Respect: It's Time to Get Dirty

This is one of my all-time favorite stories. It even has full feature coverage in my upcoming book One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (that's the cover there on the left). You can even pre-order a copy of the book now and get a ridiculously large discount on Amazon (CLICK HERE TO BUY) or Barnes & Noble (CLICK HERE TO BUY). Not sure how long those discounts will last so... you know... Anyway, on to the important stuff.

My platoon was out in the field on training exercises. We had been out there for about two weeks so we all smelled kind of "ripe" at that point. One of the more senior officers in my battalion came to my unit's area to see how things were going. This "gentleman" personified the term - he was an "officer's officer" (versus being a "soldier's officer" which we'll explore in a moment).

He sauntered up to my 18 year old driver (a brand new buck private - the lowest ranking man in the Army) and said "Where's Lieutenant Figliuolo?"

My driver pointed toward our tank. A pair of boots was sticking out from underneath the vehicle. The officer in question became irked. Then things got really interesting...

"No. Maybe you didn't understand my question private. Where is LIEUTENANT Figliuolo?"

"He's under the tank, sir."

"Excuse me?"

"I said he's under the tank, sir."

The senior officer barked "Lieutenant Figliuolo!" I almost smacked my head on the underside of the tank because I was startled by his call. I quickly scrambled from below my tank and stood at attention before my superior.

"What were you doing under that tank?"

"Fixin' track sir."

"Why are you fixing track?"

"Because it needed fixed and I'm already done with all my other responsibilities."

This senior officer shook his head somewhat befuddled at what an officer would be doing turning a wrench. He left me with a brusque "Carry on." Needless to say the story had circulated among all the enlisted men in the company by lunch and across the battalion by dinner.

Suddenly Lieutenant Figliuolo had street cred. I was "one of them" - a regular working guy who just happened to have an officer's bar on my shoulders. The simple act of crawling in the mud to turn a wrench earned me respect for who I was rather than respect for what I wore on my uniform. It made me a "soldier's officer" - an officer who truly cared about and cared for his soldiers first and foremost.

It's a simple principle, really. Accept the fact you're no better than anyone else. No one. And no one is any better than you.

We're all people - we just have different skills and responsibilities. You're not above any work you have the skills to perform. Acting like you are will earn you nothing but disdain. Showing that you're not will endear you to all the folks who make you successful and make you look good - your team. So when the occasion calls for it, get down in the mud and turn the wrench.

If you enjoyed this post, there are many more stories like it in my upcoming book One Piece of Paper. Go pre-order your copy now at a big discount (BUY AT AMAZON or BUY AT BARNES & NOBLE).

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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Ditch the Rules and Grab the Guidelines

Today's post is an excerpt from the cutting room floor. It was in an early draft of my upcoming book One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (pre-order your copy by CLICKING HERE). It covers how to lead through guidelines rather than leading through rules.

We need guidance during challenging times. We need something to keep us within healthy and productive boundaries. We are human and make mistakes. Having personal guidelines that we live our lives by will remind us how we want to behave and keeps us safe and on track.

This does not have to be a detailed list of do’s and don’ts. A laundry list of rules and regulations is not practical. Instead, a judgment-based approach that can be broadly applied to any situation is much more flexible, manageable, and applicable. Every situation is different and each decision we face will have a variety of new and unpredictable factors involved.

But if we have judgment-based guidelines to govern our conduct, we can apply them to any situation we face instead of having to frantically search a list of do’s and don’ts only to find that particular situation is not covered. The simpler the guidelines, the more powerful they can be.

I learned how powerful simple guidelines can be while I was a cadet at West Point. In our regulations book we had over 180 different infractions that we could be written up and disciplined for. They were overly specific. They ranged from “Having lights on after lights out” to “Underage drinking” to “Laundry folded improperly.” If there was something we could possibly do wrong, there was a disciplinary code for it.

Administering this code of regulations was difficult to say the least. If you wanted to write somebody up for an infraction, you first had to know all the regulations then you had to find the correct disciplinary code to write your report.

If you were unfortunate enough to have a situation where someone you were writing up had committed an offense that did not have a specific disciplinary code assigned to it, you had to write a lengthy explanation of the offense and include the document codes for infractions that were “in close proximity” to the offense. What a nightmare!

Then one day someone had a brilliant idea. They realized that this method of enforcing discipline was overly proscriptive in defining acceptable and unacceptable behavior had created an unwieldy system. They simplified those 180 infractions down to two. They were “Error in judgment with minor effect” and “Error in judgment with major effect.” The leaders in the organization were empowered to make decisions and mete out justice according to a descriptive code of conduct versus a proscriptive one.

The disciplinary system became more efficient and “outlier” offenses that previously had no associated code could be quickly and effectively dealt with without a huge burden of defining precedent and related offenses. Those two regulations became the guidelines by which we governed our behaviors as cadets.

What does this mean for you?

How do you articulate performance standards in your organization? Is it a long list of rules, standards, metrics, and infractions or goals? Or is it a set of behavioral guidelines you want your team to adhere to?

I'd submit that the former is particularly difficult to manage and you might want to ask your team members how they feel about working in such an environment.

The latter is harder to manage because you *will* have people who deviate from the guideline (because it's not overly specific and it's subject to interpretation). In the long run, though, you'll create a culture where those standards become the norm. People feel empowered to act within those guidelines and their sense that you trust them goes up dramatically.

Take some time to evaluate how your team functions and how you set standards. If you can loosen the collar a little for your folks, they'll operate more freely and the environment of "gotcha!" can eventually disappear.

You hire people because they're smart. Try giving them a little latitude to demonstrate their smarts and judgment. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

NOTE: Pretty soon we'll be migrating the entire blog and the main thoughtLEADERS site to a new location. Keep an eye out for those announcements.

Also, the official website for One Piece of Paper is under construction. In the meantime, come become a fan on Facebook by CLICKING HERE. You'll get the most up-to-date information on the book and a bunch of cool stuff associated with it as soon as it's available. And again, go PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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Great Leaders Get Regular Reality Checks

Today's guest post is by Donald Van de Mark, author of The Good Among the Great: 19 Traits of the Most Admirable, Creative, and Joyous People. You should go buy a copy of his book by CLICKING HERE. It's good reading. Here's Donald:

After over 20 years of interviewing some of the top business leaders in the world, I have learned that nimble business leadership requires acute reality recognition - the ability to accurately perceive the business climate in which your organization operates.

No less a business icon than Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, says that the one quality that he and Warren Buffett look for when hiring CEOs is "reality recognition." Perceiving reality may seem like a pedestrian task but it's not - for any of us. And when you're at the top of an organization with hundreds of messages coming at you daily, practicing it takes daily discipline.

In my experience, the most realistic business leaders share key qualities. Andy Grove, cofounder of Intel, is one such case study. I interviewed Grove when he was CEO of the microprocessor giant. In the 1980s and early 1990s he bet his company on the rise of a device hardly anyone believed would become commonplace - the personal computer.

How did Grove come by this seemingly magical, predictive understanding of where the market was going, and how did he fortify himself to take the necessary risks to lead his company one step ahead of the future? Here are five tips I've learned from my interview with him:

Listen to People Who "Need" to Speak to You

Though you can't take meetings with everyone in your company who has an opinion, some people will want to communicate with you more than others. Grove recommends you "make yourself available to be influenced by people who want to influence you, who need to influence you."

When you're CEO or president, almost everyone in your organization will want to influence you. The people who need to influence you are different. They may not be in your everyday path, but they are in a position to see what you cannot see. They feel a need to communicate with you because what they know is important or otherwise unknown. They sense that their knowledge is telling, disturbing or simply doesn't fit with the beliefs you or your organization have. These individuals may be new to you, far down the organizational ladder or naturally reticent, but they are agitated because they have information that is salient.

Put yourself in their path. One way is to have an open-door policy, or even better - no door. Grove worked out of a cubicle amongst other engineers and he ate in the cafeteria, always alert to those who felt a need to influence him.

Absorb Data Like a Pollster

To recognize reality before others, Grove stresses open-minded observing, listening and the "absorption" of data. Gather and assess data the way a pollster does. Listen to answers and opinions only when they're repeated a certain number of times or with a certain level of intensity. Allow information to reach a critical mass - a tipping point - before you decide to act upon it.

Conduct Product and Market Experiments

How do you refine your business in response to new data if there's a mass of information to evaluate in a limited amount of time?

Grove says, "When your business environment changes and your business structure changes and your business model changes, there won't be facts for a while. You have to build up those facts by doing business experiments, starting new businesses - new introductions, new products, new markets - and moving down along the hypothetical paths to gather data. And then refine your strategy. Refine your approach based on the data that you acquire."

If you take these tactics into consideration, you'll find that refining your business in a time crunch is possible.

Act More Decisive Than You Feel

When time has run out to make a strategic decision (and it always seems to), but you at least sense - and "sense" is the operative word - that you have the beginnings of pattern recognition, just enough data to point you in the right direction, then how do you move forward?

Grove says that you must project confidence "because you have to lead people into uncertainty. And the only thing that you have to lead them with is your own convictions and your own credibility. To have people led, you sometimes have to act more confident than you really are... when you are kind of lost, the leader has to take certain personal risks."

When I asked Grove if projecting more confidence than you felt was the same as "faking it," he shook his head.

"Faking it is too strong. You really have to believe in the direction; otherwise, you won't be able to lead people in that way. But you may have to act more decisive than you really feel."

Leadership means going first. Standing still, settling for the status quo or even pushing others in front of you is not an option.

Remember That the Risk of Inaction Is Often Higher Than Action

Taking risks can be difficult, but as Grove points out, "for every action that has a risk associated with it, there's a countervailing risk associated with not taking the action."

Grove learned this lesson in life as much as in business. As a university student, he escaped Hungary, then part of the Soviet bloc, just ahead of an advancing Red Army. If he'd been caught, he would have languished in the gulag. But had he played it "safe" and stayed, he'd have languished under communism.

Twelve years before that, the Nazis deported his father to a slave labor camp. The young Grove and his mother were left to fend for themselves. His mother carefully weighed the risks of staying put or running. All they knew and trusted was nearby - in their home, their neighborhood. But she also understood that the risk of inaction - staying put at a time when Jews were being rounded up - was greater than leaving everything behind, including their identities. So they fled.

You may never face Nazis or the Red Army. But you can certainly benefit from the techniques that the best leaders employ: listening to those who want and need to influence you, absorbing and analyzing data, conducting tests in the marketplace, acting more decisive than you feel and recognizing that inaction is often riskier than action.

Then when you are ready, or more likely, when you're unable to postpone action any longer, move forward with confidence, maybe more than you may feel, and you will lead. You may not be right, but you're more likely to be.

Donald Van de Mark, former CNBC and CNN correspondent, is a speaker and the author of The Good Among the Great: 19 Traits of the Most Admirable, Creative, and Joyous People.  You can buy a copy of the book by CLICKING HERE.

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How to Lead Like a Coxswain

Anyone who has ever seen a crew team rowing down the river has likely wondered why one person is a passenger and everyone else in the boat is rowing like mad. It would seem the coxswain has the easiest job in the boat.

It's actually incredibly difficult and my 16 year-old daughter (who is a coxswain) has taught me a few great leadership lessons as I've watched her cox over the past few seasons.

As you run your organizations there are a few lessons you can take from her and apply to be better leaders of your teams as well. They're counter-intuitive approaches to leadership but if you apply them well I think you'll be very pleased with the results.

Those lessons are:
- Know your team's needs at any given moment
- Small tweaks can have a big impact
- Being small doesn't mean being weak
- Demand a lot from your team - they're up to it

Here's how those lessons can be applied:

Know your team's needs at any given moment

Crew teams tend to have long days on the water and races can take them from elation to despair depending on how well they race. Great coxswains know where their team members' heads are at. They know when the team is down and needs picked up. They understand if the team is stressed and they calm them down. They know if the team is excited and they channel that energy. A great coxswain pays attention to the team's mood and adjusts their coaching accordingly.

Where is your team's head at today? What kind of mood are they in? Do your coaching and leadership techniques take that mental state into account? Are you flexible enough to change styles quickly to match the mood of the team?

Small tweaks can have a big impact

When I first saw my daughter cox, I was completely unaware of the little steering movements she was responsible for by way of a hidden steering system. The adjustments she makes make the difference between winning and colliding with another boat. The steering corrections she makes by guiding the rowers to change stroke determine if they pull ahead in the race or run aground. Those changes in direction are miniscule but they have a big impact. If she overcorrects, it's a disaster.

When you change direction for your team, are they small and subtle movements or massive changes? Do you gently guide the team in a new direction or do you make huge shifts all at once? Many smaller yet frequent changes are sometimes better and less disruptive than large shifts.

Being small doesn't mean being weak

Coxswains are physically tiny. Like *really* tiny. That said, they're usually the strongest member of the team in terms of leadership and direction. They have to get four or eight other highly-accomplished athletes rowing in perfect synchronicity. They also have to lead all team movements from the boat trailer to rigging to launch to recovery. A coxswain is always performing some leadership task to get the team to its destination safely and in a winning way.

No matter your physical presence or your tenure with the organization, do you take full control of the team at all times? Do your words and action carry weight for your team and get them moving in the right direction? Regardless of stature (physical or organizational) remember your team looks to you for leadership. Get over any hang-ups or insecurities then step up and lead.

Demand a lot from your team - they're up to it

A great coxswain knows what the team is capable of. They push that team to row as hard as they can when the occasion calls for it. They balance between an even, steady pace and what is called a "power 10" or even a "power 20" which is 10 or 20 strokes as hard as the team is able. They push the teams as hard as possible when it makes sense to do so. And I've yet to see a time when she pushed a team and they didn't step up regardless of how exhausted they were.

Do you know your team's limits? Are you demanding of great performance? Do you push them hard when the occasion requires it? Are you unafraid to ask the impossible and guide them and cheer them along the way to achieving it?

Go be a coxswain for your team

Know your team and push them hard. Make small tweaks and changes in direction rather than taking a sudden herky jerky approach. Forget about size and tenure and let your leadership speak for itself.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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Getting Your Risk-Averse Boss to Take a Chance On Your Ideas

Today's guest post is by Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D, author of Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. You can read all about her at the end of the post. Here's Heidi:

A good friend of mine, “Tom,” recently brought a product to his boss’s attention that would allow his company to take its social media efforts to a whole new level, and might significantly improve their image. It would be an industry first, and not entirely without risk, but with huge potential payoff.

After hearing his pitch, his boss asked, “Are any of our competitors using this?”

“No,” Tom replied, feeling that this was a strong selling point – a competitive edge.

“Well,” his boss responded, “then I don’t think we want to stick our necks out and be the first, do we?”

Huh?

Tom was disappointed, but not at all surprised. For every manager out there trying to encourage innovation, there seem to be ten standing squarely in the way of it. I spend a lot of time talking to people about motivation and growth, and everywhere I go, I hear complaints like:

I just can’t get my boss to take the risk.
There’s a huge opportunity here, and we’re missing it.
We just follow trends, we don’t ever create them.

It’s incredibly frustrating to know you have a real winner of an idea on your hands, something that could really shake things up, and not be able to get it past your Nervous Nelly of a boss. Not that the cautious, conservative approach doesn’t have its place - but ultimately an organization cannot grow without embracing some risk.

The recent recession has only made matters worse. People don’t want to rock the boat at a time when jobs are hard to find. Unfortunately, they forget that without organizational innovation and growth, no job is safe for long.

The problem, in a nutshell, is this: when they make decisions, many managers focus much more on what they have to lose than what they might gain.

When we see our goals in terms of what we have to lose, we have what psychologists call a prevention focus. Prevention focus is about security, avoiding mistakes, fulfilling responsibilities, and doing you feel you ought to do. It’s about trying to hang on to what you’ve got, and it isn’t at all conducive to taking chances.

On the other hand, when we see our goals in terms of what we could gain, we have what’s called a promotion focus. Promotion focus is about achievement and accomplishment, maximizing your potential, and doing what you’d ideally like to do. It’s about never missing an opportunity if you can help it.

In my book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals, I describe research showing that while promotion and prevention-focused people can be equally successful, they work very differently to reach their goals. They use different strategies, have different strengths, and are prone to different kinds of mistakes. One group is motivated by applause, the other by criticism and self-sacrifice. One group readily embraces creativity and risk, while the other prefers careful deliberation and the status quo.

So, how can you get your overly cautious boss to go out on a limb and embrace a great, albeit risky, idea? The key is to stop fighting his or her prevention-focused mindset, and work with it instead.
In the end, it’s all about language. You may be thinking of your great idea as an opportunity for gain, but you can always reframe it as an opportunity for avoiding loss. To persuade a prevention-minded person, you want to emphasize how a course of action can keep your company safe and secure - how it will help you to avoid making a terrible mistake.

For instance, you may be thinking of a new social media venture as a chance to get in front of the pack, but your boss might be more persuaded if you phrased it as a way to not fall behind. (“Everyone is moving in this direction. It’s inevitable. We could lose market share if aren’t prepared for the future.”)

In general, it’s important to frame your pitch in a way that is persuasive to the kind of person you’re talking to. Figure out if the decision-maker is promotion or prevention minded, and pitch accordingly. Remember that even the most timid, prevention-minded person will gladly take a risk, once you help him understand why it would be a greater risk not to.

- Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D., is a motivational psychologist, consultant, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. She is also a Fellow of the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia Business School, a regular blogger for Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, SmartBlog on Leadership/SmartBrief, Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and a contributor to the BBC World Service’s Business Daily. Heidi lives in NYC and Easton, PA. You can follow her on twitter at @hghalvorson.

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Leadership: Snake Plissken-Style

Sometimes hardened criminals can teach us a lesson or two about leadership.

In the 1981 classic Escape from New York, Kurt Russell plays the hard-edged Snake Plissken. The movie's premise is Air Force One carrying the president of the United States has crashed into New York City (which has been turned into a maximum security prison for all criminals in the U.S.). Plissken, who is about to be incarcerated in New York is offered a deal: if he gets the president out of New York, he'll get his freedom.

Snake has a problem though - the police have implanted a small time bomb in his neck and he only has 22 hours to get the president out and have the bomb neutralized (it could happen! It's the future!). Naturally Snake is a man on a mission - not only to save the president but also to save himself.

As he rushes through the prison colony that is Manhattan island, Snake teaches all of us a few things about leadership (as well as providing some awesome tips on how to kill hardened post-apocalyptic criminals with bad hair). Here's what we can all learn from Snake:

Leaders are willing to bet on themselves

Think about the odds Snake faced. He was going into a penal colony full of the deadliest criminals around. He had a choice of simply going to prison and living there (which he could have easily done because he's a badass) or fighting the criminals to rescue the president.

Tough odds. Snake took the bet. He knew what he was capable of and he understood the value of the prize (his freedom). Sure it was a "stretch goal" to rescue the president but Snake was willing to take that bet because he was confident in his abilities.

Are you willing to bet on yourself when you face huge odds against you? Know what you're capable of and take an occasional risk. You might surprise yourself with what you're able to do.

Leaders maintain laser-focus on their objective

Snake had 22 hours. He had one objective - get the president out alive. He made some friends along his journey - Cabbie (Ernest Borgnine), Brain, and Maggie. He also made a few enemies, most notably The Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes).

There were times Snake could have stayed and fought with his friends when they decided to stay behind and fight. He could have stayed for revenge to kick The Duke's butt. But he didn't. He directed all his energy toward one single goal - getting the president out. All the other things he could have done would have been righteous but they were distractions from his primary objective.

Do you know what your primary objective is? Do you avoid distractions and side-projects? What do you do to maintain your focus on your objectives?

Leaders take bold risks

Snake could have accepted his prison sentence and not risked his life. Instead, he landed a glider on the roof of the World Trade Center, fought off bad guys, and ran a gauntlet across a heavily-mined 69th street bridge to get the president out. He could have tried to hold his position on the top of World Trade to be extracted by helicopter but he didn't like the odds so off to the crazy bridge crossing he went.

He had no idea if his risks would work out. But he knew if he didn't take action, the outcome was certain failure. Snake took the chance and made some bold moves. Of course they worked out (otherwise it would have been a crappy movie).

When is the last time you took a bold risk? Have you considered any bold moves recently? What's holding you back from taking those chances?

Leaders care about people

After Snake finally gets the president out and has the bomb deactivated, he asks the president what he thought about all the people who died to help him escape from New York. Cabbie, Brain, and Maggie all gave their lives in the escape effort.

The president offers half-hearted condolences for their loss. Snake doesn't buy it and he sabotages the president's major peace initiative. Snake knows good people sacrificed a great deal and his last act of defiance demonstrates he truly cared about and appreciated what they gave for the greater good.

So are you the next Snake Plissken?

Do you bet on yourself? How do you stay focused on your goals? Do you make bold moves? Do you really care about the people who are taking those risks alongside you? Take some quiet time today and reflect on these questions. Ask yourself if you're as good a leader as Snake Plissken was.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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How to Fix a Hiring Mistake

Have you ever made a hiring mistake? The candidate looked brilliant on paper. They blew everyone away in the interviews. They were local so there as no relo cost involved. They even took your first salary offer without negotiating (danger Will Robinson!).

And then they showed up for work... And all went well for the first month. Everyone loved him. He was gregarious and got to know everyone in the organization. And one day you woke up and realized he hadn't done anything yet. Not one iota of impact. And you started to wonder...

Time went on. Less and less got done. Others in the organization began to notice and even grumble that the rock star you hired was not a real rock star but was actually a used up member of Poison from the '80s (appropriate because this guy seems to be looking for "Nothin' but a good time!"). It became abundantly clear to everyone you had made a hiring mistake. It's okay. It happens to all of us.

The most important thing about making a hiring mistake is fixing it. Fast.

There's nothing wrong with making hiring mistakes. It's forgivable. What's unforgivable is not doing something about it (remember You see it, you own it?). The best leaders I've seen quickly try to address performance (or lack thereof) with the individual. They set near term, measurable improvement goals. And if, unfortunately, the individual fails to meet them, they are moved on to another opportunity (either inside the company or outside of it).

But doing this takes a degree of intestinal fortitude that is difficult for many of us to summon. Such actions require us to first admit we made a mistake (admission is the first step to remission...).

After we come to terms with the fact we were duped during the interview process (albeit unintentionally duped) we have to do the really hard part - tell someone they're not cutting it. Ultimately we might have to have that very difficult conversation about parting ways (which will likely be involuntary). It's the "it's not me, it's you" conversation and that one is never pleasant to have.

So what's a leader to do? How can you get past these barriers to taking action?

First, realize we all make mistakes and the interview process creates a situation where they can occur frequently. Why? There's no real work to do during the interview and everyone is on their best behavior. Accept that someone got through the process without some of these issues surfacing.

Second, understand the person is a good person with a certain set of skills - they are simply not the right skills for this role. The error is one of not appropriately assessing fit for the role (it's not a judgment of the person himself). Once you accept these two points, taking action becomes easier.

During the "corrective action" phase, understand you are giving the person a fair chance to succeed (presuming you give candid feedback, set measurable goals with a reasonable chance of success, and give the person the support and coaching they need during this phase). After you do that, you've met your obligation. The accountability for performance and success lies with the individual at this point.

So it doesn't work out. Now what? Act and act fast.

There's almost nothing worse than passing a problem on to another manager and not cleaning up your own mess. You have an obligation to the rest of your team and the rest of the organization to do so. Not acting will erode morale because your team and coworkers will see the inequity and wonder why they are held to a high standard of performance while this individual is not. Such an environment is toxic. It destroys the organization over time.

As I said earlier, we all make this mistake at one time or another. I've personally made it on a few occasions (probably because I have a bias toward taking risks on people - see "Team Building: Buying Damaged Goods"). In one particular case, he looked great on paper and even better in person. Brilliant. Analytical. Everything we were looking for. I loved him and pushed hard to hire him.

We got him in the role and at first everything was fine. Unfortunately, when the problems were difficult to solve and the environment was ambiguous, he floundered. Badly. His manager and I brought the issue to his attention and laid out an improvement plan. He didn't improve.

He was becoming increasingly frustrated and unhappy with the role because he learned it wasn't exactly what he wanted to do long term. In the end, we suggested we part ways and he move on to an organization better suited to his skills and aspirations. It was actually a huge relief for him to move on (for all of us, him included). He found a role much more in line with his abilities and last I heard he's doing quite well.

At first blush, pushing someone out of an organization for lack of performance seems cold and harsh. Looking at it another way makes it a wonderful thing to do. You're not happy with the individual's performance. The team isn't happy with the individual not pulling their weight. The individual likely isn't happy because they want to succeed in whatever it is they're doing.

Your obligation as a leader is to help the person move on. Quickly. Help them move on to somewhere they can be successful. Everyone involved will thank you for it (maybe not on the day you give the person their papers but someday down the road once they've found their perfect job, they'll reflect back on their departure as a turning point in their career).

You made the hiring mistake. Admit it. Fix it. For everyone's sake.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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Why You Should Treat Your People Like it's 1879

Sometimes great leaders have to look back in history to find lessons to apply today. Today I'm going to take you back to some wisdom imparted in 1879 on how to treat your people.

The majority of you know I graduated from West Point. Part of my education there required we learn and remember (and be able to recite verbatim from memory) what was known as "knowledge" from West Point's history. Any upperclassman could ask any plebe (freshman) at any time to recite a piece of knowledge. Failure to do so correctly resulted in some "development time" (which was pretty unpleasant).

The hardest one to remember was Schofield's Definition of Discipline. When I would hear an upperclassman shout "FIGLIUOLO! START SCHOFIELD'S!" terror would strike my heart and I would begin reciting Schofield's Definition of Discipline which went like this:

"The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and to give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself."

Major General John M. Schofield
Address to the Corps of Cadets
August 11, 1879

Wow. Talk about a mouthful. But MG Schofield has some great thoughts for today's leaders:

Harsh and Tyrannical Treatment

How many leaders do you know who lead through fear and intimidation? They may scream and yell. They may be demeaning. They may overtly (or implicitly) threaten people to get them to comply with directions.

It works for a little while but over time it's cancerous. If your boss does it, provide the feedback. Heck, forward them this article. Some bosses might not realize they're doing it. Others might just be bullies (and I've written about how to handle bullies before in this post. Click here to read it).

Tone of Voice

Your people take their cues not only from WHAT you say but HOW you say it. The vast majority of human communication has very little to do with words and much more to do with tone and body language.

Are you conscious of how your voice, posture, and gestures affect other people? At one point in my career I was informed that I can be VERY intimidating. Apparently my voice can boom and my eyes can get pretty intense. To me I simply thought I was paying attention and offering strong opinions. To others, some felt I was going to come over the table at them.

Since then, I have consciously worked at and tried to remember the feedback. Sometimes I have to deliberately soften my gaze and lean back in my chair to take some of the perceived aggression out of my demeanor.

Are you aware of how you come across? No? Go ask.

Respect

It's such a simple concept. The golden rule and all that. Aretha Franklin. You know.

Unfortunately we manifest disrespect in many ways and often without realizing it. Asking someone to stay late and miss a family event. Being ignorant about cultural norms. Simply not thinking about asking people to do simple tasks that are clearly below them. All of these can demonstrate disrespect for who a person is and what is important to them.

It's a simple fix - put yourself in their shoes. If you don't know what their shoes feel like, ask them. Ask about their culture and its norms. Ask if you've ever crossed a respect line. Some of these notions (and more "do nots") are covered in my post on 10 Reasons Your Team Hates You. Go read it by clicking here. It's a fun yet pointed read on things that upset your people.

The Bottom Line

MG Schofield had it right. The way we treat people means a lot. In a market where loyalty to the organization is low and high performers have many other options other than working for you, not being mindful of Schofield's advice can cost you a great team member.

You need to actively think about leading your people. It's so important that I've written on that topic both here on the blog (CLICK HERE to read it) and it has an entire section in my upcoming book One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (come read about it and become a Facebook fan by CLICKING HERE).

Try treating your folks like it's 1879. Things might go a lot better for you. And if nothing else, you can grow an AWESOME beard.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

Postscript: This post is dedicated to my friend and classmate Adam Young who has been harping on me to write it for well over a year. Thanks Adam for continuing to push me to cover a great topic. I hope you enjoy it.

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Preventing a Leadership Crash from Overcorrecting

Today's guest post is by Michelle Braden, CEO of MSBCoach. Join me in welcoming her to the blog.

Often when I read a book I find myself thinking, “Some of that was strong food for thought and some of it was a little too much for me.” When that happens, I try focusing on what is relevant so there is still a meaningful take-away rather than disregarding the entire book. Authors write to their personal extreme passion, and it’s good to remember that you do not have to agree with everything that is being said to learn something.

Leaders are very similar. We lead out of our own personal passions and values. Whether or not we are always conscious of them, they are present in our leadership. These passions and values are very close cousins to our “hot buttons.”

When our hot buttons are pushed, we can have a tendency to overreact or overcorrect the situation just as an author may over-write to make their point. I find that overreacting or overcorrecting frequently generates results opposite of what is really expected or desired.

Allow me to illustrate...

A few weeks ago, I was driving home from a meeting. I am embarrassed to admit I leaned over to pick something up (not paying attention as I should) and, when I did, I slightly went off the road. Normally this would not be a big deal… I would simply correct and get back on; however, when you combine the fact that I was in deep thought, my cruise was on about 72 mph and the startle of hitting the rumble strip, a recipe for disaster was about to unfold.

When I hit the rumble strip, instead of a gentle warning the noise of the strips is intended to give, it shook me from my deep thought and seriously startled me. I overreacted! I swerved (or should I say jerked) the steering wheel to the right. In just a split second my car swerved to the other lane, and I over corrected again to the left. It was in just a second I realized, “I think I might flip this baby.” Fortunately for me (and thanks to my guardian angels) I was able to get the car back under control. Before you know it, everything was back to normal. I settled down, regained confidence and was back to cruising at 72 mph (I will say paying much closer attention though).

Later that evening I was telling my husband and a friend about what happened over dinner. As I explained it, I realized the parallel between what happened to me and what happens when a leader “overcorrects.”

As leaders we can get lost in the moment, in our personal passions, thus losing focus on the big picture and responding without thinking or over-responding to drive our point home. I realize as leader, being able to respond in crisis is a highly desired trait, but I also realize that there are times we cause the crisis ourselves (such as I did) from overcorrecting. Either way, whether the crisis is self-induced or caused by someone else, overcorrecting is rarely the answer and usually results in disaster - or near disaster, just as it did when I was driving.

Have you ever overcorrected (over responded or overreacted) as a leader? A perfect example would be, the team is working under the pressure of a deadline (now 8 days past due), a tight budget, everyone is exhausted, you just got an email that the engineering team has not been able to correct the “bug” yet, stakeholders are calling and your lead engineer just called in sick. How do you respond?

Some of you just reading this can feel your chest tightening. I am sure your story is a little different but the stress is the same. Below are some steps to help you process through overcorrecting in difficult situations. I encourage you to take just a minute go through the questions below – they will help you to be more proactive next time and hopefully reduce the crisis response of overcorrecting:

- Identify at least one situation where you overreacted/corrected
- What was happening?
- What hot-buttons were pushed (identify how those are related to your own personal passions and values)
- What was the outcome?
- How would you like the outcomes to have been different?
- How could you have responded differently to have created a different outcome?
- What will you do to create different outcomes in the future?

I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions.

- Michelle Braden is CEO of MSBCoach. For over 17 years, she has coached and trained business owners, executives, non-profit leaders, teams, managers and individuals in transition.

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Great Leaders Make Decisions

Today's post is an excerpt from my upcoming book One Piece of Paper (CLICK HERE to learn more about it).

As a leader you need to drive action. Ideas are great but someone has to put them in motion for them to be worthwhile, and deciding to do that is no easy task.

Acting on a decision can be terrifying, especially in the case of large-scale change. Your decision may affect a significant number of people, and what if it is the wrong decision? What if things do not go as expected and the resulting outcome negatively impacts you or your organization? You could lose your job. Worse, hundreds of other people could lose theirs.

It is hard enough to act on decisions when just facing your own insecurities. Throw the complexities of your organization into the mix and the angst increases exponentially. Politics, lack of resources, uncertainty, doubt, and fear all mess with our minds right when we are on the verge of taking action. It is no wonder so many leaders have gray hair!

However, I am challenging you to be thought leaders. Being a thought leader requires you to be bold. Your decisions must be clear and forceful. The “thought” part of the equation only gets you halfway to your destination. As my colleague Alan Veeck says “It’s good to have thoughts, but that’s not enough.” Being a true thought leader means you not only agitate for but also lead change. Such leadership requires decisive action on your part.

You probably see it all the time - people and teams suffering from analysis paralysis. They are unable to make a decision and instead their organization languishes in the purgatory of endless Excel models.

People fear making decisions. They sometimes believe, erroneously for the most part, they are better off making no decision than making an incorrect one. By not making a decision, they think they cannot be fired or disciplined for being wrong.

An old maxim of mine that addressed this issue was a RUSH lyric in their song Freewill: “If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.” Inaction is still an action. It is choosing not to choose. When decisions are not made, organizations stagnate and eventually go down the tubes. That is when the really hard decisions have to be made. Layoffs, restructuring, divestitures and other painful choices await organizations that cannot make a decision and act on it.

I worked for a great boss at one point who helped me realize the negative impact of analysis paralysis. He drove home the point that it is important to act because waiting is not free. I took him a business case and told him it was worth $1,000,000 in income over the next twelve months.

He asked if I was implementing the idea immediately. I told him I was going to wait a week and do some additional analysis then go live with the change I was proposing. He said “When you come back next week with your additional analysis, the business case had better be worth another $20,000 because that’s what seven days costs at a run rate of $1,000,000. Is your analysis worth $20,000?” My answer was no. We went live that day. Inaction has a quantifiable cost.

Leaders have to make choices. Many times those choices are painful. The decisions a leader makes can affect dozens to thousands of people. Their actions determine if someone has a job, gets a raise, or moves to a new city. They create businesses and close others. And in the most extreme cases their actions change the course of industry and therefore the way we live our lives.

Sometimes the results of a leader’s actions are spectacular. Other times the results are spectacular disasters. Nonetheless, leaders must make decisions and act.

Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard about the need to make a decision is a simple five word quote:

“In case of doubt, attack!” – General George S. Patton III

How do you spur yourself onward to action? What is your approach to decision making? Are you aggressive? Do you make “gut” decisions or do you prefer to gather as much information as possible before making a call? Do you procrastinate? Are there certain types of decisions you find easier to make than others? Are there any types of decisions you hate making?

You need to evaluate how you currently make decisions before articulating a maxim designed to focus your decision making efforts.

Think about an important decision you have made in the recent past. Choose one that had an outcome you are happy with. What has contributed to your sense of satisfaction with that decision? Is it the result? Are you happy with how people were involved in making the decision? Did your decision get positive attention from someone important in your life?

Try to break apart the components and figure out why you are happy with the decision because those reasons are important drivers of your behavior.

That's the end of the excerpt but you can start using the method today. Create a reminder for yourself that you must take action and be decisive. Use that reminder to break through analysis paralysis. You'll be glad you did. To stay plugged in on the book's progress, come become a fan on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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Building Leadership Resilience

I'm excited to bring you some thoughts from Maureen Metcalf today. I'm shutting up now so I can go work on my book One Piece of Paper (learn about it by CLICKING HERE). Here's Maureen:

In leadership terms, we define Resilience as the ability to adapt in the face of multiple changes while continuing to persevere toward strategic goals. In our very dynamic work environment, leaders must build their resilience and they must also help their employees become more resilient.

As a leader, you actually become different based on the changing environment. Most people, after a period of adjustment, bounce back to their previous level of happiness no matter what happens to them. This seems hard to believe but had been proven true (and if you're curious about how resilient you are, you can take a quick online assessment by CLICKING HERE).

Think about someone you have worked with that you respected but they did not navigate challenge well? How does the undesirable behavior impact you and your ability to function? Here is a story of one of my clients.

I worked with a very talented woman who, when under pressure tended to get sick because she did not have a system to manage the stress. Additionally, she berated her staff regularly causing them to become disengaged. She would obsess about what others had done and over a short time be out sick. She was very unhappy in her job, more unhappy than was reasonable based on her situation.

The good news is over time she developed stronger coping skills and she has a much greater capacity to manage the same level of stress. Some of the things she did were: work out regularly, start meditating, begin a regular practice of reflecting on her behaviors and thoughts at the end of each day, and build stronger relationships with her boss, her colleagues and her subordinates. All of these activities contributed to improved physical health and also greatly improved her ability to motivate her team and produce higher quality work and enjoy working with their leader again.

We break resilience into four primary categories:
- Maintain Physical Wellbeing
- Direct Mental Perspective
- Fulfill Life Purpose While Living Your Values
- Harness the Power of Connection

Each of these categories is interlinked with the others. It is hard to think clearly if you are physically unhealthy and so on. As you think of yourself as a leader, it is important to remember that maintaining personal resilience is as important as building other business or organizational skills.

Maintain Physical Wellbeing
According to Gallup, “Those with high physical wellbeing simply have more energy to get more done in less time. They are more likely to be in a good mood, thus boosting the engagement of their colleagues and customers.” This category is one we often best understand and yet give limited focus to.

One of the key goals in maintaining physical wellbeing is managing the amount and impact of stress. Key to body resilience: Build daily routines that help your body recover from stress. These routines should include the following:
- Get enough sleep for your body
- Exercise 6 days per week
- Eat a healthy diet
- Limit caffeine
- Eliminate nicotine
- Reflect & relax
- Take time in nature

Directing Mental Perspective
Mental perspective of resilience is based on our attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions rather than knowledge. Negative and inflexible thinking prevents the ability to see the big picture and to find creative and alternative routes toward a goal. The key to mental resilience:
- Question assumptions,
- Manage attitudes and beliefs,
- Manage your internal conversations,
- Maintain a positive attitude toward challenge,
- Believe you have control over your own life,
- Commit to a make sense of your experience in a way that gives them meaning and value.

Fulfill Life Purpose While Living Your Values
Having a strong sense of life purpose and aligning your activities with that purpose creates a strong foundation for wellbeing. Emotional intelligence accounts for 85-90% of the difference between outstanding leaders and their more average peers. Emotional intelligence is a major factor in accomplishing life purpose. Key areas of focus:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- Relationship management

Keys to purpose and emotional resilience: Have a clear life purpose, develop skills in self-management, and appreciate and work with your emotions regularly.

Harness the Power of Connection
The ability to interact with other people with awareness, empathy, and skillfulness and to experience closeness is vital in building resilience. Keys to connection: invest time in key relationships and build the necessary skills to relate with others such as communication and empathy.

According to Gallup “Those without a best friend in the workplace have just a 1 in 12 chance of being engaged. Social relationships at work have also been shown to boost employee retention, safety, work quality and customer engagement.” This research represents a significant shift in views of friendships at work and the importance of developing strong connections, yet the research is clear – investing the time in connection improves our work and our work environment.

By tending to all four categories of resilience concurrently, you will have a much greater capacity to deal with the challenges that come your way. You will be a better leader and a better participant and you will feel physically stronger and more at ease emotionally. And again, to gauge your level of resilience, CLICK HERE to take a quick free online assessment to see how your resilience behaviors stack up).

- Maureen Metcalf at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Maureen is the President of Metcalf & Associates, Inc., bringing 23 years of business experience to the table as she helps professionals grow well beyond their own expectations. She is recognized as an effective leader who demonstrates operational skills coupled with the ability to analyze, develop, and implement successful strategies for profitability, growth and sustainability. She's also a member of the thoughtLEADERS team. Read more of her work on her blog.

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Yoda's Three Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Life goals. Bucket lists. "One day I'll..."

We all have dreams and goals. The biggest difference between people who achieve them and people who don't is the act of actually DOING. Do you have goals and things you want to achieve? Professional aspirations? Personal bucket list items?

Let me ask this - what's stopping you from starting on them?

I don't tend to get motivational on this blog (every time someone asks me if I'm a motivational speaker I can't help but think of that Saturday Night Live Chris Farley skit). But today I'm serving up a little motivation, Yoda style.

Luke whined "All right. I'll give it a try."

Yoda gave Luke an attitude adjustment "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."

What would Yoda say to you if you talked to him about your goals and your progress toward them? That's what I thought.

I'm here to be your Yoda. I'll share some experiences related to my goal of getting my book One Piece of Paper published (CLICK HERE to learn more about the book). Hopefully my story can help you on your way toward achieving your goals. Here are some great first steps you can take right now to help you move toward achieving your goals.

"Ready are you?" - Yoda

You can't get "there" if you don't know where "there" is. Sit down and actually articulate what it is you're trying to achieve. Define success.

Some people say I'm lucky (I actually think I am) but there's more to it than luck. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "luck is where preparation meets opportunity." I tend to make sure I'm prepared to achieve my goals.

For example, I've always wanted to write a book. It was a nebulous goal. I didn't have a specific subject in mind (but had several options I had thought of). I didn't pursue the goal actively because it was lower on my priority list than other current businesses but the goal existed - to see my face on a dust jacket in a bookstore.

Out of the blue (and because of this blog) a literary agent reached out to me. "Hey, I've read your blog. Good stuff. Ever thought of writing a book?" In that instant I was able to offer up several topics I had rattling around in my head because I had previously defined this as a personal goal. I was prepared for when "luck" knocked.

Had I not defined this goal and prepared, I might have stammered and had nothing to offer him. Instead, my book One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful and Personal Leadership is becoming a reality (CLICK HERE to become a fan on Facebook and get additional leadership tips as it moves toward publication). On October 3, 2011 I'll get to see that dust jacket.

Have you defined your goal? Are you ready to seize the opportunity when it knocks? No? Then go write your goal down. Now. I'm not kidding. Write it down.

Believe

Luke: "I don't believe it!"

Yoda: "That is why you fail."

Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you have the ability to achieve the goal or build the skills that will enable you to achieve it? If not, just quit. Give up. Now. Go watch Jerry Springer.

You have to believe in yourself. You must be relentless in pursuing those goals. The minute you lose confidence in yourself, you're done. That lack of confidence will show through in all you do and a vicious circle of failure will begin.

When I launched thoughtLEADERS full time it was a scary leap. A family to support. A mortgage. College. Wow.

But I believed I could do it. I had successfully taught some of our courses to some great clients. I knew how to execute a business plan. I believed I could sell and deliver our services.

Yes, there were dark and scary moments when there was only $3,000 of revenue booked for the coming QUARTER. But I believed. I kept pushing. And the revenue followed.

Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you can achieve the goal? Do you have reminders around you that help you remember you can achieve and succeed? Find those reminders. Start believing in yourself. It's a good bet to make.

"There is no try. Do." - Yoda

I could spew forth a ton of quotes about taking that first step on your journey blah blah blah. I won't. I'll just say if you have big goals, they can be daunting. But you have to start somewhere.

It's intimidating to look down the barrel of a 65,000 word clause in a book contract and realize you haven't written the first word yet. That said, I started writing One Piece of Paper and ended up with this first draft.

Then the edits came back. It was a river of blood and it looked like this. Daunting. But I started with the first red mark. I finished yesterday - 17 days later (and do you know how much I love you guys that I'm writing a blog post this morning after several nonstop weeks of editing and writing? But Yoda told me "Do." so I do this blog post).

Every interim step on the path to the broader goal of One Piece of Paper's publication is a small goal in and of itself. I tackle every one with a mindset of "do." Do not procrastinate. Do not be overwhelmed. Break your goal up and "do."

I know of another website that was but an idea for a funny airport people watching site and iPhone app. Nothing was coming of it until someone pushed the idea guy to "Just build the thing. I'll do it with you."

They built it in five weeks. It's hysterical. It's going viral (and if you need a laugh you should CLICK HERE to check it out and grab the app too by CLICKING HERE - it's good for boring hours waiting for a delayed flight). Yoda told them "Do" so they did.

Look - I know you have goals. The question is whether you're actively pursuing them and ready to achieve them. Heed Yoda's advice:

- "Ready are you?"
- Believe
- "Do"

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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Gutsy Leaders Know Top Talent Is Key

Today's guest post is from Bob Herbold, the former Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft Corporation and author of What's Holding You Back: 10 Bold Steps that Define Gutsy Leaders (buy a copy now by clicking this link). You can read more about Bob at the end of this post.

In 1995, Canon was in deep trouble. The company had built up debt of $7.5 billion. Its many product divisions were described in the press as a bunch of warring, money-losing fiefdoms that plodded along year after year. For example, they still had an electric typewriter division, even though PC’s were making such devices obsolete. Nobody was making the tough decisions, resulting in the lack of a focused vision, bloated costs and minimal innovation.

Why do managers find it so difficult to make the tough decisions; often wimping out and simply protecting the status quo?

First of all, tough decisions have some very challenging characteristics. They typically don’t have an ideal solution. All the options have some negatives as well as positives. Additionally, there is a lack of data concerning the issue, and whatever decision you eventually make, you are going to disappoint some group of people. Lastly, such decisions demand a long term perspective, even though there may be a short term band-aid to make the whole thing go away for a while.

So… why do managers fail to provide gutsy leadership when faced with such decisions?

There are a bunch of reasons, such as wanting to avoid conflict, endlessly searching for more information in a vain attempt to make certain their decision is correct , or avoiding a career risk. In many cases it is just plain lack of self confidence or a lack of urgency. Maybe they are trying to protect their turf, knowing full well that their current job would change is they tackle the issue.

These kinds of human behaviors lead to operational complexity as the organization gets more and more bloated and complex, since nobody it being hard on cost and complexity. Even more damaging, it leads to a lack of innovation. Ideas that are distinctive get beaten down and compromise-oriented decision making causes the primary activity to be debating, leading to an ever-increasing number of meetings and massive e-mail overload.

To avoid such situations, you need courageous leadership. In my book titled What's Holding You Back: 10 Bold Steps that Define Gutsy Leaders I outline ten principles that a manager needs to follow to provide the kind of leadership that will generate efficient operations and significant innovation. One of the most important of the ten principles is to staff for success; specifically put your top talent in the key jobs. But… how do you spot top talent?

Here are characteristics I think you should look for:

1) a consistent track record of always meeting goals
2) numerous examples of seizing bright ideas and making them happen
3) a very fast learner with good group and one-on-one communication skills.

It sounds easy, but managers tend to fog this up. They overestimate the value of experience related to the specific job opening. They worry too much about what others will think. Friendships get in the way. They put off the decision and leave the current players in place…hoping for the best.

Let’s go back to the Canon story. In 1995, the board of Canon reached into the organization and picked a consistently strong performer, Fujio Mitarai, to be the new CEO. Mitarai moved fast and with guts. He shut down 7 product divisions, including electric typewriters, and announced that Canon would be in only three businesses: copiers, printers, and cameras; and Canon would become a top global player in each.

His courageous leadership in eliminating struggling efforts, cutting out bureaucracy, exploiting robots in manufacturing, and building up R&D and innovation are legendary. In ten years, he drove Canon’s operating margins to 15%, three times that of other leading consumer electronics firms, and Canon emerged as among the global leaders in copiers, printers, and cameras.

The lesson is clear. Courageous leaders know that top talent makes a huge difference. Put such people in your key jobs.

- Bob Herbold is the former Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft Corporation and the author of three books on leadership. His latest, What's Holding You Back: 10 Bold Steps that Define Gutsy Leaderswas released February, 2011 by Wiley/Jossey-Bass. More on the book and Bob’s blog on leadership can be found at www.bobherbold.com.

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4 Easy Steps to Motivating Your People

Today's guest post is by Mike Henry Sr. of Lead Change Group. You can read more about him at the end of this post. Here's Mike:

People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. - John Maxwell

Trust comes from motivation and competence. When people believe you are for the things they are for, and when they believe you can do the things you say you can do, they begin to trust.

The first challenge for building trust lies with the motivation gap - the gap between what you are working for and what others are working for. You might think motivations are the same, but we have problems with this ourselves. All you need to do is look at your checkbook or your waistline. You want to be fit, but there's also that half-gallon of ice cream in the freezer calling your name. We all live with internal gaps between our short-term desires and our long-term objectives.

Motivation gaps exist everywhere. Your team members are working toward goals. You are working toward goals. Your leaders are working toward goals and your organization is working toward goals. Your vendors are too, and so are your internal or external customers. The more people and goals are involved the greater the chances for conflict and a breakdown in trust.

CARE – Four steps to close the Motivation Gap

Caring dissolves the tangle of motivation gaps. When we care for someone, we appreciate the things that are important to them. We don't necessarily agree, but awareness and understanding bring clarity to the gap between what they want and what we think we want.

How can you eliminate the gaps and show your stakeholders how much you care? Four ideas come to mind:

Care
If others aren't important to you, eventually the truth will be known. You must begin to appreciate people. Develop a genuine appreciation for the contributions they bring. The harder this is for you, the greater your problem, not theirs. Take time every day to notice and appreciate people. Stop focusing on the goal and burn your mental energy thinking about your people. Do you know their kid's names or their parents? We all want to be known. You can not care for someone you don't know.

Ask
A question is an admission of a desire to know something you don't know. So many a proud person won't ask because they don't want to admit they do not know. But there is no shame in learning. Focus on the result, that you will know your teammates better, and ask. People appreciate your desire to know more than they focus on what you didn't know. (And yes, I'm still guilty of this. We're all in process...)

Remember
Nothing shows insincerity more than asking the same question over and over again. If people are important to you, then remember it. Do you remember your golf score better than you remember your teammate's birthdays, that's a sign. You will remember the things that are important to you. Once you train yourself to appreciate people, it will begin to get easier but old habits die hard.

Engage
Act on what you know. Is it their birthday. Say so. Give them a card. Did they tell you their mom was ill? Put it on your calendar to ask them how she's doing. Action proves motive and knowledge. If you don't act on the information you have you blow the entire effort.

The first step in building trust is to remember the acronym CARE: Care, Ask Remember and Engage. These begin building the trust necessary for any great team accomplishments. Caring is the just the first step. Trust also involves competence. But people won't care how good you are until they know how much you care either.

Mike Henry Sr. is the founder of the Lead Change Group, an affiliation of leadership professionals applying character-based leadership to make a positive difference. Check out the Lead Change blog to learn more.

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7 Ways to Motivate Without Money

Today's guest blogger is Dr. Todd Dewett. You can learn more about him at the end of the post. He covers the importance of non-monetary ways to motivate your people (and we've talked about it NOT being about the money in this prior post - CLICK HERE to read why Nelly is wrong). Here's Dr. Dewett:

Money does not matter nearly as much as you think it does. At home or work, no amount of money replaces great relationships. Leaders generally like money more than the folks whom they lead. The fact that money motivates leaders more is not a bad thing per se. The problem is that leaders too often assume that money is a prime motivator for others.

Employees, of course, do like money and want to continue receiving their paychecks. Yet, when you go ask them what really makes them happy, they will say things like being appreciated, being in the loop, and having good relationships. Money is rarely near the top of the list.

If you want more bang for your buck, you actually have to stop spending so many bucks. There are many potentially useful monetary motivators that serve as a financial “thank you,” such as a day of paid vacation, tickets to a sporting event, gift certificates of any form, simple cash payouts, and more elaborate efforts such as gain sharing.

Gain sharing deserves special attention because it represents the best and the worst of the monetary approaches to motivation. Gain sharing involves measuring some aspect of performance over time. When a group or unit performs above some historical standard, that is a “gain,” and it is financially quantified and shared with the workers according to some agreed upon formula.

Unfortunately, this often leads to myopic views of the organization, employees questioning management decisions based on how it affects parameters in the formula, and in general, moves the employees’ focus from the work to the formula. If you overindulge in monetary approaches to motivation – whether it is gift certificates or gain sharing, the following ugly outcomes are likely:

- People begin to expect more monetary rewards. They never expect less, always more, always bigger.

- People feel left out. If someone does not receive a reward, even if they do not honestly deserve a reward, they often feel resentment.

- Your thinking becomes less productive. As a leader, you stop thinking about people and processes and begin instead thinking about new possible rewards that will motivate your employees.

- Employees stop thinking as much about the work.

The more financial motivators are present, the more they become the focus instead of the work. Monetary motivators are not improper. They simply cannot be your major approach to motivating others. If you do use them, make sure:

- The performance in question is amazing. The instance of performance being rewarded cannot be average or a little better than average. It must be spectacular.

- You provide a great public explanation. This helps others understand the nature of the rewarded performance, thereby setting expectations as to the level of performance required to be so honored.

- You provide the reward immediately. The time when the reward is viewed as most justified and when it is most understood by all observers is immediately following performance, not weeks or months later. Periodic, formal ceremonies can be nice, but do not lose your opportunity to motivate, “in the moment.”

Not only are non-monetary motivators free or cheap compared to financially-oriented rewards, but there are many more of them. Imagine the unlimited versions of these common examples:

1. Recognition for their work. A pat on the back, “job well done,” “congratulations,” “great work,” etc. Public or private, to an individual or group. Genuine positive comments are terribly useful. The two most important words in business are, “Thank you.”

2. Recognition concerning work efforts. This is a neglected tactic. Great outcomes only materialize once in a while. In the meantime, thanking people for their efforts is invaluable. Do not drown them in praise, but do not forget to recognize the efforts and the outcomes.

3. Non-financial benefits or perks. These refer to non- monetary (though not cost free) efforts to support quality work-life balance such as: flex-time, in-house valet services, or health club memberships.

4. Awards. Awards are a physical reminder of a particular achievement. Common awards involve certificates, plaques, or any number of other objects deemed to represent the achievement symbolically.

5. Celebratory ceremonies. Ceremonies are the actual events surrounding the delivery of awards. When creative and thoughtful, they can be as meaningful as the award itself.

6. Provide autonomy. One of the greatest rewards is to be treated like a capable professional. When provided with reasonable liberty at work, employees feel much stronger ownership over their work.

7. Connect to the outcomes. Give employees purpose while saying thank you: if they work to support a much larger process or some faraway final product or service, help them understand their contribution. Use pictures, videos, or share a customer “thank-you” letter with the entire group.

Finally, you must recognize that the problem is not finding ways to say thank you. The problem is that we usually recognize and reward people too much! Since we all recognize the importance of the basic notion of motivation, it is easy to over recognize. We send out emails touting others’ successes, we select the employee of the month, we have quarterly recognition ceremonies with food or gifts.

The profound rule we too often neglect is that all recognition and rewards should be provided contingent on performance. Not for showing up. Not for average performance either, but for providing clearly above average efforts and for achieving clearly above average outcomes.

Be creative and heartfelt but don’t reward mediocrity or you will get more of the same!

- Dr. Todd Dewett is the President of TVA Inc. and a Professor of Management at Wright State University. He regularly blogs about leadership at Just Dewett - Fuel for Leaders.

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How Mr. Spock Helps You Make Better Decisions

As leaders, we like being decisive and making quick decisions. We know our businesses well and are willing to act. Doing so without true contrarian input can be dangerous though.

You can make better decisions though simply by identifying and relying on your own personal Mr. Spock. Yes, I've been watching movies again and as usual, I can't help but draw a leadership perspective from them.

In Star Trek (the new version - which was awesome) Captain Kirk is decisive yet impetuous. He takes on huge risks and acts on emotion. Many times he's right. He has a good gut feeling and intuition. He knows his team and his organization's capabilities. He's a great tactician. But it's easy to see how his snap decisions could lead to disaster.

Mr. Spock on the other hand is brutally logical and dispassionate. He is stylistically diametrically opposed to Captain Kirk. Needless to say the two of them go at each others' throats (both figuratively and literally when Spock snaps and chokes out Kirk).

As a team, however, the two of them make better decisions. As conflict-laden and dysfunctionally painful as their relationship is at times, it works.

All of us would do well as leaders to find our own Mr. Spock. Here's what I mean...

At one point in my career I had my own Mr. Spock. I was young, impetuous, and action-oriented. My bias was to make decisions, act on them, and see what happened. Sometimes those weren't the best decisions and things kind of blew up on me (I know... hard to believe, right? ;). During those blow-ups I had my team in crisis damage control mode. We would clean things up, learn from them and move on with life.

One day, my Mr. Spock showed up - uninvited might I add. He was even-keeled. He asked difficult questions. He wanted me to articulate the logic and reason behind the decisions I wanted to make. He was a complete pain in my behind.

I avoided Spock at all costs. I made decisions without involving him. I didn't invite him to meetings where we discussed upcoming decisions. I was an immature idiot in how I related to him.

Spock, being a driven little Vulcan, often found out about upcoming decisions and in his unemotional way invited himself to participate in the decision making process. He asked great questions. He pointed out logical flaws. He made my life difficult, slower, yet oddly more insightful.

Spock's involvement in the decision making process helped the team avoid some errors and in one case prevented a pretty good sized crisis. He made us sharper and smarter. Over time I came to respect and seek out his input when I understood the value he added to the process. No, I didn't thoroughly enjoy it but involving him was like Brussels sprouts - distasteful but good for you.

So who is your Mr. Spock? Who is that person that makes you consider other alternatives? Who is the person you avoid because they ask difficult questions and force you to think through your decisions more thoroughly? Sure, they slow you down but sometimes they're the only obstacle between you and the Romulan warship you're flying into range of.

Identify the person who can be your Spock. Have an up-front conversation with them about your style and their style. Let Spock know how you would like to involve him/her in your decision making process. Be sure to agree to disagree at times and try to clarify who makes what decisions and who has the authority to make which calls.

As painful as you might find it, you might learn a thing or two. You will likely make better decisions. Sure things might be slower but wouldn't you rather take a little more time to increase your chances of success than rapidly flying into a Klingon ambush?

Find your Mr. Spock. He'll help you be a better leader because good leaders listen. Good leaders make informed decisions. Good leaders utilize all available resources on their teams. Good leaders are open to input and productive dissent. You owe it to your team and your organization to endure the pain of dealing with Mr. Spock because in the end, it's better for everyone involved - including you.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
- Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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