very few gourmet type foods, no electronic scanners to use at your cart and the prices are lower. The other grocery store I shop in has more variety in produce, ready-to-eat foods, exotic foods and some technological stuff for customers to use while shopping. Since I have family members with food restrictions, I have to go where the food is.

These stores are completely different. But the most outstanding feature is how the managers and employees interact. In the first store, I’ve seen managers walking around the store and chatting with people stocking the shelves. The employees are welcoming, helpful and move quickly to serve their customers. In the second store, I’ve seen managers avoid speaking to employees and be critical of their performance. The employees barely make eye contact with customers and move so slowly that you just know they are paid hourly. Plus, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to correct an food order when they’ve give me the wrong amount or the wrong item.

You can learn a lot about management while shopping Click here to read more »

There is a world of difference between managing a business and leading a business. You probably know this already. Even when you’re a sole proprietor or a small shop, you still switch hats between manager and leader. You want to have systems in place to avoid getting too panicky or too complacent. But maybe we’re missing a more important question?

Should you be the CEO (even if de facto) of your business?

It’s tempting for some to say “but I’m not a CEO“, particularly when you run a very small business. But that’s just shortsighted. You’re already setting the stage with your vision, your pace and emphasis on certain initiatives. The thing that may be missing here is trust.

Trust or no movement forward

No matter how much experience you have as a leader, trust plays a major role in how far your people will go with you. In such difficult economic times as we’ve experienced over the last four years, you need that trust to be strong. Given that change is an integral piece of the “new normal”, what resistance is present in your organization?

Trust is earned and some styles of leadership depend on it more than others. However, trust is not easily rewarded. Sure, just having a certain position gives you the basic level from most people.Titles do that.

So, you have to ask yourself, am I demonstrating…

• consistency in my words and actions?
• consideration for others’ schedules and abilities?
• respect for others when I have requests and directives?
• honesty in how I present myself?
• that I believe I have a good team in my staff?

 No movement forward if you haven’t built more than a baseline of trust

You probably have your own war stories of working for someone that you could trust to be harsh, confusing or just plain infuriating. How did this affect your productivity? Don’t be that guy! You already know how it feels. And it’s important to remember that how people perceive that you “feel” is what determines the level of trust you’re given.

What do you notice creates breakdowns in the day-to-day tasks?

What do you do that makes you a trustworthy leader?

Last week I attended a local chapter meeting of the ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) and had a very interesting conversation with a V.P. of Training of a local company. She was telling me how her company is discussing how to prevent talent (the employees) from leaving in large numbers as the economy starts to pick up. At least anecdotally, I’m hearing some anxiety about how much more employees will tolerate and what it will take for them to stay.

Is there anything to this worry?

There is a lot of data out there from Price Waterhouse Cooper, CLC Human Resources and Gallup about how employees are not happy campers in their organizations. Whether it has to do with being underemployed or a  high potential employee, there seem to be people who are checking out the job market and seeing if it’s the right time to jump ship. With economists forecasting that the US economy will improve, there may be turbulence in many companies as people seek new positions that fit their wants and needs more. However, it is also true that, globally, economic forecasts are not as rosy. It is possible that there may be pockets of employees ditching their jobs for greener pastures depending on the local economy.

Benefits matter

At least in the US, the rising costs with health benefits has certainly cause some unhappiness according to Gallup. That pesky work-life relationship rears its head in this category. People need to know that they will be treated with respect with how much out-of-pocket expenses they are responsible for. Benefits like vacation time and retirement plans matter as does how much on-the-job stress employees must put up with.

Leadership disconnected

If you visit Glassdoor.com, you can read reviews of what it’s like to work for specific companies. Sadly, you see a lot of complaints that work schedules are too taxing and that management is too caught up in the bureaucracy of the company. Sure, it’s easy to pick on large corporations which have behemoth bureaucracies. However, this can happen in small to mid-sized companies as well. For some organizations, there is a clash between “old” business practices and “new” practices. When the organizational leadership takes pride in not understanding social networking or using cloud computing or telecommuting, workers feel like they’re being treated as tools and not people. There are many trends that are emerging that are challenging leaders in organizations of all sizes (check out those mentioned in the  Hay Group Leadership 2030 research). Not paying attention to research, avoiding self-development and ignoring opportunities to involve employees in planning is tantamount to saying, ” go ahead and leave, we don’t need you.”

What else matters?

According to a recent OfficeTeam survey, 27% of workers reported that having opportunities to learn and grow encouraged engagement. While ASTD reports an upswing in how training is funded and used in organizations, this is still an category that gets cut when the economic environment is inhospitable. However, even in global trend research, training and development played a role in employee engagement.

However, it isn’t simply reducing one’s skills gap that engaged employees. The ability to further one’s career within the organization was a key piece. This is where organizations can lose their high potential employees. If you can’t move out of your position, then logically, it would make sense to go somewhere else to achieve your career and life goals.

Current trends are showing a downward direction in people leaving their organizations

There is still an immense challenge that organizations of all sizes face in making sure they keep employee engagement high. It’s more than a paycheck that workers desire. This is good news for  businesses with more limited resources. Dan Pink, in his book, Drive, focused on purpose, meaning and autonomy. At the end of the day, your employees want to be treated as grown ups with perspectives and skills that are necessary to your organization’s success.

What do you believe turns people off the most?

What trends do you believe decision-makers need to pay attention to the most?

*Join us in the this discussion on the Twitter chat, #kaizenblog on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 5pm GMT/12pm ET/9am PT . We’d love to have your observations and opinions!

Have you ever caught a glimmer of how wise and remarkable a person you truly are? The experience can be disorienting, upsetting, humbling or awe-inspiring. It shows up in your work, your play, your leadership, truly in all aspects of who you are. And yet, there is such temptation to downplay what skills, talents and values we bring with us.

Perhaps your distractions are really upriver

There were two men sitting by a river when they  saw someone float by in the water thrashing and calling for help. One of the men jumped in and saved the person. Next thing they knew, another person floated by thrashing and screaming for help. Again, one of the men jumped in and saved this person as well. To their great surprise and consternation, more and more people coming down the river and needed help. After both men were catching their breath after saving these people, one man turned to the other and said, “We better get some help if more people come down the river.” The other man replied, “We better go upriver and see who is throwing them in.”

Loads of data to analyze and competing ideas to include in your business goals

It’s easy to get caught up in ideas or wishes of how we want things to be. There are so many priorities and distractions that we may forget to go upriver and see for ourselves. For yourself, you can use a Wheel of Life (WheelofLife PDF) which allows you to rate all aspects of your life. If you want to rate your performance as a leader of your business, you can use the Management/Leader Wheel (MgtLdrWheel PDF). These tools are great ways to get a snapshot of where you are in your life.

For your business, you can do a SWOT analysis,  PESTEL analysis or pore over your financial statements with charts and graphs galore. And you should. Otherwise you may as well be shooting darts at balloons. The key thing with getting the right information is checking out what is real.

What does wisdom or trust have to do with it?

It doesn’t have to be any fancy woo-hoo stuff to be wise. Consider how many times you follow a “feeling” or trust your instincts. When you’re leading during times of great change or just facing a challenging set of circumstances, it isn’t always clear what is your best choice. If you have a team to help you design a strategic plan, you already have a separate set of eyes and ears to interpret data with you. However, you still have to trust yourself (and them) to steer the business in the “right” direction.

3 tips to access your wisdom while goal setting

1. Know what you do and don’t want. Sometimes it’s easier to identify what you don’t want. Negativity is easy. The more interesting list here is what you do want. Go on, what do you really want?

2. Your wisdom needs affirmation from hard cold evidence. When outside stuff challenges us, it stirs up our inside stuff. Make sure you include some way to measure the progress of your goals. If you plan on increasing your revenue by 25% by year’s end, write it down and check it regularly (quarterly is good). This will remind you that you know what you know.

3. Don’t go it alone. As the leader of your business (and your life), it’s a tough environment to do business in. It may be tempting to isolate or get busy with day to day stuff among other things. Use your team. They are an internal resource of your design. Having a confidant, mentor, coach or mastermind group can keep you in touch with your wisdom.

So,  what’s up your river?

What suggestions do you have for accessing your wisdom when setting goals for your business?

 *Join us on the Twitter chat, #kaizenblog this Friday, January 6th at 12pm ET/5pm GMT/9am PT as we have our 2nd annual Goal Setting Convo. We’ll be exploring the topic of goal setting and declaring our top 2012 goals to one another.

*This coming Monday, September 12th, I will guest moderating the Twitter chat, #UsGuysChat during which we will discuss culture, gender and leadership. The #UsGuysChat will start at 3pm ET/12pm PT/8pm BST. I hope you can join us and add your perspective to this conversation. This is part 2 of a discussion started in “Does Gender Matter In Business Leadership?”

If culture had nothing to do with gender and leadership, Lois Frankel wouldn’t have a job. Ms. Frankel is the author of the Nice Girls Don’t Get…” series.  Whether you agree or not with her recommendations about how women should act in the workplace, she highlights the cultural/gender tension embedded in the workplace. Let’s be very clear…there are expectations about men and women that are set in social norms exhibited in the workplace. In a recent meta-analysis from Northwestern University, it was noted that leadership is less tied to masculine qualities now but still women face two perceptual obstacles.

1. There is a prejudice that they are less able than their male leader counterparts.
2. The personality characteristics of leadership are masculine and therefore inappropriate for women to exhibit.

Alice Eagly is quoted in this article about the study as saying, “Cultural stereotypes can make it seem that women do not have what it takes for important leadership roles, thereby adding to the barriers that women encounter in attaining roles that yield substantial power and authority.” Given all this, it can be challenging to find an authentic  leadership style and make gender as unimportant as the color of our hair.

You may be harboring stereotypes learned in childhood

Take a moment to consider your childhood years. Where did you grow up? What did you do during your playtime? What were you “allowed” to do? How were you parented? While the messages are less delineated now than say 30 years ago, girls and boys are acculturated to accept stereotypes as facts. If you aren’t sure about this observation, try arguing with a 4 year old about how girls can have short hair and still be girls. Have you ever noticed which toys are designed for boys or girls? Notice which ones are active versus passive. What colors are used to decorate the toys? How are movies marketed to boys or girls? It’s even possible that your national educational system may be more geared to favor one gender over another.

This stuff seeps into our belief system and stays there until we flush it out.

As  C.S. King has noted in her research, “…sex roles and gendered roles are institutionalized as a part of a culture and reflect important aspects of the culture itself.” If you come from a society with clearly defined roles for men and women, you may have to accept or reject which behaviors fit your leadership style. Indeed, not paying attention to where you come from could be a blind spot.

And yet, are things changing?

Just this week was the news about Carol Bartz and how she was fired by Yahoo. This is a woman who doesn’t mince words at all. Although there are some people writing about how she is a powerful female leader, there is far more commentary on her job title, her performance at Yahoo and how she revealed the process of being fired. In reading the comments on various posts, there are themes about how she is admired and bitterness that resulted from some of her decisions at Yahoo. There are very few comments about her gender.

It’s interesting to note that there is far more explicit research on women, culture and leadership than there is about men. There are some that would say that this is because men are considered the default for most of what we know about culture and leadership. Given the changes exhibited by both genders across the globe, this may be in flux.

To encourage more thought and discussion, consider these questions:

1. How can we support each person to become an authentic leader and fit in an organization?
2. What are real examples of women hitting obstacles because of patterns they adopted or organizational expectations?
3. If women perceive “male” behaviors reflect poorly on them, how should they respond?
4. Are there times to openly recognize gender style differences?
   
5. Conversely, are there times to ignore gender style differences?
6. Does Carol Bartz’s famous strident style exemplify ideal leadership? Is it different because of gender?
   

Please consider yourself invited to join in this conversation on the Twitter chat, #UsGuysChat on Monday, September 12th at 3pm ET/12pm PT/8pm BST. We’d love  to have you share your thoughts on this topic.

This coming Monday, August 22nd, I will guest moderating the Twitter chat, #UsGuysChat during which we will discuss gender and leadership styles. The #UsGuysChat will start at 3pm ET/12pm PT/8pm BST. I hope you can join us and add your perspective.  It should be a very interesting conversation…

It is so easy to polarize this topic. We could go there.

Women are better leaders because they (fill in the blank).

Men are better leaders because they (fill in the blank).

But what are we really talking about? Humans do seem to have a penchant for creating dichotomies where there have to be winners and losers. But what if they are really false dichotomies? What if what we need most, particularly in turbulent times, is a leader who is willing to access his/her whole self? Since the 1990′s, it has been noted in research that there really isn’t a marked difference between how men and women lead. And yet, the question persists of whether or not men and women lead organizations differently.

Let’s take a look at the general qualities each gender brings to leadership.

Given that these are generalities, we all know individuals who don’t fit into what is “expected” of their gender. However, without a basic profile, how do we determine if gender really matters? Take a look and see what you share…

Commonly accepted qualities of Male Leadership

• Competitive
• Aggressive
• Confident
• Dominant/One-up-one-down relationship
• Controlling
• Objective
• Action-oriented
• Hierarchical
• Directive

Commonly accepted qualities of Female Leadership

• Nurturing
• Emotionally intelligent
• Empathetic
• Flexible
• Assertive
• Confident
• Team oriented
• Communicative
• Collaborative

So much change, not so much clarity

There have been so many changes in society in the last four decades.  I suppose you could say it was due to the the change in sexual mores, the women’s movement or what have you. Emotions are talked about more openly. All of these changes have created liberation and tension as we try to determine what is the norm now. Add the on-going struggles with the global economy and more questions arise as to what is needed most now. In the mix, concepts like sustainability, work-life balance and that work should have meaning and purpose are also affecting how leaders act and react.  Do we need leaders who use more traditional styles of leadership that borrow from the military or the industrial mindset that people are akin to machinery to get us through the uncertainty? Would it make more sense to be more nurturing and empathetic during this turbulent time?

Get rid of dichotomies…consider a holistic perspective

Dichotomies set us up for black and white thinking. This is far more limiting when we try to respond to new opportunities and crises. There is no flexibility. It either is or it isn’t. So it could be time to lay this to rest. Maybe we’re making too much of this gender thing. What do you think?

1. Does either gender style have an advantage?
2. What traits are best in a crisis?
3. What traits are best in times of opportunity?
4. What relationship is there between leadership styles and specific industries?
   
5. What role does culture play in how an individual forms his/her leadership style?
   
6. How would your leadership style benefit from developing qualities from either gender style?
   

Please consider yourself invited to join in this conversation on the Twitter chat, #UsGuysChat on Monday, August 22nd at 3pm ET/12pm PT/8pm BST. We’d love  to have you share your thoughts on this topic.

A while ago I participated in the Twitter chat, #leadershipchat. When I left the chat, this question stuck with me. Who do great leaders follow?

It’s so easy to talk about how leaders should get us to follow them. Or if you are a leader, you’ve got some ideas about how to get people to follow you. There are great questions about how much authenticity, vulnerability, and charisma are expressed by great leaders. We know great leadership when we see it. You can feel yourself rise up like boats rising when the tide comes in. You want to be with that person and even do what is asked or told to you. They have a way of bringing the best out of you.

So what about the personal experience of being a leader?

Recently someone asked  me what it would be like for me to be just a member of a team and not call the shots. It made me pause as I thought about what it means to me to be a leader and wonder if I could become a better leader.

Sure, being able to have final say is good. And creating a vision that excites other people to want to work with and for you is fulfilling. There is a certain cache to being able to say, “I’m Joe/Jane Schmo, CEO (president, owner) of XYZ Company.” People look at you differently. They have expectations of you. They depend on you. This feels pretty good.

Yet, some days don’t feel quite so gratifying. There are the days when you’re studying the financials and seeing how far you can realistically implement the strategic plan. Lately, this hasn’t been a satisfying experience for many business leaders. There are also days when you realize you are very alone with your thoughts, fears and imaginings of how your business can continue to function.

There is so much advice for leaders.

• I did a quick search on Amazon.com to see how many books were listed on business leadership. Result=22, 795 books
• So then I did a quick search on Google.com about business leadership. Result=44,500,000 hits

With all of these possibilities, it amounts to cacophony. Sifting through can be a consuming task. Most business leaders I’ve met and gotten to know have little time and patience for trying to figure out what would help them perform best. But that doesn’t mean they are not looking for inspiration and direction themselves. You may be indomitable nearly every day but it is a fallacy to think that great leaders don’t occasionally have doubts.  Being a leader means you’re willing to take on responsibility and be accountable. When things are tough economically or just within your organization, it feels like you’re slogging through the mud of the day. It might give you pause and then you get going again. This is natural. What is it about the great leaders that re-charges their inner fire? What can we learn from them?

So, who do great leaders follow?

I’m inviting you to add your observations here and in the Twitter chat, #kaizenblog, tomorrow at 12pm ET/5pm BST/9am PT. What can we learn from people we identify as great leaders? How are they different from good leaders?

I do hope you can join us on Twitter. Some questions to consider for thought and discussion:

Does having a mentor act as an apprenticeship to great leadership?

How do great leaders get support from their community? (Who is their community?)

What relationship does engaging with art, literature or film have with great leadership?

How do they sustain their belief system so it feeds their vision and keeps them connected to their followers?

It’s not always bad. There are awesome days when you and your team can do no wrong. And there are days when you are busy with the mundane. And then there are days when leading a small business is distressing. In fact, the origin of the word, distress, means to pull apart. And pulled apart is not so  far off the mark. When people feel this high level of stress, it can be tempting to just do anything that remotely feels like work. Just to feel a sense of control over something. The catch is that if you aren’t leading the way to stablizing the organization, then it becomes a negative loop of flailing and failing.

So let’s start with just you first…

Your body-There has been a tremendous amount of research done on cardiovascular health as well as the immune system. It’s no secret that high levels of anger and anxiety simply wear down our internal organs. For the last 20 years, research is finding a strong relationship between suppressed immune systems and high stress levels. In fact, high levels of anger and other intensely upsetting emotions (i.e. high anxiety, depression) double the chances of  coronary artery disease and cancer.

Your brain-You’ve got this fascinating part of your brain just behind your eyes and forehead-the frontal cortex. This part of your brain does a number of thing like weighing options, making decisions, organizing and avoiding saying really stupid things that you can’t take back. Fatigue, inconsistent eating habits, little to no physical activity (not just exercise) and negative thinking patterns will impair how your brain functions. In turn, this intensifies anything that is already challenging.

If you’re handicapped physically and mentally, what’s likely to happen to your business?

It’s not pretty and muscling through is likely to leave you feeling even more resentful, angry and beholden to your expectations. Consider this-a small business is an intimate setting. Even in small businesses that are larger, people generally recognize others’ faces or simply know one another. If the owner is harried or cranky, there isn’t much of a buffer like in mid-sized to large corporations. This can create an environment that favors cliques, scapegoating, shirking work and many other dysfunctional behaviors. In a nutshell, the employees are watching the owner for clues about job security and acceptable behaviors.

The four Deadly Interruptors are in play.

• Fatigue-This impairs your memory, your ability to learn, your problem-solving skills and makes everything so hard to complete. Ever found yourself reading the same sentence over and over and you can’t seem to understand the point?
• Silo Thinking-Even in small businesses, it is easy to get stuck in your own backyard. When business owners are under pressure, it is tempting to isolate oneself. Thoughts like “If I just work more”, “I’m surrounded by idiots” or “I can’t let anyone know that we’re in trouble” are a couple of the most common thoughts. It is easy to become paranoid about what your team is doing or not doing. When you lose perspective, you lose the  capacity to see the whole picture.
• Resentment- I wish I could remember exactly where I learned the phrase “kick the kitty”. When the boss kicks the kitty, it is simply that he/she is lashing out at someone or something that can’t or won’t fight back. Feeling fearful, obligated and guilty that the adversity is harming the company can lead to resentment. This energy has to go somewhere so we kick the kitty. Getting angry with someone else when you are really angry about something separate may provide temporary relief. However, it is really misdirecting the anger and resentment.
• Grief/Feelings of Loss-A good friend of mine reminded me of  how often expectations lead to disappointment. When you’ve been running your small business for a while, it becomes part of your identity. You are Joe/Jane X of ABC Company. You’ve got business cards, brochures, websites and so many conversations where you introduced yourself this way. When your market changes, your customer base has a major shift or outside forces hit your company like a meteor, it can feel like a death of sorts. Well, it is…the death of your expectations. This can feel like melancholy or even depression. If left unresolved, it will permeate how you manage your small business.

Getting tapped out leaves you vulnerable for further messy problems.

Excessive politics, hoarding information, increased turnover and analysis paralysis are just a few of the issues a small business owner can face if the deadly interruptors are not managed or eliminated. It’s not just the physical feeling of exhaustion. I’m going to get a little on the woo-hoo side here but the fatigue felt in your heart or even your soul reduces your motivation, morale and leadership skills. Getting tapped out is destructive for you and your business.

When do you notice getting most worn out?

 *This is just one of the topics we’ll be looking at in the complimentary webinar, “Leading Your Teams Beyond Fear and Panic” on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 12pm ET/5pm GMT. You can learn more and register on the Programs page.

Could you give yourself permission to think like a CEO for your small business? Even if you are a sole proprietor, could you? This may be the single most important action you could do for your small business.

Take a moment to think about what a CEO does for an organization:

1. Sets the vision and tone of what “X Company” is all about

2. Designs and explains the strategy of how the business will develop and grow over time

3. Seeks out the talent to make the above happen

4. Keeps everyone accountable to the stated business goals

5. Makes sure that revenues (and even profits) are healthy

So, why is it so hard to think of oneself as CEO? This comes up a lot in my coaching with small business owners. Perhaps it’s got something to do with our images of CEO’s in large corporations. What comes to mind for you? What if I told you that’s a red herring? Size doesn’t matter. It’s about the mindset. It boils down to giving yourself permission to treat your business seriously. But I am serious, you say? Take a look at your vision for your business. Does it involve you becoming an industry leader, serving a national or even global market, or allowing you to move to your dream home? This can be scary stuff. It scares me sometimes too when I look at what I want to do with my business. We talk ourselves out of even attempting to realize our potential. It brings up stuff we learned as kids about thinking grander thoughts and upsetting the status quo. So, it’s safer to spend our time on the small, everyday tasks serving our current clients and the administrative to-do list. But safer is an illusion.

But really…is it okay to go for what we desire most? You can’t get there from here without giving yourself permission to be the leader.  I asked one of my clients to write down her vision for her small business as coaching homework. As I encouraged her to write down the details of what she wants, even to be ridiculously, over the top in her description, I could hear her laughing nervously. Another client gets fidgety when we talk about how important it is to be more consistent and clear with changing policies to support the new direction of his business. Sure, if you aren’t taking care of the big picture, your small business will lack focus and be less effective.  But there is more at stake here. If you aren’t giving yourself permission to think like a CEO, how will you make your dreams an everyday reality? What would you feel like if nothing changes and you never achieve your goals?

Would it be acceptable to deny yourself permission to have a CEO mindset? Can you live with that?