What Should You Talk About With A Leader?

What should you talk about with a Leader?

When you think about the question, "What should I talk about with my leader?", how do you plan the time you've arranged with them? Do you talk about stuff they already know? Do you provide them with information about what they don't know? Do you ask them to fill in information gaps?

Is Leadership Genetic?

In the Linked In, Leadership Think Tank, group several questions were asked about whether or not leadership is an inborn, innate, or genetic trait.  Or, if leadership could be learned.

Using the definition of Leadership, "Guiding Intent with Integrity", and Behavior Theory, I will answer your questions.

- How can we determine that someone has inborn leadership traits? Leadership is not an inborn trait. Leadership is a learned behavior. Some people are able to express the behaviors intuitively at an early age, which is what makes it appear that leadership is inborn.

- At what age we can see inborn leadership traits: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25...? Leadership can be expressed at any age. The place that you will see it initially expressed is in the sand box. Watch how children group and who is leading the activity and watch the ripple effect.

- Are those who have inborn leadership traits superior from those who do not have inborn leadership traits? Superiority is an ego issue. While our society prefers charismatic leaders to introverted leaders, individuals who express leadership traits early one and are unaware of how this can become a drug for them, will feel superior to others. This problem can be exacerbated when individuals misunderstand leadership with supervisory roles. The power to manipulate and control people to do what you will, vs guiding people toward a larger goal.

- Is gaining leadership inborn traits genetic or accidentally? Leadership behaviors are not genetic, they are learned. Learning how to guide people either intuitively or through formal training. Integrity is the product of the social contract that leaders have with their followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers. As leaders maintain this contract with their followers, they will gain further influence.

- Can we easily distinguish leaders in practice: Those who have inborn leadership traits from those without them? Leaders who started early vs leaders who needed a master degree to become leaders should be indistinguishable, if both have mastered the process of leadership. This is the same with individuals who are born enlightened vs those who achieved enlightenment through many decades of sitting on a matt and cushion. However, the distinguishing features will be the skill level to which the leader can express their guidance.

- Are all individuals who have inborn leadership traits become leaders? If not, why? While leadership is a learned behavior, some children can be burned early on and while having the intuitive knowledge about leadership choose not to use it. This emotional response is seen in children that are attacked by dogs. From that point forward they will avoid dogs until the trauma is resolved.

Bad Leaders Fail 75% of the time

One of the points I made earlier in this conversation was the Bad Leaders make bad choices 75% of the time. Two (2) of those choices are not building coalitions and not looking at how the change will playout like a stage play. Leaders that neglect to build alliances in various the groups - peers, followers, non-followers, outsiders and observers - make the of becoming the issue, instead of leading the change. Organizational members can then ignore the need for change by getting rid of the leader that represents the issue. However, if there are several people trumpeting the same message for change, it is harder to marginalize and get rid of them. The message is usually about what change is needed to the organizational structure in order to accommodate the new world order being brought about by other elements and forces outside the organization. An organization that does not adapt to these changes will eventually die out. However, leaders face a tougher challenge when changing organizational elements because people like certainty. They know where their next meal is coming from now. If you change the rules, they don't know if they will get fed. Change can also affect many other aspects of the organizations psychie, but that discussion is too broad to cover in one paragraph. To summarize, an organization has a history, culture, rituals, pride, and many other facets that need to be accounted for in order to instigate change. If a leader neglects any portion of this, they may be unwittingly building a coalition against them. To understand this last point, leaders need to look at the change process as a play being produced. There is the author who wrote a message into the story, the actors portraying characters in the story, there is the director who is adding and deleting scenes to help focus a message in the story, and then there is the audience who is watching the play. Add scenery, lighting and music to spice up the drama, and you have a play. A leader that can step into all these roles as well as step out and watch how all these roles affect each other, can more accurately tailor their corrective actions. Stories are adapted all the time to summarize longer stories. For example, ReBoot ends with a rendition of "I'm a modern major general".

How do you overcome doubt?

How do you overcome doubt?

While the phrase, "Think Positive" comes to mind, it doesn't convey the right meaning of what I would prefer you to focus on. Yes, the Republican's are about smaller government, apparently limited if not incapable of doing anything government, it will eventually back fire on them. No, instead, what I would prefer that you think about is a future where issues are raised, addressed, and dealt with in a positive context.

  If you ever get the chance, watch the first episode of, "How to get away with murder". There they show how court room debates work. Bury the Evidence, Discredit the Witnesses, Provide an Alternative Killer, and finally ... Leave the Jury with an OVERWHELMING Sense of DOUBT.

  DOUBT leaves you dead locked in 2 fears. Damn'd if I do. Damn'd if I don't. What doubt takes away from you, is your ability to see a positive future outcome. A point where the issue can be addressed and resolved.

The Truth About Leadership - Part 8

Challenge is the Crucible of Greatness

Leaders are no stranger to challenges – all you have to do is reflect on leaders through history. When people think of business leaders they admire, they think about people who have turned around failing companies, started entrepreneurial venture, developed breakthrough products and services or transformed industries. You don’t have to study historical leaders to learn this lesson. [..] What immediately struck us was that people always chose situations in which they were challenged in very significant ways. […] They are all about challenge and change. (pgs 91 - 93)

Buddha is quoted as saying, “The only constant is change”.

The change formula, discovered by Richard Beckhard and David Gleicher, is D x V x F > R.

Three factors must be present for meaningful organizational change to take place. These factors are:

D = Dissatisfaction with how things are now;

V = Vision of what is possible;

F = First, concrete steps that can be taken towards the vision;

If the product of these three factors is greater than

R = Resistance,

then change is possible. Because D, V, and F are multiplied, if any one is absent or low, then the product will be low and therefore not capable of overcoming the resistance.

To ensure a successful change it is necessary to use influence and strategic thinking in order to create vision and identify those crucial, early steps towards it. In addition, the organization must recognize and accept the dissatisfaction that exists by communicating industry trends, leadership ideas, best practice and competitive analysis to identify the necessity for change.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_for_Change)

Change is not so much about a personal challenge as it is a dissatisfaction with the status quo. But in order to change, one has to over come the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, by building an imagined future that is better than the present. In this instance the challenge is convincing others that change is needed, or showing them a path through change that improves their lives.

Another version of challenge illustrated through wars is where one group oppresses another group, and others come to their aid. “People of good conscious do not sit idly by while others are hurt and oppressed”, or phrased differently, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke).

These challenges point to the same problem though, the “Human Condition.” The human condition concerns the plurality of culture and personal values, the standards of evaluation, the satisfaction of basic needs, the maintenance of cultural identity, and reasonable conceptions of well being, and when values and evaluation conflict in particular situation, as they often do, the reasonable course of action is to opt for one that are more important for our well-being in that situation at that time. Although reasonable conflict resolutions vary with situation, there is usually one that is objectively the best and most reasonable in any particular situation. “The Human Condition”, by John Kekes, ISBN 978-0-19-958888-6 (Location 3223).

The authors claim that “Leadership and challenge are inseparable” (pg 94). The human condition suggests that this is technically correct. When culture, personal values, and the concept of well being collide, these pose a challenge. The change formula suggests when these elements force change to occur. The resistance to change must be overcome by a dissatisfaction with how things are now, a vision of what is possible, and an ability to take the first, concrete step, towards the vision.

“Challenges cause you to come face to face with your self.” (page 94) While this is true, based on the reflections of the human condition, another assertion is false. “Leaders seize the opportunities that hide inside adversities. Leaders see open doors while others see brick walls. They take the initiative to move things forward.” This assertion is false, as it states that leaders and non-leaders are distinguishable only by their ability to take steps forward. The definition of leadership doesn’t support this supposition, nor does the change formula. More importantly, individuals who cannot see a step how to take an actionable step forward may not be leaders, but may be limited by imagination, ability to act, stamina, confidence, courage, or another other number of psychological conditions that afflict humans.

“Finally, engage in some positive self-talk. Acknowledge the challenges and difficulties, but then tell yourself, and others, that these challenges can be overcome with hard work and determination.” (page 101). This comment is laughable in the face of the change formula. First is diverts from the vision, by saying, “Well get there if we just keep drudging along!” Yes, that’s what everyone wants to hear, “There is a better future out there, if we just keep working harder.” What happened to, “Work smarter, not harder”? Secondly a leader guides intent. Therefore the thoughts and phrases a leader holds concern the vision, the future, and the goal. How are we going to get there, and how it will be better once we’ve arrived. A positive future is one to strive for. This is supported by “The 48 Law of Power”, chapter 13, “When asking for help appeal to people’s self-interest, never their mercy or their gratitude”.

“Failing is learning” (page 102). Buddhist learned a long time ago, that in order to be come a master, one had to try. And, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try try again”. With practice comes experience. With experience comes mastery. The master knows almost every intimate detail of the subject they studied. As a leader, if your goal is to achieve your vision, then by accepting that fact that with each attempt to achieve your vision you may fail, and you’ll learn something new. “When you are experimenting with new ideas and trying out new methods and techniques, you have to accept failure as part of the process. And when mistakes and failures happen, you have to ask, ‘What can be learned from this experience?’” (page 103)

Leaders Represent Followers to Non-Followers and Observers

One of the problems in leadership is the ability to represent their followers without being marginalized. In a corporate environment, this would look like, a leader representing his group as he reports to his superior. If the leader looses focus of the issues be dealt with - either through distraction, promotion, scope creep, or seduction - then the leaders ability to move both his superior and his followers lessons. Until the leader has no power what so ever because he is considered incapable by both his superior and his followers.

In essence, the leader has to remain independent of the issues in order to achieve the goals. And, the leader has to ask the followers the hard question, "What do WE need to change in order for us to get what we need?"

The problem is that the followers want everyone else to change, so that they can avoid the hardship of change. This however is unrealistic. In every piece of facilitation I perform, there is a point where the group has to acknowledge that: - they want something new, - they are getting something through their actions, and - they have to give up something to get what they want

Yes there is the emotional attachment to the familiar, but change requires leaders to think about new and creative ways to help people move from their current behavioral mind set to a new mindset, through a series of easy to follow steps.

For example, Steve Jobs held a belief that technology should help people do their work as a natural extension to their existing life. The iPhone was a natural extension to merging the Phone, PDA, iPod, Camera, and many other devices. Google Glass unfortunately was not a natural extension of a daily activity, and in fact got in the way of many people's ability to carry out their daily lives. However, while Google Glass may not have practical applications for the sited, it may hold many benefits for the blind.

This is how the issue remains center stage, while the leader represents the group of followers to the non-followers and observers to insure that their voice is heard, while holding the delicate balance of not becoming the issue.