Driving home from Indiana a few days ago (cruising along at about 75mph on I65), I was passed by a Toyota Prius running about 80mph. A Prius is a gasoline-electric hybrid that is known more for its gas mileage (50mph) than for its power (1.8L, 98hp) and speed.
However, this Prius was different—it had a rear spoiler—just like Jimmie Johnson’s #48 NASCAR Chevrolet. Even though it passed me, I’m sure it couldn’t pass Jimmie Johnson because a Prius—with or without a spoiler—is still just a Prius and is not ready for NASCAR.
A spoiler may make a Prius look racy, but it doesn’t make it a race car. It is what’s under the hood that counts.
In the same way, a title doesn’t make you a leader. A position and big office doesn’t make you a leader. Being the owner, or CEO, or Lead Pastor doesn’t make you a leader. Dressing like a leader; talking like a leader; acting like a leader; none of these make you a leader.
Having trouble getting people to follow you even though you have the title and the office? Maybe you are relying too much on your rear spoiler instead of what’s under the hood. Ask someone you trust—they’ll tell you.
In his book, Don’t Step On The Rope!, Walter Wright uses lessons from his mountain climbing experiences to share leadership principles. He uses the “rope” between climbers as a metaphor for the connection between leaders and followers: “The rope is the relationship between the leader and follower.”
In mountain climbing, the rope is critical. If it is too tight, one of the climbers is always pulling against the other—neither can move freely. So it needs to have some slack, but not too much slack. If there is too much slack, the following climber can step on the rope causing it to suddenly tighten and pull the lead climber off balance. Either of the climbers off balance is a danger to both since they are connected by the rope. But even worse, since climber’s boots have metal cleats, stepping on the rope can damage it. A frayed rope under tension can quickly unravel putting both climbers in peril.
The parallel to leadership is obvious. The relationship between leaders and followers must have some slack, but not so much that someone can step on the relationship and damage it. And also, the relationship can’t be so tightly held that no one can move freely. The leader and the follower share the responsibility for the condition of the rope—the connection between them. Whichever you are, do your part!
[Don’t Step On The Rope! is a creative and stimulating book that I highly recommend.]
Most of the leaves are gold…or yellow…or red. They are starting to fall and soon the trees will be bare. We haven’t had a freeze yet, but it won’t be long. The long gray lifeless days of winter are just around the corner. It will be time to bundle up, hunker down, and try to stay warm while waiting for spring…when life returns. And, it will.
Organizations experience winter also. Sales slump. Attendance falls. Employees are grumpy. It is dark when you show up—still dark when you leave.
It is easy to lapse into “going through the motions” during winter. Easy to procrastinate. Easy to stare out the window or sit by the fire with a cup of coffee waiting for warmer days. That is the easy way to get through the winter. But it is not the way of effective leaders. Effective leaders apply the principle of don’t lose a day and use the winter to get ready for spring instead of waiting for spring.
Winter is a great time to plan. I mean really plan—in detail!
Winter is a great time to repair. That is what farmers do. They get the plow and tractor in tip top shape for planting in the spring. What in your organization needs to be repaired?
Winter is a great time to refocus. Make sure you have a clear purpose, values, vision, etc., and make sure they are well communicated.
Winter is a great time to rest. Yes, rest. Nourishing your body, soul and spirit is actually great preparation for the hard tasks of spring. But don’t let the need to rest become an excuse for doing nothing.
Decide today this is going to be the best winter ever for you and for your organization. But do more than decide—be specific. Make a list of ten things you are going to get done between now and March 31st. Ten things that will have you ready to go when those warm spring days come.
Don’t waste a day! Even during the winter.
[Monday, November 1st is the last day to register for the November 5th Hard Lessons Workshop. Register at hard-lessons.com.]
I hate Bermuda grass. Why? It spreads uncontrolled into our mulch and hides the underground nests of fire ants. How many stings did I get? Twenty-six! Did they hurt? Yes! Did I get revenge? Yes! (Using Bonide MAX.) And while I was at it, I poured out my wrath on an underground nest of yellow jackets before they stung me.
Organizations have underground nests that can sting as well—nests that have a different mission…or personal agendas…or are only concerned about their self-interests. As the leader, you cannot let these nests grow and thrive. In fact, you need to pour Bonide MAX on them ASAP or you will get stung and the organization hurt.
First, make sure the underground nest doesn’t exist because of your ineffective leadership. Sometimes nests develop because the workers are simply trying to survive and have no confidence in the leader to actually lead them. So they choose a queen to follow and go underground as a survival mechanism. As in all things, always start with self-examination. Not sure if you’re the problem? Ask someone who will tell you the truth.
Second, you have to get rid of the queen. All fire ant and yellow jacket nests have a queen at the center of everything. Your organizational underground nest will have one too. Whatever you have to do, get rid of the queen! Until you do, the nest will grow in size and continue to buzz around stinging everyone that is not part of the nest.
Third, you need the workers, so try to eradicate the nest without eradicating all the workers. Give them a reason to choose to follow you instead of the queen. Being a leader instead of boss is a good way to start.
Enough fire ants stings can be fatal to small animals. Underground nests in your organization can be fatal too. So ignore them at your and the organization’s peril.
Only 24 days until Raising The Level Of Your Leadership—a Hard Lessons workshop. Sign up today at www.hard-lessons.com.
In last week’s post, I wrote about the five dimensions of passion you need to lead a group of followers on a long and difficult journey of significant change. You need passion for the mission (the journey and destination), passion for change, passion for people, passion for personal excellence, and if you are a person of faith, passion for honoring God.
Today, let me mention a few faux passions that aren’t necessary for leadership and in some cases make it harder or impossible to lead.
Faux Passion #1: Sentiment. When you were a little boy or girl, there was always, “When I grow up I’m going to be a….” My boyhood dream was to be a cowboy. (Duh! I grew up in Oklahoma.) Or a baseball player. (Duh! Mickey Mantle was from Oklahoma.) I have a daughter who wanted to be a missionary or a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader—she’s an actress. Neither one of us have regrets that our childhood dreams were not realized as adults. So in spite of what your therapist may say, childhood dreams are not always the answer to adult fulfillment or passion for leading.
Faux Passion #2: Loving The Task. It is great if you love the product or program, but you don’t have to love it to lead it, and often you won’t. Louis Gerstner, Jr., left RJR Nabisco (cigarettes and Oreos) in 1993 to become CEO of IBM (mainframe computers). Do you think he loved computers more than Oreos? I suspect he didn’t love either one. But he did have passion for leading—for “trying to build organizations that allow for hierarchy but at the same time bring people together for problem solving, regardless of where they are positioned in the organization.” Now that’s passion for the mission and leaders have to have it! (Quote from Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? by Gerstner; a great read for leaders.)
Faux Passion #3: Emotion. I am sick and tired of people rationalizing angry, emotional, people-hurting outbursts with, “I’m just so passionate.” Emotions and passions are not the same thing.
Emotions explode; passion burns steadily.
Emotions are here today, gone tomorrow; passion sticks around.
Emotions can turn and walk away; passion has to do something.
Emotions are about self; passion is about something important apart from self.
Emotions rage; passion reasons.
It may be a convenient excuse to explain bad emotional behavior as passion, but it’s not true and it will hurt your ability to lead—every time.
I would be interested in your ideas on Faux Passions you’ve observed. Also, don’t forget to register for the November 5th Hard Lessons Workshop on the homepage. I look forward to seeing you there!
In his now classic book, Good To Great, Jim Collins identifies what he calls “Level 5” leaders as having the “personal humility” and “fierce resolve” needed to transform their companies from good to great. “Fierce resolve” is another way of describing “passion.” Passion is essential if you want people to follow you on a difficult journey of change. [Read last week’s post: The Leader’s Soul On Fire (#1).]
So when a leader has passion that will attract followers, what does it look like?
First, followers will see passion for the mission—the purpose—of the organization. I’m not talking about passion for profit or for being the biggest. Passion for the mission endures through the ups and downs of the economy. Purpose is more important than profit or the Sunday headcount.
“We try never to forget that medicine is for people. It is not for profits. The profits follow….”
George W. Merck (from The Leadership Moment by Michael Useem)
Do you have passion for the mission of your organization? Or are you just trying to make a buck?
Second, as a leader you must have passion for change. Kouzes & Posner in The Leadership Challenge emphasize that “…the work of leaders is change.” So, if nothing is changing, you aren’t leading. If you by nature don’t like change, you can’t lead because leading is all about change. You can supervise; you can manage; you can contribute; but you can’t lead.
Third, a leader must have passion for people. You don’t lead machines; you don’t lead software; you don’t lead buildings; you lead people. Leading is always about people. I have a friend who once said to me, ”I would love my job if it weren’t for people.” My response was, “You need to get a different job.” (By the way, passion for people doesn’t mean that you are a soft leader who shies away from difficult people problems.) If you don’t really care much about the people you are trying to lead, they’ll know and will only follow you kicking and screaming.
A fourth passion leaders must have is passion for personal excellence. No organization ever rises above the level of its leadership. The leader is the lid—always! So if you want an excellent organization, you have to be an excellent leader. Whatever level you lead at now, you can raise it, and you need to.
Finally, for faith-based leaders, you must have a passion for honoring God in your work whether in business or ministry.
“And whatever you do…in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus….”
Colossians 3:17 (NIV)
Wouldn’t “do it all” include your job?
Are you trying to lead but it seems like a never-ending trek up a steep hill? Ask yourself if you really have passion for leading. Do you have fire in your soul for the mission? For change? For people? For personal excellence? For honoring God? If not, get out your match and light the fire of leadership passion in your soul. Do it today!
[In The Leader’s Soul On Fire (#3), I will discuss faux passions—passions that really aren’t.]
What role does passion play in leadership?
Is it important?
Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch (the Supreme Commander of the WW I armies in the last year of the war) thought so:
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
The early twentieth century writer, E. M. Forster, agreed with him:
“One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.”
Followers are looking for a lot of things in their leaders (integrity, confidence, competence, etc.) and high on the list is passion. They want to know that the leader really cares deeply, that there is fire in his/her soul that will endure when their journey together gets tough, and at some point it will get tough, or tiresome, or scary. They want to know that your flame will keep burning even when being drenched by discouragement, by detours, by delays, by defeats.
So if you want to lead, you’ll need passion for it or you’ll burn out before reaching the finish line. John Maxwell puts it this way:
“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
Imagine that. It is not your position—CEO, manager, owner, senior pastor, etc.—that makes you a leader. What makes you a leader is when people voluntarily choose to follow you on a journey of change. And before they’ll choose you, one of the main things they look for is passion for the journey; passion that burns deeply.
In the Leader’s Soul On Fire (#2), I’ll discuss the five dimensions of passion that you need to lead at a high level.
[Want to raise the level of your leadership? You should and you need to. Sign up today on the home page for the November 5th Hard Lessons Workshop.]
At the 2010 Willow Creek Leadership Summit, one of the sub-themes was, “I will stop using anger as a leadership tool.”
Though I have seldom used anger as a tool in the workplace, I have used it at home. My wife once told me she was tired of walking on egg shells, meaning “I’m tired of your anger.” I’m sure my two daughters have also been on the receiving end. I can’t think of a time when anything good came out of one of my outbursts.
Anger supposedly demonstrates who is in control. What it really reveals is who is out of control.
Anger supposedly will promote change in behavior. What it really promotes is pervasive fear that paralyzes the organization.
Anger supposedly shows strength of position. What it really shows is weakness of character.
Anger supposedly reinforces “I’m right.” What it really reinforces is “I’m proud.”
It is interesting that in scripture, God puts anger in the same list of sins as immorality, idolatry, sorcery, drunkenness.…
Galatians 5:19-21 (NASB95)
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing.…”
That’s enough said about how God feels about it.
Anger rarely if ever accomplishes anything good. It may accomplish what you intend, but only if your purpose is self-centered and intended to inflict humiliation and pain. Anger always has the effect of damaging relationships—at home, in the church, at your workplace. So take to heart the Summit sub-theme. Resolve today that you will stop using anger as a leadership tool. You’ll be a much better leader.
By the way, don’t kid yourself that “forgive me” will erase the effects of repeated outbursts. “Forgive me” only works if it doesn’t happen again.
[There are only two months until the November 5th Hard Lessons Workshop. Sign up today on the home page.]
Bobby Thomson (age 87) died last week. Bobby delivered the most famous walk-off home run in baseball history—a three run shot that won the National League pennant for the 1951 New York Giants (over their hated rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers). Major league baseball was THE American sport in the 50’s, and New York (with the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants) was the epicenter of baseball. So, in the minds of long-time baseball fans, Bobby’s home run competes with the first shot at Concord Bridge (the beginning of the American revolution) as the shot heard ‘round the world.
Since Hard Lessons is about leadership, as I watched the news reports, my mind turned to the question: What is a walk-off home run for a leader? There are several valid answers, but the one for today is:
A walk-off home run for a leader is walking off (retiring, etc.)
with a replacement leader in place who will carry on without the organization missing a beat.
How often does this happen? Not often. Why not? There are many reasons—here are a few:
The organization is built around the personality of the leader rather than a passion for excellence, an enduring purpose, and compelling vision.
The leader feels threatened by anyone who is capable of taking over, so any emerging heir-apparent is exiled or ejected altogether.
The leader is puffed up with pride, feels irreplaceable, so no one ever quite measures up.
The leader is lazy and/or preoccupied with things other than the long term health of the organization, so little or no effort is put into selecting and mentoring future leaders.
The leader is actually a boss, so the best and brightest don’t stay long.
The leader has a “favorite son” candidate who is going to get the job whether qualified or not.
What would happen in your organization if you just walked off? Would it collapse, or carry on without missing a beat? The answer could reveal a lot about what kind of leader you are.
Let me know what you think a walk-off home run for leaders is, and don’t forget to register for the November 5th Hard Lessons Workshop.
Failed change is more common than successful change in people and in organizations. Change is hard to initiate and even harder to finish. Why? Change myths are part of the reason.
Myth #1: People and organizations change when they need to. Really? Why are so many people overweight? I need to lose about ten pounds. I’ve needed to for a long time. But I haven’t made the changes necessary to lose it. Some people need to stop piling up debt—but they don’t. Organizations have a lot of changes they need to make. But for whatever reason, they don’t get around to it, or when they try, it fizzles out. It takes a lot more than need to drive successful change.
Myth #2: People and organizations change when they want to. Not only do I need to lose those ten pounds, but I want to. Enough said?
Myth #3: Fear is an effective means of promoting change. “If you don’t….., you’ll be fired.” What a waste of time. Any change that arises from fear will be short-lived and marginal. It is a sign that bosses and bullies are in charge, not authentic leaders.
Myth #4: A PowerPoint presentation which fully explains the reason will successfully drive change. “If they understand, they’ll be eager to change.” Baloney. Somebody else will be giving reasons for not changing. And what about all the right brain artists out there? They hate PowerPoint presentations.
Myth #5: Casting vision over and over will bring change. This is just hubris on the part of the leader—believing that people will do whatever he/she asks them to do. People and organizations do not change because of somebody else’s vision.
So what will initiate and sustain change? Two things: people and organizations attempt change when they have to, or when they are inspired to. The leader’s job is to inspire it before the “have to” kicks in. Think about it.
It is easier to get married than to stay married. And it is easier to start change than it is to complete it. The leader’s biggest challenge is between the starting point and the finish line. We’ll talk about the entire change journey at the November 5 Hard Lessons Workshop in the AVOIDING CHANGE WRECK session. Register on the home page!
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