Leadership

Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

rodmartin — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:01:05 +0000

Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership rodmartin Wed, 09/21/2022 - 20:01

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

At a glance, "Leadership" seems to be a vast and complex topic. Its been the foundation of thousands of studies, hundreds of thousands of articles and more than a few hours in classrooms from MBA's to Seminaries. Opinions on what leadership is, how to exercise it and how to "fix" it abound.

I recently finished reading "My Share of the Task: A Memoir" by General Stanely McChrystal (link to book at the bottom of this post). Towards the end of the book, he summarized the lessons on leadership he had learned from his years in the military - most recently as the commander of all allied forces in Afghanistan.

This isn't a "political" post - I'm not commenting on the on-going war, the military, the US involvement over there... this is a post on his comments regarding leadership - a topic I have studied for almost 30 years.

In his words:

"Leadership" was the single biggest reason organizations succeeded or failed. It dwarfed numbers, technology, ideology, and historical forces in determining the outcome of events. Take the best battalion and the worst. "Switch just two people - the battalion commander and command sergeant major from the best battalion with those of the worst, and within ninety days the relative effectiveness of the battalions will have switched as well".

(I would provide page numbers, but e-readers make that seemingly impossible).

I spent the final year of my Masters program as the TA for Dr. Howard Hendricks. One of his favorite sayings was "Everything rises and falls on leadership." He was right.

Leadership is the art of influencing others. Here are the main thoughts from General McChrystal's book:

Leaders take us where we'd otherwise not go.
Leaders can call to the best in us.
Leaders are empathetic.
Leaders are not necessarily popular.
The best leaders are genuine.
Leaders can be found at any rank and at any age.
Physical appearance, poise, outward self-confidence can be confused with leadership - for a time.
Leaders walk a fine line between self-confidence and humility.
People are born; leaders are made.
Leaders are people, and people constantly change.
Leaders make mistakes and the higher the leader, the most costly they usually are.
There are few secrets to leadership - more than anything it requires self-discipline.
In the end, leadership is a choice.

Really great read.

(Link to the book on Amazon - not an affiliate link)

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Leadership is Influence. Period.

Rod — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 15:34:41 +0000

Leadership is Influence. Period. Rod Tue, 02/01/2022 - 10:34

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Leadership

In 1989, I attended a Pastor's conference at Muskoka Baptist Conference, two hours north of Toronto, ON. At the time, I was an Associate Pastor in a church in Toronto.

The speaker was the pastor of a growing church in La Mesa, CA. I'd never heard of him but I remember one of the first things he said.

Leadership is Influence. Period.

If you've read much in the area of leadership, you know who the speaker was... John Maxwell. This is his cornerstone definition of leadership and its the first chapter in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (10th Anniversary Edition).

General Stanley McChrystal starts there as well.

Leadership is the art of influencing others. It differs from giving a simple order or managing in that it shapes the longer-term attitudes and behavior of individuals and groups. Effective leaders stir an intangible but very real desire inside people. That drive can be reflected in extraordinary courage, selfless sacrifice and commitment.

They are, of course, both correct. Leadership at its core is influence.

This is no where more true than in a volunteer organization. Positional leadership just doesn't work because there's very little leverage a "leader" can exert over a volunteer. So it has to go deeper.

I saw this first hand in London Ontario where we grew a children's day camp from under 100 kids over two weeks, to almost 700 over two weeks in 5 years. What's more amazing, is that almost everyone of the over 100 people "working" at the day camp were volunteers. How did we achieve such amazing growth over a few short years?

We believed in the "why". Everyone knew the vision statement and how it impacted the camp. We were committed to seeing it grow and be "amazing" for the kids - every day.
We had an amazing "product". We really stretched the boundaries of what everyone else was doing at the time. We added climbing walls, a BMX course, tons of games and fun. It was an amazing 2 weeks!
We celebrated the volunteers in a variety of ways. We did "Counselor of the Day" awards, public recognition of contributions of time, energy and materials, planned well in advance and communicated a LOT.

There's lots more to this story - but the crux of it is this: Over 100 people volunteered for 2 weeks - some even taking vacation time to help.
That's influence. That's Leadership.

One last thought from John Maxwell: "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk."

Pretty much sums it up.

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Lessons in Leadership - Dearborn County (Indiana) Chamber Event

Rod — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 16:42:20 +0000

Lessons in Leadership - Dearborn County (Indiana) Chamber Event Rod Fri, 03/15/2019 - 12:42

Friday, March 15, 2019

Leadership

I’m at the spring “Get Energized” event for the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce (that’s Indiana... not Michigan). It could be entitled “Lessons in Leadership”.

The speaker is retired Proctor & Gamble executive Paul Fox. Paul was the Director of Corporate Communications and VP of Strategic Innovations at P&G. He has been recognized as a worldwide leader in public relations, is deeply involved in various Cincinnati leadership programs, maintains a consulting firm, serves on boards throughout the country and teaches at Xavier, Northern Kentucky and the University of Oxford in his native England.

Interestingly, he introduced his talk by commenting on choices. Luck has very little to do with the successes (or failures) we enjoy. Gary Player once quipped, “The more I practice, the luckier I get” in response to a fan who commented how “lucky” he was to make 3 bunker shots in a row.

Great Reminders...

It’s the people you meet and those who impact you help you create success.
Never be afraid to make mistakes - we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. (But fail quickly and fail cheap LOL)
Sometimes you have to work really hard to find the people who will say ’yes’ instead of ‘no’. New opportunities, new discoveries come from people who say yes.
NEVER give up. (Paul Fox is British - he tells the “Tide” story like Winston Churchill)
Sometimes being a leader means that no-one follows you... the lonliness of leadership can sometimes feel like a prison.
Most entrepreneurs aren’t recent grads - many are in their 40’s and 50’s!
This century will see the most dramatic change ever.
- 3 billion people in the middle class
- not understanding the changes and implications are some of the greatest risks we face in business.
- you can’t afford to lose touch with the consumer you‘re serving. (Ie. Gillette still had the best blade, but consumers wanted more - the experience beyond the bathroom sink - and Gillette failed to act. - Think Dolalr Shave Club and Harry’s)
Stategy is great - but the only strategy anyone ever sees is execution.
Don’t forget the journalistic questions!! Who, what, when, where, how and why. The “gang-leader” question - WHY. Why gives us insights and that determines everything.

Why... changes everything - Insights that uncover treasures that change lives.

I LOVE how he finished his talk - Winston Churchill!

Understood the power of words
A great sense of humor
”There are only two things more difficult than making a speech - climbing a wall that is leaning towards you and kissing a girl that is leaning away from you”.

This was a terrific event! Great to see many of Dearborn County’s businesses represented!

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Are You A Nice Person

Rod — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 17:40:25 +0000

Are You A Nice Person Rod Tue, 12/12/2017 - 12:40

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Leadership

Years ago I purchased a tiny book called "Swanson's Written Rules of Management". I came across it this week while I was re-arranging some bookshelves. Bill Swanson was the CEO of Raytheon when he compliled the book. Rule #32 is one of my favorites.

A person who is nice to you
but rude to the waiter - or to others
is not a nice person.

This rule - also known as the "waiter rule" - never fails.

In his book, Swanson writes:

Watch out for people who have situational value systems - who can turn the charm on and off depending on the status of the person they are interacting with.

So true! I've sat in restaurants with people like this. It's awkward and revealing.

So... are you a nice person?

Remember - not every day can be remarkable, but you can make a remarkable difference in someone's life - every day.

(sidenote: While Swanson later admitted to plagurizing much of the book unfortunately, it doesn't change the value of the rules).

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Company Culture - Easy to Talk About - Hard to Do

Rod — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 17:39:19 +0000

Company Culture - Easy to Talk About - Hard to Do Rod Tue, 11/14/2017 - 12:39

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Leadership

When you read about new companies, especially in the startup space, one of the topics you’ll see over and over again is this idea of “culture”. To be sure, it’s an important topic and can be a true distinction (think Uber vs. Lyft).

Two Inc. magazine articles came through my feed this morning and a mashup of the two topics they addressed seems appropriate.

The 1 Company Culture Rule 99% of People Are Afraid to Follow but Should addresses the idea of the importance of creating a company where employees feel like they are part of a team.

“... we're past the novelties. What people want out of their 40-hour work weeks goes so much deeper than "keg Fridays" and late-start Wednesdays.

What employees want is to be part of a team.

There are a handful of words that have been abused by today's startup world. I'd argue "team" is one of them.

’Let's build an incredible team. We want people who want to be part of a game-changing team. You have to be a team player.’

Unfortunately, most people don't know the first thing about building a team--in the sense that all parties truly want to represent the company they work for.”

Here’s the spoiler from the article (in case you don’t want to read the whole thing...): People want to know that their involvement matters.

“Too often, employees are given too little credit. Especially young employees. Their lack of experience is seen as a setback instead of an opportunity.

But by treating them as "just another cog in the machine," they begin to internalize those feelings--and next thing you know, you've got another "team" of lackluster players.

The same happens in sports, and in music. If the coach or conductor treats its players as objects who are there to simply perform a task, then that's the culture you create.

But it's the coaches and conductors that empower each member to know their value, and to nurture that value over time, that ends up building an unrivaled culture.

People want more out of life than just a paycheck.

And in this massive culture transition, it's going to be the companies that understand how to treat each and every employee as a person worth nurturing that will ultimately become the most successful.”

I think the author (Nicholas Cole) has a great insight here. Much of today’s workforce is mobile. They’ll work a number of jobs and even change careers entirely more than once. A ping pong table in the break room and playing mini-golf in the office on Friday afternoon can be great stress relievers, but they don’t address the deeper Issue of meaning and involvement. This is even more true for remote workers who can’t participate in the in-office fun.

Five thoughts on building a genuine team culture

The other article that I read this morning is by Joshua Spodek - 6 Lessons I Learned Teaching Leadership With a 4-Star General at West Point. This is an article I’d encourage you to read and think about. These five thoughts were inspired by the article and the lessons in leadership from General Lloyd Austin.

1. Be Intentional

Company culture happens whether you plan for it and shape it or not. If you’re scheduling your “culture” meetings for 6-12 months from now, you’re just too late.

2. Be Prepared

Doing anything well requires preparation and there’s no substitute for it (Read the article)...

3. Be a Servant

If you’ve read my blog at all, you know this is something I really believe. Leadership is servanthood. I like how General Austin approaches this.

By "them," I mean the people you're serving. General Austin began each meeting with the others, inviting them to share their identities and stories. He engaged them on what they cared about.

Some of the people we met were Colonels and faculty he'd long known, but some were Cadet Candidates--basically high school students. Whatever their rank, he treated them like human beings.

I can only imagine what it feels like as a Cadet to meet the nation's 200th 4-star General and for him to take an interest in you. I have a feeling they'll remember it. I have a feeling they'll perform better for it.

4. Be a Listener

Yes, you’re the boss. Yes, you’re experienced. Yes, we should know our place. Except, that’s just a recipe for the wrong culture! Building a great team means that everyone should feel they can contribute. Certainly, not every opinion is informed; not every idea is actionable. However, when people who are lower on the hierarchy have no voice, they’ll soon see their contributions to be unimportant.

If a 4 star general can listen and genuinely engage with high school students, I’m pretty sure you have the time to do it as well. And speaking of “engagement”...

5. Be Engaged

Earlier in my career I asked to weigh in on what the culture should look like for the company I was working for at the time. I put together some detailed thoughts and sent them over. And then... silence. I tried several times to engage with the person on the topic. I was ignored (literally). I didn’t think my suggestions were all that radical... they were pretty well accepted principles. If Cole is right in his hypothesis, then this is exactly the opposite of team building and positive culture shifting. Nothing says “you don’t matter” like being ignored.

Creating a company culture isn’t something you do over a week long off-site. It isn’t something that you write up in a document, put in a binder and require everyone to read once a year. It’s the day to day, consistently applied set of principles that reflects your deeply held company convictions.

People want to know their involvement matters.

Leaders Take us Where We'd Otherwise Not Go

Rod — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 15:26:54 +0000

Leaders Take us Where We'd Otherwise Not Go Rod Fri, 01/06/2017 - 10:26

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Leadership

Leaders influence people at every level. Some lead thousands or even millions, others lead one or two. The success of their leadership isn't found in the number of people in their "chain of command", but how they influence those for whom they are responsible.

When I first wrote this post, my then 24 year old daughter was a fire-fighter and EMT. She's still new at the job, and is also attending school full-time in the medic program at University of Cincinnati. To say she's an adrenaline junkie would be pretty accurate! She runs half-marathons, has studied jiu-jitsu (and almost killed me in a choke hold in the process), rides a Repsol motorcycle and runs **into** fires instead of away from them.

With interests like those, she's obviously in amazing condition. What's really interesting to me is that she's motivating (read leading) the mostly volunteer firefighters around her to be more fit. One in particular has lost over 100 pounds since joining the workout routines she has set up. Both men and women, all of them older than she, are responding to her leadership in fitness.

Leaders take us where we'd otherwise not go.

Think about an experience in your own life where someone motivated you to go in a different, perhaps more difficult, direction in your life. Are you better for it? Probably.

One of my favorite movies of all time is Groundhog Day. Bill Murray's character re-lives one day, over and over until he gets it right. In the process of realizing the futility of the direction he was heading in his life, day after day passes until he breaks, and a truly good person emerges.

That's what leaders who exhibit this characteristic do. They take us where we'd never go on our own. Sometimes into danger. Sometimes to new heights of influence.

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Leaders Are Servants

Rod — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 16:25:28 +0000

Leaders Are Servants Rod Mon, 09/21/2015 - 12:25

Monday, September 21, 2015

Leadership

I had the privilege of delivering the morning keynote at JoomlaDay Chicago this past weekend. I presented the State of the Joomla! Union talk, similar to the one in Sydney last November.

http://www.slideshare.net/imrodmartin/joomla-day-chicago-2015-state-of-the-joomla-union

During the introduction the organizer (who did a great job), mentioned that it was great to have a few people from the "upper echelons" of the project with them today, and that I was one of them. I have served as the Vice President of Open Source Matters for the past 17 months - my term expipres in October. OSM is the board that oversees the financial, legal and trademark issues for the Joomla! project.

I let it slide as I took the podium, but I tried to deflect that thought later in my talk, and I thought about it on the way home. We all have a tendancy to look at "leadership" as the upper "something". The leadership of the Joomla! project are all volunteers and many give a LOT of hours each week to it. But when any leader begins to think of themselves as "upper echelon", that's exactly when trouble beings.

Leaders are servants. Period.

Simon Sinek says, "Leadership is not a rank or a position. Leadership is a service to be given." I like that. I would add it's not a right, just because you hold a position. Leadership is a responsibility.

The self-entitlement, arroagance and moral collapse we've seen throughout history, and especially recent history, in the ranks of "leadership" is at least in some part due to people forgetting this principle (imo). I mentioned it in my talk - the job of the new board in the project is to encourage and recognize volunteer achievement while promoting accountability and responsibility, provide a solid vision for the future and remove the roadblocks that keep them from meeting their goals within the project. In that regard, they are servants. Servants of the project; servants of the volunteers; servants of a bigger vision.

If we get THAT right, the Joomla! project will be in good hands.

Leaders Call to the Best of Us

Rod — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:25:30 +0000

Leaders Call to the Best of Us Rod Thu, 02/19/2015 - 10:25

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Leadership

When the stakes are high, great leaders can rally people to a cause with just a few words. On October 29, 1941 Winston Churchill spoke to the boys at Harrow School. "Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

When the stakes are high, great leaders can rally people to a cause with just a few words.

On October 29, 1941 Winston Churchill spoke to the boys at Harrow School. "Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." (The Complete Speeches of Winston S. Churchill, edited by Robert Rhodes James NY:Bowker and London:Chelsea House 1974).

When General Anthony McAuliffe received the German ultimatum to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, he replied "Nuts!" This one word response inspired the 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne, Belgium to hang on during one of the most difficult battles of the war.

We've all been inspired at some point in our lives to go above and beyond. To really push to get something done. Most often, its because someone asked or inspired us to do so. Great leaders can do that. It may have been just a glance, or a few words, or a moment in time where they stood above the rest, but they brought out your best. And you loved it.

Some thoughts on calling to the best in others.

Set the example
Have a worthy goal
Give them the best tools you can
Don't micromanage
Praise them for the victory!

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Leadership

Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

Leadership is Influence. Period.

Lessons in Leadership - Dearborn County (Indiana) Chamber Event

Great Reminders...

Why... changes everything - Insights that uncover treasures that change lives.

Are You A Nice Person

A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter - or to others is not a nice person.

Company Culture - Easy to Talk About - Hard to Do

Five thoughts on building a genuine team culture

Leaders Take us Where We'd Otherwise Not Go

Leaders Are Servants

Leaders are servants. Period.

Leaders Call to the Best of Us

Some thoughts on calling to the best in others.

A person who is nice to you
but rude to the waiter - or to others
is not a nice person.