Monthly Archives: June 2012

#130 – News Flash: Leaders are Human

News Flash – Leaders are human. Leaders aren’t perfect.
Yes, this is a tongue-in-cheek statement of the obvious, but I hoped to get your attention and make an important point: oftentimes, leaders, in their accustomed role of being in charge and being good at what they do, may lose sight of the reality that they aren’t in fact good at everything. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and it’s the best leaders who have the self-awareness to recognize, and manage, both sides of this coin.

Food for Thought ~

There are many paths to self-awareness: rigorous personal assessment, 360 degree feedback systems, executive coaching, and spiritual practice, just to name a few. Whatever path, or combination of approaches is used, the goal is a high degree of personal self-knowledge. This is essential if a leader wants to truly maximize his or her effectiveness. Old style command and control type leaders usually can’t tolerate this level of self-awareness, and in fact don’t “need” it in order to simply give orders. But leaders who work from a different premise – that leadership is a collaborative role that requires a diverse set of skills – will find that self-awareness is the necessary foundation.

Question for the day ~

How much time and effort have you committed to increasing your self-awareness? How has it made you a better leader?

My new column in the North Bay Business Journal is on the importance of being prepared for the unexpected. For those of you who haven’t read it yet: please click here to read the article.

Mary

#129 – “To Be or Not To Be Prepared”

During the 1989 earthquake in Santa Rosa, I was at a meeting in an office that did not have an emergency plan and the leader was the first one out the door. I have a client whose building burned to the ground one night. These are just two personal examples of the things we think won’t happen. In every organization, no matter how large or small, disaster preparedness is relevant. As leaders, we are responsible for planning for the unexpected. It can be easy to put this low on the priority list, but I urge you to resist that inclination. For inspiration and information on this topic, here’s a link to my new column, published last week in the North Bay Business Journal.

Food for Thought ~

… the quality of leadership prior to a crisis depends on foresight and discipline. The quality of leadership during a crisis depends on wisdom and character. In the disaster preparedness realm, the operative word is when, not if. Continue reading the article

Question for the day ~

Does your organization have an up-to-date disaster preparedness plan?

My sincere congratulations if your answer to that question is “yes.” This is one plan I hope you have but never need. Former Girl Scouts may remember that “Be Prepared” was our official motto. (O.K. former Boy Scouts – what was your motto?) Please, be prepared!

Mary

#128 – New Ideas in Organizations

For the past two weeks ago we have been exploring the theme of how leaders can support the introduction of new ideas and encourage employee participation in the leadership function. Here’s a thoughtful and instructive response from Terry Garrett of GoLocal Sonoma County, an organization that promotes building a resilient, thriving, local economy by supporting local, independently owned companies. (Disclosure – I am proud to be a completely biased founding member of this organization.) www.golocal.coop.

Food for Thought from Terry Garrett ~

Over the years I’ve come to favor consciously nurturing ideas via organizational process rather than the informal “planting a seed.” Ideas are the life blood of a organization. They can sink or boost a company and that makes them powerful. As such, ideas require due diligence and open, direct communication among members of a company to vet them and decide which ones to adopt and which ones to avoid. Our company uses a two-stage idea pipeline for quickly assessing ideas to determine which ones go forward to the testing phase, as well as the criteria for the test results. Certainly for small ideas, like changes in schedules or operations, an informal method works well. But above all, open and honest communication about ideas is important.

Question for the day ~

What methods does your organization use to explore, nurture, and test new ideas and encourage employee engagement and involvement?

My new column in the NorthBay Business Journal was published this week. It addresses the subject of emergency preparedness, because it’s a matter of when, not if something will happen, and it’s a leader’s responsibility to be sure his/her organization is prepared. Click here to read the article.

Mary

#127 – Leadership is like Gardening

Last week I invited readers to compare leadership and gardening. I received this thoughtful response from Janet Beazlie ~ a professional landscape gardener. I hope you enjoy her insights.

Food for Thought ~

“A gardener can’t ‘make’ the plants in her garden grow, but she is responsible for creating and maintaining the conditions needed for growth: healthy soil, exposure to light, nourishment and protection from invasive plants and pests. Similarly, a good leader is responsible for providing conditions that are conducive to the changes she wants to make: designing work systems that support such actions, removing barriers, and providing
protection from others who might undermine the changes.

Consider trellises. These are structures used by gardeners to support upward growth of plants that may not be able to support their growth with only their own stems. The trellises not only support the plants as they grow, but they also protect them from winds and hard rains. Organizational change has its own storms. Good leaders find ways for the organization to support the changes they want by building in organizational supports (mentoring, training, rewards) as well as building in ‘protection’ for those brave workers willing to pioneer change.

When establishing new plants, the gardener often has to provide hand watering til the plant’s roots are developed and the plant is thriving in the garden. In organizations, in a time of scarce resources, timely delivery of resources is key. So it’s important for operations to receive what they need and thus avoid a crisis. At the same time, the leader needs to recognize that special handling and more frequent communication will be necessary to help new operations become established.”

Question for the day ~

In what way do these analogies between gardening and leadership resonate with you?

This is a great reminder of the critical role that leaders have and underscores the importance of their attentiveness. Thanks, Janet!

Mary