doing the hard things

I would like to believe that the idea of this blog is a no-brainer and that leaders know that they have to do the hard things and are willing to execute on doing the hard things. I have come to the realization that my assumption is wrong and that many leaders may realize they are supposed to do the hard things but fail to execute on those things when the need arises.  A phrase we like to use at Concordia is that we are developing courageous leaders, with part of that courage knowing when hard things need to be done and acting on those decisions in a timely manner.  Why might someone, when placed into a leadership role, choose not to do the hard things?  Here are a few thoughts:

• the need to be popular: many leaders come into their roles because they were popular with their colleagues and supervisors.  Leadership requires making decisions that might cause one to be unpopular with those around them
• fear of the unknown: while it is a paradoxical concept, the enemy one knows is often easier to face than the one that is unknown.  The status quo, no matter how bad it might be, is sometimes easier to face than what might occur on the other side of a hard decision
• lack of skills in difficult conversations: there is skill to having the conversation that leads to doing the hard things (and a large industry built around developing this skill).  Similar to other fears, not knowing how to have this type of conversation can freeze someone from acting in a proper manner
• lack of support:  when doing the hard things, leaders benefit from having a team who will support them and help manage the issues surrounding the difficult decision.  Doing hard things all alone is much more daunting than facing them as a team
• little or no self-awareness: sometimes leaders are unable to recognize the difficult situations around them and are unaware of the hard things that need to be done.  Being able to stop, look, and assess any given situation is not an automatic just because someone has been placed into a leadership role

Doing the hard things is a hard thing to do...and it is the right thing to do.  Leaders are called to lead, and leading means having to do the hard things when they arise.  Organizations and communities are better off when leaders consistently choose to do the hard things; people in organizations and communities are better off when leaders consistently choose to do the hard things; and leaders themselves are better off when they consistently choose to do the hard things (and by the way, the consistency of doing the hard things is a hard thing in and of itself).  What hard things are you facing right now that need to be done...and can be done only be you?

asking the right questions

I posted this blog ten years ago and still find it relevant for today's leaders.  I continue to be a big fan of asking questions...and learn more every day when I ask the right ones.

Leaders know how to ask the right questions. One's picture of a leader is often the person standing up front, making a speech or telling people what to do, and acting all "charismatic." But the leader who wants real followers will be the one asking questions, often from the back of the room, and listening deeply to the answers.

So what's the key to asking the RIGHT questions? A few thoughts:

1. know what you want as a result of the answers - what is the outcome you (or others) want to have achieved as a result of the time together.
2. believe deeply that others have good answers to give - if you are only asking questions to make people FEEL as if they have a part, the questions will be formed and asked half-halfheartedly...and the answers will reflect the same.
3. know your audience - prepare ahead of time by learning about and understanding the person/people with whom you will be talking.
4. think through the questions - be sure the questions are actually questions and not statements...formulate the questions so they have the ability to elicit great responses...make the questions understandable the first time they are asked
5. be ready to go with the flow - if the right questions are asked, you never know what the answers will be, so you need to be able to go where the answers lead...and ask follow up questions based on what you hear
6. LISTEN CAREFULLY - if you ask good questions, develop the ability to listen deeply and carefully, because good questions elicit good responses, which should cause you as a leader to think and develop new ideas...if you listen carefully
7. trust that the person will be honest in their answers - this is really about being empathetic with the other person/people. If they know you trust them, you become more trustworthy and thus they will be more honest in their answers, leading to a deeper dialogue
8. engage in the dialogue - be willing to be a full participant in the question and answer session.  Even though you are the one asking the questions, your full participation can more fully ensure their complete participation
9. have the heart of a learner - questions arise when one is willing to be a learner. You can learn something from anyone, if you are able to ask questions thats elicit good responses

I once told my students that if they learned to ask the right questions they would be considered "gods and goddesses" in their worlds. I believe that the world belongs to those who know how to ask the right questions, and that it is a skill that can be learned. Go ahead and spend the rest of the day being a question asker - and watch people invest more of their lives in you and your leadership.

quieting one's leadership

How many times did you stop thinking today?  That may seem like an odd question to ask anyone, let alone someone who is in a leadership role.  Thinking is how leaders do their work by considering future strategy, determining how scarce resources will be used, and planning how the company's culture will continue to improve.  To not think would be anathema to one's leadership...or would it?

This past week Concordia University's Leadership Team spent some time with Patty Speier of The Seton Cove, a spiritual learning center here in Austin.  In my interview with her, she encouraged us to take time each day to stop, be still, be quiet, and engage in some type of contemplative practice.  She reminded us that this is healthy for the individual, for their personal relationships, and for the organization in which they lead.  Contemplative practice does the following for leaders:

• it allows them to be still and let ideas come to them rather than seeking out ideas
• it allows them to STOP and let their minds rest
• it helps to connect the ego with the inner self
• it provides a mechanism so that one may "respond" rather than "react" in a tense situation
• it reconnects people with their true sense of being
• it helps to create a more full and productive life

Many people in leadership roles are handed their positions through the activity they do, and continued to be rewarded for "doing" rather than "being."  To stop and take time to breathe seems out of character for many who lead...and yet, research continues to show that one's best leadership results from time for quiet and contemplation.  So how might leaders find time in their busy schedules to stop and be quiet?  Here are a few ideas:

• wake up ten minutes early and spend some of that time in meditation or other contemplative practices
• build a period of solitude into the day.  Calendar that time into the schedule and hold it as sacred
• take a walk and, rather than finding the most direct route, wander around before getting to that next meeting (and find a path where you might be alone)
• for help with this practice, download a free add such as Mindfulness and use the guided meditations on a regular basis
• give permission to fail...there will be days (and stretches of days) in which these quiet times are forgotten or put aside.  Just be sure to start again the next day

A final note about quieting one's leadership through meditation and contemplative practice - this is not a time to read and catch up on the latest strategy and visioning techniques.  This is a time to be still...to focus on one's breathing and the sounds around them...to empty the mind...and to come to a place of void, even if it is for only a few minutes.  This will not be easy work AND it may just prove to some of the most important work leaders can undertake.

the sine qua non of leadership

Sine Qua Non - a phrase often used to describe the essential condition, that which is most important,  a thing that is absolutely necessary.  It's literal translation is "without which, not"...and so, today's blog has me thinking about that one aspect of leadership that, if it is missing, leadership fails to exist.  For me (and this has changed in my thinking over the past several years) the sine qua non of leadership is EXECUTION.  There are multiple books about vision...there are multiple books about team work...there are multiple books about excellence...and there are multiple books about integrity; but without EXECUTION, all of these items are only "nice" things to see and recognize in a leader.  Don't be fooled - vision, team work, excellence, and integrity are all important and necessary if one is to lead well.  And if execution fails, so does one's leadership.

So what's needed for execution?  In order for leaders to execute well and execute regularly, they should commit to these five items:

• Goals: having an end game in mind is critical in execution. Most goals should have a starting point and an end point (from "x" to y") and they should have a time frame for completion.  Some goals will be very quantitative...others may be more qualitative...all goals should have some form of measurement.
• Collaboration: there are very few goals that can fully be reached by one's self.  Using the resources of others, bringing the right people together, and knowing how to work the collaborative process almost always helps in the ability to execute well.
• Tracking Tools: keeping track of progress and sharing that progress is an important part of achieving excellence in execution.  This can be as simple as a piece of paper that is always handy for reference or as complex as a software system that can be accessed throughout the entire organization.
• Regular Review: Whether by one's self or with a whole team, leaders need to be reviewing the execution process to hold themselves and others accountable toward completion.  Tracking tools help to make this easier, and calendaring the reviews help to ensure their regularity.
• Celebration: Execution is hard work and, when the goals are reached, it is time to sit back and party!  Bringing together the people who worked together to make execution a reality and letting them see the big picture result assists in the process of ongoing execution over time.

I would not be as adamant about execution if I had not had the chance to experience it myself over the past several years.  Having the right people in place (and often times the right individual leading the effort) helps to make execution possible.  There are also many great books and ideas on execution that have helped me along the way, most notably Chris McChesney's The 4 Disciplines of Execution.  This has become my bible of execution and has a permanent place on or near my desk.

life in the arena

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk about leadership with one of my colleagues and, as we delved deeper into the discussion, he mentioned a metaphor for leadership he had been contemplating - that of the leader in the arena.  While much could be made of this metaphor, we focused on those to whom the leader is watching and listening - those in the box seats or those in the cheap seats?  We followed with the assumption that those in the box seats are the leader's biggest fans and are cheering that person on...and that those in the cheap seats are constantly criticizing or questioning the leader and providing negative feedback as often as they can.  Based on that discussion, here are a few ideas for leaders when they find themselves in the arena:

• Keep focused on those in the box seats...have a list of who they are, be sure to regularly touch base with them, keep their encouraging words in mind, and move closer to them when the going gets tough
• Diminish the sounds of those in the cheap seats...remember that there will never be a way to please these people, they will never have the leader's best interests at heart (and sometimes not even the organization's best interests), and despite their intensity of comments they are often wrong or, at the very least, misguided
• Remember who is in the box seats...these are the people who have been the leader's biggest cheerleaders all along; they are often mentors and models of success; and they have nothing to lose (and everything to gain) by the success of the person in the arena
• Remember who is in the cheap seats...these people seldom have any relationship with the leader, they have often failed themselves in leadership roles, and believe that the leader's (or organization's) gain is their loss
• Don't become too enamored with those in the box seats...one's biggest fans provide love and support but can also become blinded to any failures of the leader.  Be sure to keep in check all of the positive comments that come from those in the box seats (see next bullet point)
• Don't completely tune out those in the cheap seats...every now and then a comment from one of the critics will point out a fault the leader (or their fans) may not have seen, or provide an idea that the leader (or their fans) may not have yet thought about
• Those in the box seats will be forgiving...the leader can feel safe around those who have been his or her supporters over time, so think about them when taking the next risk
• Those in the cheap seats will always find fault...decisions around leadership cannot be based on what this group of people will think or do; there is no way that the leader can disappoint or let this group down, because they just do not care

As you contemplate this idea, consider who the people are sitting in the box seats while you are in the arena...have you reached out to them recently to grab a cup of coffee and receive some encouragement? have you written a note of thanks for all they have done for you over the course of your leadership? and have you tuned your ear to their collective support, especially when the going gets tough.  

when leaders fail to act

Everyone has experienced times when people in leadership roles fail to act.  It may be something such as the unwillingness to let someone from the organization go; or it may be they do not hold certain individuals accountable; or they do not demand that certain metrics are being met; or they fail to follow through on their promises; or they fail to perform a function required of the role.  All leaders fail to act at certain times and, if they are willing, will learn from those failures and improve their performance over time.

Here is the paradox of what I am thinking about...leaders who fail to act on certain issues over time have either isolated themselves from feedback or are unwilling to make the changes that are necessary in order to act in a different manner.  I am a big believer in Maya Angelou's quote "Do the best you can until you know better; then, when you know better, do better."  The paradox is that, for the most part, leaders who fail to act will never know better because if they were people who would learn and know better, they would do better.  And those leaders who are not failing to act have, on their own, learned better and are already doing better.  It is quite a conundrum.

So let's think about those who realize that the leaders of their organizations are failing to act...and are not learning and knowing better...and are consistently not fulfilling the requirements of their roles.  What are these people to do?  How does one behave, for the good of the organization, when they observe their leader failing to act?  Here are a few thoughts:

• go to the leader and ask questions, genuinely (and humbly) inquiring into why they are not doing what is needed.  There may be good reasons as to why a leader fails to act in certain ways and at certain times.  A humble attitude towards this type of questioning serves both the leader and the one asking the question.
• consider the reasons behind the leader's inability to act and find ways to act in a way that might mitigate the leader's inability to act.  Again, doing this in a humble and graceful manner actually serves the leader and the organization.
• work the issue up the chain of command.  This is never easy to do and would often be a last resort in most organizations...and it is often necessary when the leader's inability to act is threatening the stability or existence of the organization.
• sometimes it is necessary to leave an organization and find employment elsewhere, especially if one believes that the leader's inability to act is putting the organization and its employees at risk. 

As I finish this blog, there are three requests (or pleas) that I have:

First, to all leaders...ACT! There are few legitimate excuses to not act in a manner that is required of those in leadership roles.  Yes, it is hard work...yes, it is often out of one's comfort zone...and yes, one may not have all the training and skills necessary.  There are still no excuses for a leader to fail to act.

Second, to those who hire leaders...CLARITY!  Please be sure that when a leader is placed into their role, they have great clarity as to what is required of them.  Many boards or individuals, upon hiring one to lead their organization, believe they will know what to do, or at the very least learn what to do.  Clarity of expectations up front is crucial, as is follow up and review of those expectations.

And third, to those in the organization...SPEAK UP! Leaders are human and will, at times, fail to act.  Give them the chance to learn to do better and, if they are not able to do that, then speak louder and to different people.  While a leader's inability to act may lead to the downfall of an organization, it is most often the employees unwillingness to speak up that really leads to that downfall.

the leadership moment

Several times over the past week, I have had the opportunity to look around and realize that things are better than they were a year ago and that, just maybe, I had a hand in helping them become that way.  People who build and work with their hands have the chance to see that on a regular basis - they start with "materials" and, after they enact their craft, something is there that can be seen, used and admired.  That feeling of completion and satisfaction is harder in the craft of leadership because leaders work more with ideas and people, with the hope that, sometime in the future, things will be better.

As I looked around and realized that certain things were better, I was able to take a moment and realize that I had a small part in making them that way.  It was, in my words, a leadership moment.  That moment consisted of satisfaction, pride, and gratitude.  The moment also consisted of a smile and a few tears.  While leaders are prone to give the thanks and praise to others, sometimes they should stop and give those same kudos to themselves (all be it in a quiet and private manner).  To have a leadership moment is (and should be) a rare thing...and something that makes every one in a leadership role full of joy.

Now here is the paradox.  While the leadership moment consists of being joyful over what has occurred up to that point, it is also a time and place to consider what might be next.  For some, the leadership moment is the start of something new; for some, the leadership moment consists of realizing that there will be more effort to sustain what has become reality; and for others, the leadership moment is a realization that the next step or project might be beyond their own capability.  In other words, the leadership moment will consist of fear and wonder; the leadership moment will consist of worry and hope; the leadership moment can (and should) produce just a bit of panic.

Look around for the leadership moments in your life, whether you lead an organization, a club, a classroom, or a family.  Leadership moments are there, and one should take the time to rejoice in them...and then to realize that the leader's role is beginning to shift and become even harder.  In other words, embrace the paradox of the leadership moment.