I just finished the revised and expanded edition of “The Extraordinary Leader – Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders” by John Zenger & Joseph Folkman. I found it to be a very worthwhile read and enjoyed it very much. For once I’ve found a management book that really doesn’t push one leadership style or behavior over others. What they found is that there is a set of competencies that are important. However, strangely enough, no one competency is more important than any of the others. Additionally a great leader doesn’t have to be good at all of them. A good leader just has to be exceptional at a few in order to be considered great. This determination wasn’t come about through “gut feeling” or their experiences, but through a very large study.
There were a number of takeaways for me. The first is that sometimes an organization will attempt to force fit leaders into a mold. If you don’t lead a certain way, no matter how good of a leader you are, you won’t be successful there. That is really a shame. “Rigidly defined competencies also may have the unintended consequence of creating cookie-cutter people inside the organization. If the competency system was implemented, would everyone appear to be cut from the same mold? How, then, does the organization attract and retain the maverick who is so valuable in challenging the status quo? Are the wild ducks killed just after they hatch? The concern is that, over time, sameness creates a homogeneity that becomes mind-numbing, and the culture devolves into one of anti-innovation.”
One organization that was studied that allowed leaders to find their own strengths and not be forced into a mold is one that most people would not expect to exhibit those characteristics. That organization was the US Marine Corp. I was completely impressed by the ways that the Marines cultivate leadership throughout their organization. Leadership training is something that everyone receives and it is ongoing. This is not an 8 hour seminar or a one week class like the corporate world provides. “Rather than being rigid and insisting that everyone perform in a similar style or process, the Marines understand that there are many effective leadership patterns. The Marines have discovered that some of their leaders succeed because of their technical expertise. Others are powerful team builders. Still others excel in their organizational skills. Some are extraordinary in their ability to see the potential in people and their ability to bring it out. Rather than force-fit their leaders ino any one mold, those responsible for leadership development observe the natural strengths and encourage the leader to magnify that quality.”
Wow, has it been close to a month since I’ve posted something? As usual, the job search has been pretty consuming. I’ve done a lot of company and technology research, I’ve kept up my networking and my online job hunting, and I spent close to a week out of town, first for an interview and then to visit with some dear friends.
Do you have an old friend that no matter how long you’ve been apart, the second you see each other you pick right back up where you left off? My friend and I have known each other since we were 12. We’ve been best friends ever since. It doesn’t matter that we only see each other every 5+ years or so and that we haven’t lived in the same state in 17 years. We’ve had years (yes, plural) where we didn’t even talk on the phone and barely sent Christmas cards. Doesn’t matter. She’s the one person that no matter what happens she’ll be there if I need her, and vice versa.
The interesting thing is that we’re night and day, black and white, solar and lunar…. however you want to describe it – we’re opposites except for the really important things. That is part of the reason we get along so famously. When I talk to her, I always get a different perspective. Since we’ve had so much history we both can take that difference in perspective at face value and not read any ulterior motives into it. It is invaluable.
What I find to be really sad is when people with different perspectives square off at work. It seems to happen more so than not. It’s a matter of trust – or lack thereof. Both people are there in their own little worlds building walls around their ideas, shoring them up. Heaven forbid they listen to one another and figure out ways to incorporate diverse input.
This single mindedness can also occur in the hiring process. When was the last time you looked at someone’s different experience and instead of saying “they haven’t done exactly what we are doing so the learning curve will be too big” have you said “this person has a lot of experiences that are different yet complimentary to the rest of the team, they will provide a fresh perspective”? Seriously. One of the biggest traps that people fall into is hiring people that are just like themselves. Same ideals, same kind of experiences. Same blind spots. Just because someone hasn’t done exactly what you will need them to do doesn’t mean that they don’t have the facilities to do it. Heck, they might even do it *better* than someone else in your company because they have seen something in the past that either worked really well, or failed spectacularly.
Different isn’t bad. If you take advantage of it, it will make your team and your company stronger.
I love it. The New York Times article “In Praise of Dullness” talks about the skills needed to be a successful CEO. (thanks to the lead to this article from Bill Warner at http://www.paladinandassociates.com/)
They relied on detailed personality assessments of 316 C.E.O.’s and measured their companies’ performances. They found that strong people skills correlate loosely or not at all with being a good C.E.O. Traits like being a good listener, a good team builder, an enthusiastic colleague, a great communicator do not seem to be very important when it comes to leading successful companies.
What mattered, it turned out, were execution and organizational skills. The traits that correlated most powerfully with success were attention to detail, persistence, efficiency, analytic thoroughness and the ability to work long hours.
In other words, warm, flexible, team-oriented and empathetic people are less likely to thrive as C.E.O.’s. Organized, dogged, anal-retentive and slightly boring people are more likely to thrive.
These results are consistent with a lot of work that’s been done over the past few decades. In 2001, Jim Collins published a best-selling study called “Good to Great.” He found that the best C.E.O.’s were not the flamboyant visionaries. They were humble, self-effacing, diligent and resolute souls who found one thing they were really good at and did it over and over again.
That same year Murray Barrick, Michael Mount and Timothy Judge surveyed a century’s worth of research into business leadership. They, too, found that extroversion, agreeableness and openness to new experience did not correlate well with C.E.O. success. Instead, what mattered was emotional stability and, most of all, conscientiousness — which means being dependable, making plans and following through on them.
How can you tell if someone is going to fit into your team and become a productive member? It can be really hard to figure out without seeing the person working. Sports team typically have try-outs, or the coach will go out on scouting trips to see athletes in action. This helps to determine raw ability but it doesn’t help in figuring out if the person is a cultural match. We’ve all seen what happens when a prima donna star performer acts out. It can really blow the morale of the entire team.
Another thing that can blow morale is when a team member is added who just can’t keep up. Somehow you and your team made a bad decision to bring them onto the team. This isn’t good either. The team gets frustrated with the individual, even if they like him or her as a person. The individual can feel like they are being attacked. Recently we added a new team mate to our volleyball team. Unfortunately our captain didn’t spend enough time finding out the actual skill level of this person. It was bad. Basic technique was not there. She had no experience running the offense that we were playing. She was always standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because her skills were weak our captain would have her setup in places where she would do the least damage. This meant a lot of the time that she was out of position and the rest of the team wasn’t aware of what he was doing. People got downright angry. She also took balls away from people. Balls that were called (i.e. “mine”/ “I got it”). Balls that truly belonged to someone else by definition of the game. She did this to me a few times. One time I knocked her down because I didn’t see her step in front of me as I was running at full speed to set a ball. Someone was going to get hurt. Our captain needed to talk to her about the mismatch in skill level and the danger to her and to the team.
Luckily when you make a mistake like this at work, nobody will get injured – at least not physically. First step – make sure that your hiring process is rigorous and that you really screen people before you hire them. If it is possible to bring a person on as a temporary contractor or on probation – DO SO! Have a trial period to make sure that they will work out before you commit to them. Step two – make sure they have all the resources they need to do their job. If not, you are setting them up to fail. Step three – if after screening carefully and providing resources you find that the person cannot successfully do the job… do what is right for the team. Let the person go. This is also humane for the person who knows that they don’t fit in and aren’t able to keep up.
To me, teamwork means looking out for one another. It means taking up the slack when someone is falling behind. It means helping to make sure that everyone will make the deadline. It means compassion. It also means the drive to be successful.
I guess I have always felt that marriage is one of the greatest example of how good teamwork can really make a difference. One couple on our trip was a sterling example of this. They would switch a backpack between them while hiking to lighten the load. They would jovially help each other getting on their wetsuits. They would always look out for one another, making sure they had enough water for our treks, worrying about hats and sunscreen etc. It was really sweet to see. What made it even more remarkable was the fact that they had been married for 25 years and were still so caring. I ever heard any complaining or bickering aside for some very kind hearted joking. Team work at its absolute best. They accepted each others faults and compensated for them.
The other couple on the trip was the opposite. Holy cow. The first night at dinner when asked about the low lights and highlights of their trip so far, the husband said that his low light was his wife’s complaining. He said this to a bunch of strangers. What was he thinking? He also went on about how they were “sort of married” (I later found out for nearly 10 years) because she didn’t take his last name. How can that be “sort of”? What kind of statement was that? When she fell behind on the trail, he left her and didn’t even look back. When he was her snorkeling “buddy” he would swim off and let her fend for herself. She ended up spending most of the snorkeling time in the zodiak boat because she was afraid of the sharks in the water. They each packed their own packs and water for the day. There was no sharing or camaraderie. Later on during the trip he talked about how he “took her in” when she had problems with her apartment and she had nothing. It was as though she was a pet, not a partner. I guess he should have adopted a different puppy with the way things seemed to be going. He was also very controlling – he always had to tell her what to do. If she was late he yelled for her rather than doing what he could to help her. It was really embarrassing to watch.
I’ve seen this type of behavior at work too. There are people who are part of the same team who do everything they can to position themselves for success at the expense of everyone else. They point to others for blame. “It wasn’t my fault we didn’t make the milestone – my deliverable was ready on time.” They refuse to provide the aid that is necessary for the entire team to be successful. This is crap. A good team is like a good marriage. People are there for you when you need them, and you are there for them.
A really great team knows how to capitalize on the best skills of the people involved and how to compensate for their shortcomings. Through peer coaching and mentoring the team can provide a safe environment for junior members to learn and improve their skills.
Leading others has always been likened to herding cats. Individuals have their own free will and their own motivations. Getting an entire organization aligned and effectively executing requires constant attention. This is especially true in the weeks leading up to a critical milestone. Focus must be maintained. Distractions must be minimized. There is absolutely no reason to slip a milestone by a day or even a week. Those time frames are recoverable through proactive management. If you are going to slip, slip a month never slip a day.
This is the time where you have to keep an eye on exactly what is going on. You need to keep your trusted lieutenants even more accountable than usual. Normally, a weekly status meeting is sufficient for keeping on track. If you do that you’ll know well in advance if you have completely borked the estimated timeframe for the milestone and you will be able to adjust and remove unessential work to meet the milestone.
Once you get to within a few weeks of a major milestone it is time to start assessing risk. It also may be time to ramp up the frequency of those status checks. Ask the hard questions, look out for discrepancies or “squishy” information. When staff gives you hand wavy answers, ask for details. About two weeks out, ask your team what they think the major risks are for making the milestone. Listen carefully. Figure out if the problems are caused by anxiety or if they are real. Anxiety based issues can be resolved through empathy. Real problems need recovery plans. Herd those cats!
The next step is to get a final commitment from your team to meet the milestone. Ask them if they think the milestone is possible. Have them listen to their intuition. If the leaders are committed and the milestone is achievable (I didn’t say easy), their staff will work as hard as possible to make it happen. Everyone wants to be successful.
About a week before the deadline, shift to daily status. Right now you need to run fast. Meetings need to be quick – if everything is on track – get everyone back to work pronto. If something is falling off track, this is the time to rally the troops to figure out how to punt the issue or get it resolved as soon as possible. Give your staff the chance to make that determination and let them come up with the solutions. They are closest to the issue.
A week or so before the milestone make sure that everyone on staff knows what they need to do. They need to know exactly what they need to finish. They need to know the processes to follow in the end game. This information can be passed on through your leadership team, or directly through you to motivate the team. This information has to been disseminated. People need clear goals – targets to shoot for.
Recently there was an article on Wall Street Journal online in which the author blasts the yearly performance review as a completely useless exercise. Get Rid of the Performance Review! I apologize if this link is for subscribers only.
I have to admit there are a few points in this article that I find compelling. Yes, if you’ve got a bad corporate culture reviews can kill morale and teamwork. Yes, reviews are subjective and can change dramatically depending on your manager. Yes employees think that their raises are tied to their reviews. (although this is rarely true in practice!)
However, I vehemently disagree that performance reviews should be killed altogether. I see the review as a way to capture the essence of all of the good things that happened over the year. I don’t care who you are or what you do, there are things that you did well in your job and your manager should recognize them. I am tickled pink every time one of my employees reads their review and finds something positive in there and tells me “I didn’t think that you even knew about/remembered that – I forgot about it myself”.
I also believe that the review is meant to provide constructive feedback. This is not sharp criticism, but examples of things that could be improved and the encouragement to change.
Maybe I am fortunate. I have only had two instances in my management career where reviews that I have given have greatly upset the receiver. In both cases the reviews were a surprise. One, because I inherited the person shortly before the review period and I gave the review based on the previous manager’s feedback and 360 peer feedback. The other because I failed as a manager and didn’t give any negative feedback prior to the review. Both were unfortunate. I learned a lot from this.
Reviews should never be a surprise.
This sounds stupidly obvious, but it is not to a lot of managers. If you aren’t communicating and connecting with your employees throughout the year you are bound to surprise them. Rarely is the surprise a “good” one. If you hide from delivering feedback your employee will NOT know that there is a problem. You need to make sure that everyone gets that chance to modify their behavior. This needs to be done as soon as possible. Don’t wait – the feedback should be fresh – within a day or so (sometimes you need to give yourself time to cool off to be constructive). The feedback also should be specific – this is not the time to be vague. Even waiting a week is too long, you will lose that specificity. Putting the feedback down on paper after months have passed is terrible. This makes the infraction is a concrete permanent failing. Working through issues on a day to day basis is a lot more forgiving. The best constructive feedback in a written review is one that details an issue, talks about what already has been done to address it, and suggests additional actions to take.
Hi -I'm Linda Bonanno and my blog is all about business leadership and management. Occasionally I'll give you a little insight into my personal world as well. Hopefully you don't mind the diversions.
I found it to be a very worthwhile read and enjoyed it very much. For once I’ve found a management book that really doesn’t push one leadership style or behavior over others. What they found is that there is a set of competencies that are important. However, strangely enough, no one competency is more important than any of the others. Additionally a great leader doesn’t have to be good at all of them. A good leader just has to be exceptional at a few in order to be considered great. This determination wasn’t come about through “gut feeling” or their experiences, but through a very large study.
