“Was that John holding the ladder for you?”
“Yes. He was on his way to a meeting, saw me climbing up, and decided to hold it for me while I changed a light bulb.”
“Why were you up there?”
“I was tired of waiting on maintenance to do it.”
“Doesn’t he have more important things to do?”
“Well, I suppose so, but he always seems to have a couple of minutes to do something useful for us. Last week he helped us rearrange the office furniture and the week before he called maintenance to have our water cooler fixed.”
“Did they?”
“Oh, yeah. They were on the scene within an hour.”
Casting vision is an important part of leadership—so is strategy, communication, developing leaders, planning, mission, values, and a thousand or so other things. Most of your employees can’t relate to those things. Their world is one of making ledger entries, scheduling parts, or trying to satisfy unhappy customers. And unlike the leader, their world is also one of broken water coolers and burned out light bulbs—things that are quickly fixed on the executive hallway.
It is really easy for leaders to get so involved in LEADER things that they forget the PEOPLE things. When the leader is in the accounting department, he can take up space and look important…or do something useful. Employees are on the job everyday. Most are trying to do their best. If you do something—however small—that impacts their workspace, they’ll never forget. Your leadership credibility will rise because they know you care and listen.
For crying out loud, it only takes five minutes! Get to it. Today.
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
“Wasn’t that your department director you were laughing with?”
“Yes.”
“What was so funny?”
“He was telling me about backing into his garage door this morning—for the third time!”
“And that was supposed to be funny?”
“Well…he was laughing at himself, so I just joined in.”
“I wish my boss was like that.”
One of the pillars of leadership credibility is to be personable. People want to know you. And they want to be known by you. If the only interaction you have with employees is about the business, if it is all business—all the time, you are falling far short of what employees want and need from you. You don’t have to be their BFF (look it up), but asking about their kids, hobbies, favorite team, etc., will go a long way toward creating a more than a number culture.
“People today demand personal relationships with their leaders before they will give themselves fully to their jobs.” Bill George, True North
Relationships take time. Why don’t you start today? Now? Walk down to the water cooler and strike up a conversation—about them!
You can spend time, or invest time. Relationship time is among the most important time you invest.
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
Three prominent examples of how “mottos mean nothing” and how “culture trashes mottos” are in the daily news cycle. An international auto manufacturer…well, you know the story—lied to regulators about emission controls. One of the US’s largest truck-stop companies cheated customers out of rebates owed. And in a top-ten basketball program, they used strippers and prostitutes to aid recruiting of 17-18 year old boys. All of these are violations of the organization’s stated standards of conduct—their mottos on the wall. Obviously, they are not violations of the organization’s actual standards of conduct—their culture.
A recent FORTUNE article said this about the automaker: “It’s a culture that mandated success at all costs.” Evidently, the truck stop company and basketball team have the same kind of culture.
Jack Welch says it this way: “An organization’s culture is not about words [mottos] at all. It’s about behavior.”
What do all three organizations have in common? The C-suite executives—CEO/Owners and Coach—claim innocence: “I’m not responsible; I had no idea….”
Whether their denials are true…or not…is not particularly relevant. Senior leaders in businesses, colleges, churches, or government are 100% responsible for their organization’s culture.
Culture is shaped by what is modeled, encouraged and permitted. And the leaders set the tone for what is modeled, encouraged and permitted. In all three examples, it wasn’t a single rogue employee acting alone; multiple people were involved. That makes it their culture and that makes it the leader’s responsibility.
Some people are going to jail; others will lose their jobs. Sadly, the senior leaders will probably live happily-ever-after in their golf-course and ocean-front homes, continuing to claim, “I had no idea….”
In your organization, who is responsible for the culture? If you are a leader—YOU ARE.
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
“Who was that I saw you talking to this morning?”
“Mary, my boss, but she would be upset if I called her a boss.”
“She came to your office to talk?”
“Yes, she always does. And on the way she usually stops to chat with most everyone else.”
“Gosh. That’s nice. My boss—and he is a BOSS—rarely leaves his office. If he wants to talk to me, I get “summoned” to his office like in middle school.”
“Mary is showing up all the time—to help, not harass.”
“What happens when you really need to talk to her?”
“Usually I just wait until she comes around, but if I can’t wait, I head over to her office.”
“You don’t have to call to make an appointment?”
“No, her door is almost always open.”
Two practices of really effective leaders are that they are visible and available. They show up a lot and they respond quickly. “I’m too busy” is seldom heard. If you are too busy for the people who work with and for you, you aren’t doing your most important job which is…leading! “I’m too busy” is not a sign of importance; it’s a sign of incompetence.
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
“Who’s your boss?”
“I don’t have one.”
“I thought you worked for John?”
“No, I work with John.”
“But isn’t he your boss?”
“Well, in a supervisory sense, I suppose so.”
“Doesn’t that make him your boss?”
“Working for him is never like working for a boss. It is with him, not for him. It because I want to, not because I have to.”
“So he is more like a…”
“Leader, or coach. His tone is he is here for us, not us for him. He has turned the M upside down.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He never says me; he always says we. Turn the M upside down and Me becomes We.”
“Anything else?”
“Yeah. He never talks about what he wants; he is always focused on what we need.”
“That’s all there is to it?”
“No, but I need to go now. I’ll share more next time we meet at the water cooler.”
How do they talk about you at the water cooler? Would you like the conversation to change? Try leading instead of bossing. What’s the difference? Meet me at the water cooler next week.
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
I have a friend who was—after leading a very successful event—completely demoralized by what I call polluted praise. Polluted praise is the old and deadly, “That was great, but….” Those of us afflicted with the arrogance that comes with perfectionism are particularly prone to pollute praise with “but….” I have done it many times, and some I still remember.
This is not complicated. Two simple leadership rules will help you avoid the “but….”:
#1—Always praise and critique/debrief at different times. The time for “but…” is not five minutes after the event is over—especially an event that successful by most measures. Give the team some time (probably a few days) to enjoy the success before the “but…” is raised.
#2—Actually, don’t use the “but…” at all. It is the least effective improvement tool I can think of. Telling people what they did wrong and what could be done better is not often well received and doesn’t promote any self-evaluation/thinking that leads to growth. Critique/debrief by asking questions:
Give the team a chance to figure it out for themselves. They will. And instead of dictating, you’ll be leading. Isn’t that your job?
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
I love biscuits—I’ve never met one I didn’t like. Evidently a lot of other people do too because for the first time in two years McDonald’s same-store sales are up—a lot—5.7% compared to the 4th quarter last year. McD’s stock has soared too—up 26% in the last year. The critics have been silenced and CEO Steve Easterbrook has been proven correct. I expect he’ll get a big bonus—and he should.
How did it happen? “All-day breakfast!” Like Waffle House or Cracker Barrel, you can go in McD’s and get breakfast any time they are open.
Why did it work? People love biscuits and it brought in new customers. “One-third of the customers who bought breakfast in the afternoon or later” had never been in a McD’s before (WSJ, 1/25/16). Maybe they should change their name to McBiscuit House.
Was it risky? Not the way they did it. They hand-selected a few locations for trial runs of all-day breakfast. If the trial runs failed, little was lost.
Was it costly? No. The investment was minimal. Every McD’s already had all the equipment needed to make biscuits…eggs…pancakes…whatever.
Was training required? No. They were already making biscuits all morning. Plus, making biscuits is not rocket science—no colleg degree required.
All-day breakfast was a genius move. And so simple. Everything they needed—they already had. Wow.
What about your organization? Maybe the answer you are looking for is right in front of your eyes: do more of what you already do well.
It’s about 9:00am. A McD’s biscuit would sure taste good!
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
Early in my career, I learned the embarrassing way that “me” is a word that should be seldom used in most contexts. While giving a presentation to a group of government engineers, I repeatedly referred to “me” instead of “we” as having done this or that or whatever. My leader, in a moment I still remember vividly, pulled me aside and said plainly and with a bit of anger: “This will go a lot better if you use ‘we’ instead of ‘me.’ ”
If you want to raise the level of your leadership in 2016, start by turning the M upside down. Leading is not about you, it’s about the organization and the people you have the privilege of leading. “We” instead of “me” is one of the consistent characteristics of Level 5 leaders as defined by Jim Collins.
Excerpt from the Introduction to 16 Stones
In his now-classic book Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies what he calls Level 5 leaders. They have the “personal humility” and “fierce resolve” needed to transform their companies from good to great. “Level 5 leaders,” he says, “are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless.” About one of his Level 5 examples—Darwin Smith of Kimberly-Clark— Collins says he “…carried no airs of self-importance…never cultivated hero status or executive celebrity status.”
Two years after Good to Great, in a 2003 Fortune magazine article, Collins named Smith as one of “The Ten Greatest CEOs of All Time.” Wow! Top ten of all time! What did all ten have in common according to Collins?
“If one thing defines these ten giants, it was their deep sense of connectedness to the organizations they ran. Unlike CEOs who see themselves principally as members of an executive elite—an increasingly mobile club whose members measure their pay and privileges against other CEOs…. Much depended on them, but it was never about them.”
Remember the phrase “it was never about them.” Adopting it is one of the most important steps anyone can take in trying to become an authentic and effective leader.
Is Monday your first day back in 2016? Get off to a great start toward Level 5—turn the M upside down!
[16 Stones can be ordered on this website (best price for print), or at Amazon for e-book format.]
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© Copyright 2016 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
Christmas is only 10 days away. I can hardly wait. Highlights will be a candlelight service on Christmas Eve; reading the story of the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning; watching my three buddies open their gifts and getting great hugs from them all; then, Christmas dinner. My wife, Dottie, makes the best dressing in the world. If that was all we had to eat—I’d be happy (well, maybe a little pumpkin pie thrown in).
Giving gifts is a big part of Christmas, but for authentic leaders it should be a big part of leading all year long. A leader can play Santa every day by giving the…
Gift of Appreciation
Philosopher William James once said that the need to be appreciated is at the core of the human personality. What are you doing to show those you lead that you really appreciate them?
Gift of Listening
“…listening is probably our greatest opportunity to give attention to others on a daily basis and convey how much we value them” (from The Servant by James C. Hunter). Don’t forget—authentic listening and just hearing are not the same thing.
Gift of Freedom
There isn’t much worse than being in bondage to a controlling boss—every decision, large and small, reviewed and approved with an “I know best” spirit. Give the gift of freedom. Quit being a boss and start being a leader!
Gift of Honesty
There are a lot of dimensions to honesty, but the greatest gift a leader can give is honesty about self. Be transparent, admit it when you are wrong, and don’t pretend you don’t have any weaknesses.
Gift of Patience
Anger, finger pointing, outbursts, revenge seeking, punishing and wounding have no place in any organization. The leader sets the tone. Do you have a spirit of fear and reticence in your organization? It’s probably your fault.
What is the greatest gift a leader has ever given you? Let me know by commenting.
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© Copyright 2015 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company
My daughter, Elizabeth, is flying on Christmas Eve to join us for our family Christmas celebration. I am glad she is coming. Christmas without Elizabeth wouldn’t be Christmas. I am glad she is flying because I won’t be worrying about her arriving safely. Commercial air travel in the U.S. is 96X safer than driving (based on equal miles). By the way, it is 4500X safer than motorcycles, so if she is expecting a Harley for Christmas, she is going to be disappointed.
It hasn’t always been that way. In the early days of aviation, flying was the realm of risk-takers. There were no rules, no FAA, and no NTSB to investigate accidents. “Have Airplane—Can Fly” was the mantra whether the airplane was built by the Wright Brothers or home-made in the barn. The planes had wood frames, canvas skins, under-powered engines, few controls, and fewer instruments. It was a white-scarf-bravado business; parachutes were for cowards. Crashes—fatal crashes—were common. In the early ‘20s, 31 of 40 postal service pilots were killed in accidents. Thousands of other daring young men (and a few women) risked—and lost all—in those barn-storming days.
Cal Rodgers was one of those daring young men. In 1911, William Randolph Hearst put up a $50,000 prize for the first pilot who could fly coast-to-coast in 30 days or less. Cal recruited some financial backers, a ground/fuel crew who traveled by train, and took to the air from Sheepshead Bay, NY on September 17 in a Wright Flyer EX. Forty-nine days later, he landed in Long Beach and taxied his plane into the surf of the Pacific Ocean with the following score card:
Breakthrough and change always fly on the backs of risk takers. If Orville and Wibur hadn’t taken a risk in 1903, Elizabeth would be driving on Christmas Eve and I would be worrying.
Not everything new that comes along is dangerous, but everything new that comes along has something at risk: failure, reputation, finances, relationships, and so on. Is your organization—or life—a bit stale and bogged down? What have you risked lately? Not much? Maybe that’s the reason. Why don’t you put something out there in 2016 that’s a bit uncomfortable—maybe even a risk? Be a Cal Rodgers! Give me a reason to write about you.
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© Copyright 2015 by Dick Wells, The Hard Lessons Company.
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