3 leadership lessons from a CEO

There are three elements to effective leadership.                                            Everyone has his or her own individual style—no one brand of leadership works all the time for everyone. But, I’ve found there are three key elements to effective leadership. The first is authenticity. Organizations have finely tuned BS meters and can tell when a leader isn’t being authentic. When you are at the podium, you should be—at most—one degree of separation from the real you.
 ,
The second element is self-awareness. When a leader—any type of leader, not just a CEO—walks into a room, the dynamic of the room changes. You need acute self-awareness and need to know when your message is veering off course. For example, I like to use humor and sarcasm in my conversations with people. Occasionally I’ll say something that gets a laugh from the room, but the person I directed it at feels a little uncomfortable even though it was intended to be good-natured. At that point, I try to find a way to send a signal that I regard that individual highly. Self-awareness can be exhausting if you do it right!

The third element is vulnerability. You need to show it. Too many people think that leaders can’t show weakness. But people need to know you’re human and they can relate to you. I get the best responses when I tell stories about me not as the hero, but as fallible.

Avoid talent gaps: build a pipeline.
Years ago at our company, I set up a talent review process. This involves bringing our most senior staff together and discussing the broader management team. We spend half the day reviewing the people, their positives, negatives, and where they need to grow. We then spend the second half of the day talking about key roles in the organization and identifying the three best candidates for each. We have rules—for example, no one person can be listed for more than three jobs. Then we look at the list from a diversity perspective and seek a balance. We also identify what each person needs to succeed in that potential role. Do they require some coaching, mentoring, public speaking training, or something else? Before we started doing this, we had talent gaps in the organization. But with this process, we now have a talent pipeline.

Leadership advice for young professionals: Mind your Qs.
I love talking to young people about leadership. A lot of people believe that if they come into an organization and do a great job for their boss, they’ll be magically lifted up and promoted. But the reality is that some bosses don’t advocate for their people. Others are selfish and don’t want to lose good people to promotions. So I always tell young people that the first thing you need to do is network. The second thing is what I call “three Qs”: IQ, EQ, and PQ. IQ is about intelligence, and we like to think that we hire intelligent people. But I’ve noticed that a lot of young people who are really intelligent believe that it trumps everything. They think that if they just show how smart they are, they’ll be whisked to the top.

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Because how effective you are is a matter of how you combine that intelligence with emotional intelligence or EQ. You need EQ to help people feel that you are working with them. And finally, you need to be able to read the room. You need to know the reaction you are creating. You need to be aware when you are in political territory. That’s political intelligence—PQ. It’s not about being a backstabber. It’s about understanding the political dynamic of the organization. You need to find the balance between IQ, EQ, and PQ—you can’t expect just one of those to skyrocket you to the top.

Do the leaders in your organization share George’s passion for developing talent? How does that affect the culture? 

George Borst, CEO of Toyota Financial Services (TFS), received the “Outstanding CEO Award” at our 2013 Women in Leadership Institute™. In September, he retired after 16 years at the helm of TFS. George recently shared what he has learned about leadership and employee engagement throughout the course of his career.

7 Tough Leadership Lessons From A Navy SEAL Commander

Taking tactics from the war room to the boardroom.

As corporate leaders explore how to elevate the effectiveness and professional excellence of their working teams, there is a lot to be learned from Special Ops.

Their collaboration with other branches of the military over the past decade makes them an area of the military that both corporate America and the government can learn a lot from. I've been a longtime fan of the Navy SEALs, and in my constant search for inspiration to implement work culture and leadership change, I felt they could be a superb group to learn from. While this highly secretive branch of the military keeps themselves, and their secrets, to themselves, books like Lone Survivor and The Hunt for Bin Laden give us a look into how they operate. But nothing beats sitting down with a Navy SEAL commander to understand how they think about leadership.

Corporate and military leadership are distinctively different for obvious reasons: The military’s leadership is focused on leading organizations responsible for our country’s security and fighting wars, while business leaders are focused on creating value and protecting the interests of their stakeholders, with profit and return on investment often being the top priorities.

Meticulous planning
From a management standpoint, one of the greatest lessons that can be learned from Navy SEALs is their skill of being highly effective and meticulous planners. They focus on the importance of time management, on-target execution, and completing the mission. They operate with a backup and contingency plan in place for almost every scenario. One of the most practical skills taught in this branch is clear and direct communication. Most people think that the military teaches direct, one-way communication--but what’s less obvious to nonmilitary folks is the importance SEALs place on listening. SEAL Commanders listen and formulate an opinion that incorporates as many ideas and experiences as possible to form a solid plan. A big difference between Navy SEAL and civilian leadership is that once a commander’s decision is reached, the discussion is over—then full support and backing is given and a unified front is presented. Ultimate accountability rests on the commander’s shoulders.

Clear expectations
Navy SEALs focus on a very clear set of objectives, where significant importance is placed on defining the goal and motivating the team to follow. Even with highly complex operations, each SEAL has a clearly defined role, and expectations can be recited by each team member. Similarly, articulating a compelling vision and aligning people with priorities are vital areas in business, but these are often overlooked by many leaders. The SEAL’s rules of engagement (how they respond when confronted) are clearly established before each mission, and modifying these rules could negatively impact the entire operation. The rules of engagement for businesses (what is acceptable employee behavior and what is not) are very often ill-defined or nonexistent. One of the biggest disconnects we see in business is the gap between a company’s strategy and the aligned expectations set for the employees.

During a recent conversation with a SEAL commander, he offered tangible advice that can be applied to almost any business:

1. Teamwork is your top priority.
A mission cannot be successfully executed unless the team is functioning as one. The SEALs continual emphasis on teamwork corresponds closely with the daily requirements of the business world.

2. Early leaders are good leaders.
This opportunity is unparalleled in the corporate world, where an employee may need 10 to 15 years to reach a position of significant leadership and high level of responsibility.

3. Excel at ethics.
In the world of business, the ethical leader is sometimes a rarity, and truly esteemed.

4. Stay calm.
The military trains its team to be more comfortable taking risks with incomplete information. This is the daily function of a CEO, but it is rarely passed down to employees.

5. Hard times help you adapt--quickly.
Young executives who go through hard times should learn to appreciate them, recognizing that those times will not only strengthen them, but truly train them to properly and successfully lead their own teams when battling the competition.

6. Ambush the competition.
In an ambush, always take out the radio operator and the unit leader (usually the guy next to the radioman). Without leadership or good communication, the enemy is forced into disarray and can be picked apart. A good lesson for all leaders and their organizations.

7. Study Darwin.
Survival is not about who’s the strongest or fastest, but who can best adapt to change. Navy SEALs are masters of adaptation, being able to operate in jungle, desert, or artic conditions. In comparison, CEOs must adapt to the ever-changing market conditions they face daily and should train their staff to do the same.

Shawn Parr

Leadership Lessons from Tug-of-War

 

“What am I creating?” is a critical leadership question you must ask yourself every day. Personally, it aligns your choices and actions. Organizationally, it orients your team’s choices—it creates alignment. The reason for organizations is to harness the collective power of the group.

WE can accomplish more than I, and our collective efforts are most impressive when they surge forward in unison. Alignment produces a multiplier effect that demonstrates that the whole IS greater than the sum of the parts. Teamwork, however, can also be challenging and frustrating as we subjugate our needs and impulses and emphasize consideration of others and emotional intelligence. On the downside, teamwork can rob us of our spontaneous expression and blur our coveted individuality. On the upside, teamwork can provide a platform from which we can accomplish meaningful and breathtaking achievements.

Teams generate power when everyone is focused on the same horizon.

When each member answers, “What am I creating?” in the same way, amplification occurs. By collectively focusing on the same objective, they harness the power of alignment.

Tug-of-war is a practical example of the power of alignment. I grew up playing this game a lot. The game cost nothing, was easy to set up, and was intensely competitive. With a heeled shoe we’d scratch a line in the dirt, then we’d split our group in two. Each group took hold of opposing ends of a strong rope, and on command we’d begin to pull. I remember the effort that we expended as we pulled the rope in order to draw the opposing team toward us and over the midway line. The biggest and heaviest team member was typically the “anchor” planted at the end of the rope. As the resident “big boy” I spent my tug-of-war career as the anchor. From here I had a clear view of my team as well as the opposing team. What I learned watching both teams is that the size, weight, and strength of the team were not the most important predictors of who would win the game.

By collectively focusing on the same objective, they harness the power of alignment.

Alignment was the winning factor. Teams whose members pulled together at the same achieved cumulative force. When our backs, feet, and waists were lined up and pointing in the same direction, we became unified. The combined force of an aligned team magnified our individual contributions exponentially. I remember many sunny days anchored at the end of the line, and hoping the opposing team would look disjointed, that their guys would be out of sync, pulling the rope at different angles. When even one person pulled at a different angle, the entire team lost their cumulative force and, rather than win, they struggled.

Organizations, too, are pulling against competition in an ongoing contest for market share, resources, and talent. This constant tension is a tug-of-war with consumers and competitors. Each organizational function is a hand on the collective rope. Aligning the functions is not a mere philosophical abstraction; it is a dictate of mechanics and physics. Team members pull the rope at the operational level. When R&D, for example, pulls the rope North and production pulls the rope West, the organization falters.

Leaders are engaged in a constant tug-of-war, with not just one, but multiple ropes being pulled by multiple teams in multiple directions. As so many factors push and pull leaders’ attention and energy, it is focus—”What am I creating?”—that shapes the most effective decisions. Clarity of choice and decisions arise when you can definitively answer, “What am I creating?” as a person, as a leader, and as a team. This focus is your vision and your commitment to the future, and it illuminates a path of decisions, relationships, and behaviors that pave your unique path to success.

Image credit- berkut2011 / 123RF Stock Photo

Eric Kaufmann (1 Posts)Eric Kaufmann brings a unique mix of professional and personal experience to his work of developing executive wisdom and guiding leaders to better decisions and achievement of superior results. Kaufmann, who was born in Israel and lived and worked in South Africa for three years, has two decades of experience in sales and management at Lanier/3M and Corning Clinical Laboratories. In 1999, he began a new chapter of his professional life, launching a consulting business in which he works with individuals and teams in senior management of Fortune 1,000 companies, primarily in the life science and technology sectors. Along with his real-world business experience, Kaufmann brings a range of other skills and perspectives to his roles as executive coach, keynote speaker and management consultant. Kaufmann’s first book, “Leadership as a Hero’s Journey,” explores the four traits shared by successful, passionate and creative business leaders. The book describes how they navigate through uncertainty and anxiety in order to improve the lives and livelihoods of those around them, and is due out in early 2013. When working with CEOs and senior managers, Kaufmann assists them in clarifying their corporate goals and vision; assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their management team; and identifying and eliminating obstacles to collaboration, trust, and productivity. Ultimately, his contribution leads to better decision-making and greater team engagement, resulting in faster and stronger market penetration, improved profitability and employee retention.