Leaders In London

‘Storyteller’ posted this as a comment on the Warren Bennis post, below. It’s such a great observation, and the comments aren’t publishing for some reason, so I’ve put it here as a full post for the rest of us to benefit from:

Storyteller writes:

“Warren has a good point. But after a lot of reading on the subject, I happened across Peter Drucker’s take on leadership in the context of what makes an effective executive. After 65yrs consulting with some the best executives, he says they are all over the map in terms of personalities, strengths, attitudes, values and weaknesses. He says that what made them all effective executives is that he realised that they followed the same 8 practices:

They asked: “What needs to be done?”
They asked: “What is right for the enterprise?”
They developed action plans.
They took responsibility for decisions.
They took responsibility for communicating.
They were focused on opportunities rather than problems.
They ran productive meetings.
They thought and said “we” rather than “I”.(Meaning that they have authority only because they have the trust of the organisation.)

The first two practices gave them the knowledge they needed.
The next four helped them convert this knowledge into effective action.
The last two ensured that the whole organisation felt responsible and accountable.

He added another practice and one which he elevated to the level of a rule “Listen first, speak last”.

Some people are born effective, but demand is much too great to be satisfied by extraordinary talent. To do that requires discipline and like every discipline, it can be learned and MUST be earned.

His summary was that for all their differences, effective executives “get the right things done”.

Hence no need to separate the leader / manager - the true leader sees what needs to be done and ensures it gets done - so to paraphrase Warren and Drucker, you can’t manage your way out, you have to see the way out.

OK, I normally pour scorn on the ‘Are you a leader or are you a manager?’ question, as you have to be both. they are different modes, not different people. But, Warren Bennis, in ‘On Becoming A Leader’, captures my attention with the opening distinction here, which reinforces the fact that you need to lead your organization to succeed through the downturn: you can’t manage your way out of it.

“I tend to think of the differences between leaders and managers as the difference between those who master the context and those who surrender to it. There are other differences, as well, and they are enormous and crucial:

• The manager administers; the leader innovates.
• The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
• The manager maintains; the leader develops.
• The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
• The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
• The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
• The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
• The manager has his eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon.
• The manager imitates; the leader originates.
• The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
• The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his own person.
• The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.”

Reminder: Reserve your place at Leaders in London by the Friday of this week to save up to £400.

Leadership is…

In the current climate there’s no room for lack of clarity. People talk about ‘leadership’ with a whole range of meanings in their heads, most of them out of date. It’s leadership that will navigate you through the downturn and increase your performance as an organization by, on average, 15% (according to Warren Bennis ‘The Dean of Leadership’, The FT). So, get clear yourself on exactly what good leadership is and make sure your managers and people know it too. See below for some help.As for me, I’m with the US Army on this one (see below).

Warren Bennis:

“Leadership is like the Abominable Snowman, whose footprints are everywhere but who is nowhere to be seen.”

Dwight Eisenhower:

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

Daniel Goleman:

“Leadership is the act of getting something done well through the actions of others.”

The U.S. Army:

Leadership is “Influencing people- by providing purpose, direction, and motivation- while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.”

Yep, I’m definitely with that last one. At the moment, that’s the challenge facing everyone. What about you. How do you finish the sentence ‘Leadership is…‘

Hat Tip: David Hasenbalg, over at The Leadership Hub, provided the definitions.

Bill George, who is coming to speak to us at Leaders in London, emphasises a point that Warren Bennis, the leadership guru, has been making for a long time: that great leaders are forged in hard times. Bennis says you don’t really know who you are until you have been through what he calls ‘the crucible’ of tough times.

Now, it occurs to me that many leaders out there have not been through a downturn before. And this is the first time your mettle is tested in leading through tough trading conditions. This may be your crucible time. Lesson one: Those oldies among us who have been here through previous downturns are still here. It can be done. Lesson two: get things in perspective. This will help…

After the awful Madrid plane crash last week, I was contacted by Pedro Algorta, who survived a plane crash in the Andes in 1972. He asked me to look at his blog. Part of my interest in leadership is how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, and how leadership (self-leadership and with the help of other leaders) can make that happen. Sometimes we only become aware of our ability to perform at extraordinary levels when facing the unfaceable, as Pedro did. Here are the key learning points he says come out of his survival experience. They apply to leading people and organizations in tough times, if you think about it. A biography of Pedro and link to his blog are below.

“1. The extraordinary capacity of the human being to overcome the most adverse situations. When one is almost defeated or dead, we build up strength from adversity to continue fighting for life. We go deep into our most basic instincts and gather strength to live.

2. We were ordinary people. Anyone, under similar circumstances would have done the same, and eventually survived. And once you have overcome your mountain, you have another one to climb. Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary objectives.

3. We couldn’t have survived individually. Survival was team work, which needed each one of us to be OK. You need to work for the team and for you.

4. There were no absolute leaders. Different leaders emerged according to different circumstances. You have to find your authentic leadership style. Not all leaders are alike. One thing is to be a hero, another is to lead.

5. The final walk, as a group objective. The need to live focused on surviving day by day. One day at a time.

6. We didn´t have all the answers. We wanted to live, we worked to survive, but we were not sure we were going to make it.

7. Our enormous capacity to recover. Our resilient capacity. After this ordeal, we have all lived ordinary lives. How we managed. The need to put it in a backpack and look forward.

8. The different perceptions. The ordinary out of the extraordinary. For 35 years this ordeal was not an issue for me.”

About Pedro Algorta

“I am one of the survivors of the Uruguayan airplane that crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. Following the crash, I moved to Buenos Aires, where I graduated in Economics at the University of Buenos Aires and then furthered my education taking a Master in Business Administration from Stanford University in 1982. I have served in top management and board positions in first class Argentine companies in the food and beverage industry such as Cervecería Quilmes, Peñaflor, Campofrío and Cepas Argentinas. While doing my mainstream corporate life, I seldom talked about my Andes survival experience. But now, free of day to day responsibilities I am looking back into my ordeal and I’m willing to share my Andes experience and how I managed to live an ordinal life after such a difficult experience. I’m married to María Noelle, my wife since 1974 and mother of our three children. In 2003, we acquired a cattle breeding ranch in Uruguay, in which we apply state of the art breeding practices. Today, my time is devoted to managing my ranch, leading workshops and talking about my Andes ordeal and visiting our children and grandchildren in Spain.”

Here’s his blog: Survivor Walk (www.survivorwalk.blogspot.com)

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

‘The Dean of Leadership’, according to the FT, Warren Bennis, on emotions, leadership and good judgement. In this two minute clip Bennis references Carly Fiorina, who is coming to talk to us at Leaders in London. Daniel Goleman will also be helping us become better at this critical area of leadership with his one day optional workshop on Emotional Intelligence for Leaders. Click on the small triangle bottom left if clicking on the big ‘play’ triangle in the middle does nothing.