Tag Archives: leadership

managers, rulers, and leaders

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there are three management types in the world (there are way more than three; i admit i’m over-simplifying): managers, rulers, and leaders.

managers have a task to complete. they create the work plan, hold people accountable for their individual parts, and don’t care what it takes to reach their end goal. canceling vacation? it’s necessary sometimes. constant status meetings? you need to know what work is or isn’t getting done. telling people to work overtime? someone has to get the job done. managers aren’t always well liked—although they sometimes can be—because it’s all about business to them. it’s hitting the next milestone, it’s keeping costs in check, it’s all about the earned value.

rulers have a sense of self-importance. they don’t create the work plans (they have someone do that for them), they don’t hold people accountable for their parts (they have someone do that for them), but they do love to inject their ways of doing things onto everyone else. they choose the processes, they plug people in where they decide where they should go, and they demand full and total obedience. don’t think, just follow. with rulers, it’s not even about business to them; it’s about self-serving and power grabbing. it’s all about strengthening their position.

leaders have a feeling of duty and accountability to their people. they don’t create the work plans, but they build the vision. they’re more concerned with maximizing potential than holding people accountable (because they realize an underperformer is trying to tell them something’s wrong). they identify the roadblocks to success and they find methods around them or through sheer force alone break down those walls to allow their people to do the work they need to and want to accomplish. leaders are almost always well-liked because it’s about the social aspect to them. they serve their people, and the people take care of the business.

which type do you prefer to work for? more important question: which type are you growing into?

“we’re all in this together”

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that’s a great line for a cheerleader. but not a real leader.

real leaders have unwavering faith in their organization’s ability to pull through and succeed even in difficult times. but real leaders also never lose sight of the hard facts. they understand when priorities need to shift and when people need to change and when their organization needs to reinvent itself.

they understand that when you’re all in it together, if you’re not heading down the right path, you all end up in the wrong place together.

before you play to win, it’s best to understand the kind of game you’re playing.

the sound of your own voice

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it’s easy to find yourself in a crowd of tens of thousands of people and believe that you can’t make a difference. in fact, that’s exactly what the most powerful people in that crowd want you to believe. and on some level they’re right. better not focus on having an immediate impact on the masses because you’ll surely falter.

the way to make change happen is to trust yourself. hold strong to your opinions and your ideas. share them. lead your own tribe.

and whatever you do, don’t be afraid of the sound of your own voice.

true competition

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it’s easy to look at other organizations that are doing things differently, bucking the trends, and challenging the status quo with their people strategy and say, “i’m not concerned about what they’re doing; they’re not our direct competitor.”

the problem with this line of thinking is that while they may not be in the same marketplace as you, both of your organizations are fighting for the same talent pool. that innovative company you dismiss as not being a competitor needs mathematicians, statisticians, business analysts, computer programmers, data architects (i could keep going…) the same way your organization does.

if they’re trying new and different things and having success in the process while you’re still defending the same management practices from 20 years ago, it’s time for you to start taking notice.

“they’re not our direct competitor.”

think again.

you do not solve people problems by solving business problems

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business problems certainly have an impact on people problems. revenues falling? market uncertainty? it will have an affect on morale and behavior, that’s for sure. but fixing your business problems does not imply that the people side is automatically solved as well. you solve people problems by focusing on the people and their concerns. you engage with them, have conversations, understand what drives them, learn what scares them.

and after all that hard work is done—after you do the kind of work that truly matters as a leader—perhaps then you’ll actually start seeing the business problems start to work themselves out.

hint: they’re not working themselves out. it’s actually your people solving the business problems when you take care of them and get out of their way.

that’s not a conversation

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“i have this idea that i think might work.”
“oh, that’ll never work. [insert reason why].”

that’s not a conversation.

in fact, that’s the direct opposite of a conversation. that’s stomping on a dream.

instead of listing all the reasons why you’re different from your competitors, or how your organization’s goals are unique and special, or trying to explain to someone how it didn’t work for you before when you tried it with some other clients, or just giving people grief because you get nothing but grief and want to share your misery—try having a conversation instead.

ask the person how they think it will work. ask what kinds of strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) they see. gauge their passion for what they’re talking about. find ways to feed that passion. discuss alternatives. ask questions to narrow down larger topics into the most basic and most important element. then—after all that is done—perhaps your reason why it won’t work will still be a good one, but you should at least have the conversation.

and maybe if you have an idea it’s just your job to ignore everybody and do it anyway. or at least start looking for people who share the same crazy ideas as you.

everyone is motivated to do something

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what i think is one of the worst preconceptions about business and management is that workers need to be motivated. this notion that the workforce is this entity that needs to be incentivized into doing something.

i believe that everyone is motivated by something. i’d say that most accountants have a natural love of working with numbers. i’m sure that stock brokers get a special kind of high out of making the deal that nets their clients big returns. and i’m sure that if you spent even just a little time with three of my colleagues as they talked about solving linear programs and differential equations you’d be amazed at how much they can geek out over it. but when was the last time, as a manager or leader, that you had a discussion with your employees to find out what drives them?

some of you might answer–if you’re being honest with yourself –”the job interview”. how long ago was that? people change over time, and so you must be willing to spend the time to really watch and track how your people are changing and the kinds of people they’re changing into. you might have someone with a modeling and simulation background whom either suddenly or even gradually falls in love with data visualization. you might have a history teacher whom has a new-found love of english literature. but you’ll never know any of this unless you take the time to know your people.

do you have carrots (bonus structures, awards systems) or sticks (hard deadlines, performance reviews) in place because they actually work? or is it just because it makes your job simpler?

everyone is motivated to do something.

find out what that is. then have them do that.

don’t give them an excuse

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bill mccreary image from nhl.com

some nights in hockey — especially if your team has a reputation — referees will blow the whistle a little more than usual. it just happens that other games are merely called tight with little room to interpret the rules. whatever the cause, you never want to have your players cutting ruts to the penalty box.

on the bench during those kinds of games, there’s a common saying that gets passed around among coaches and players: “don’t give them an excuse to put you in the box.” it’s a simple message. even if what would normally not be called an infraction earns you a 2 minute trip to the sin bin, as a player you have to be smarter than that and adapt. you can’t give the referees any excuse to call you for it. keep the sticks down, keep both hands on your stick, and watch the play along the boards.

business can be much the same with clients instead of referees. some might love everything you develop for them or the kinds of services you provide, but others may be insatiable still and find flaws with anything you bring to bear. if you know you’re dealing with the latter, follow the same simple rule: don’t give them an excuse.

don’t give your clients a reason to question the validity of your statements; be sure to practice each and every one of your presentations and always perform the proper amount of due diligence in defining answers to their questions.

don’t give your clients a reason to believe that your products are broken; test, retest, and test some more until you’re absolutely certain that your products or services are programmed properly, or mathematically sound, or have multiple research studies to support them.

don’t give your clients a reason to feel like they can go elsewhere and get the same service; go out of your way to prove your organization’s commitment to them by answering their phone calls promptly, replying to their emails the same day, and generally making them feel like you give a damn about them as customers.

if you’re dealing with a difficult client, don’t complain if they’re bitchy or a hard-ass or they’re calling bad penalties. just don’t give them an excuse to call one in the first place.

every team needs a superstar

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image by vittonettophoto, flickr artist

it’s true. every team needs a superstar.

balance is important to a winning formula, and i think we all know that. people have to complement each other, make up for each others faults, and bring a certain set of skills to the table — even if those skills aren’t going to make many people stand up and take notice. you hear it many times, “someone has to do the work.”

but there is such a thing as having too much balance.

we’ve become enamored with utility players in our businesses. people that we feel we can take and throw into any situation and they’ll still produce dividends for us (and for our shareholders). we want everyone to be able to do everything. we’re even groomed as such, going all the way back into our childhoods and early adult lives.

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