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ExcellenceL E A D E R S H I P

THE MAGAZINE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY

OCTOBER 2010

“Leadership Excellence is an exceptionalway to learn and then apply the best and latest ideas in the field of leadership.”

—WARREN BENNIS, AUTHOR ANDUSC PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT

Transcend the Possible Transcend the Possible

MaestroLeadership

MaestroLeadership

FieldLeadership

FieldLeadership

Leading in Hard Times

Leading in Hard Times

Roger NierenbergSymphony Conductorand Leadership Consultant

ExcellenceL E A D E R S H I P

THE MAGAZINE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY

KEN SHELTON

Leaders Develop LeadersUse this as the mantraof your LD program. . . . . 2

WARREN BENNIS

Field LeadershipI learned many lessonsin wartime trenches. . . . . . 3

NANDO PARRADO

Keep Hope AliveIt’s all you have on any survival trek. . . . . . . .5

MITCH ALBOM

Have a Little FaithAn attitude of gratitude will keep you alive. . . . . . 6

PHIL HARKINS

Leading in Hard TimesExercise courage and apply 10 tactics. . . . . . . . . .7

LAURA STACK

Leader ProductivityStart creating yourculture of excellence. . . . . 8

TIM HURSON

Think BetterSee more clearly, think more creatively. . . . . . . . . .9

HOWARD DEAN

Hiring DiversityShare leadership with diverse talent. . . . . . . . . . .9

HANK HANEY

Practice PatienceAnalyze your style to improve results. . . . . . . .10

MARSHALL GOLDSMITH

Future LeadersBe cognizant of global shifts and local trends. . .11

ROBERT E. KNOWLING, JR.

Leading TransformationDramatically change the direction of your organization by leadingpeople with passion. . . . . .12

TONY ALESSANDRA

Look of LeadershipYou may never have a chance to show substance if you lack style. . . . . . . . .13

ROGER NIERENBERG

Maestro LeadershipLearn how to conduct with confidence your team’s performance. . . . 14

BILL STRICKLAND

Vision InspiresThe first act of leadership is to have a vision of a better, brighter future . . .15

BILL GEORGE

Authentic LeadersThey make the differencein their worlds. . . . . . . . .16

RICHARD E. BOYATZIS

How People ChangeCoach people in a way that inspires growth. . . . 17

HAL MOVIUS

Better AgreementsTrain leaders to negotiate better outcomes. . . . . . . .18

MERRIE SPAETH

BP’s Oil SpillEvery leader can learn some lessons from this. . .19

PATRICK LENCIONI

Getting NakedBe open and transparent in service and innovation . .20

VOL. 27 NO. 10 OCTOBER 2010

Man in the Moon

Even at night, the leader or

maestro of virtue is vigilant,

keeping a watchful eye on all

who count on him for vision

and navigation and who have

a stake in the success of the

venue or venture.

I’M PLEASED TO REVEAL THE2010 Best in Leadership Dev-

elopment rankings. Againthis year, we connected with over 1,000organizations known for developing leaders.

In tribute to the #1 ranked Global Instituteof Leadership Development (Linkage), I ded-icate this issue to the 2010 GILD speakers—all articles in this edition are authored bythem. What makes GILD and CLO #1 is thefact that these programs fit hand and glovewith our seven criteria: 1. Vision/mission. Arethese statements linked to business strategyand outcomes, and meaningful to participants?2. Design, content, and curriculum. Howwell designed is the LD model? How credi-ble is the content? How relevant is the cur-riculum? How customized is the program?3. Involvement and participation. How broadis the involvement and how deep the partic-

ipation? 4. Measurement and accountability.What ROI measures are made and reportedand to what degree is accountability for per-formance and results part of the program? 5.Presenters, presentations, and delivery. Whatare the qualifications of the presenters, howeffective are their presentations, and how isthe program delivered? 6. Take-home value.What do participants take away and apply?7. Outreach. What is the impact of the programon all stakeholders? Do the program and itsparticipants benefit the broader community?

TTeedd HHooffff aanndd IIBBMMThis year, I rank IBM #1 among large

organizations after meeting Ted Hoff, VP ofIBM’s Center for LD, and witnessing hiswork. His mantra is Leaders Develop Leaders.He’s expanded the impact of his LD pro-gram from 600 to 60,000 people! Great LDprograms benefit all stakeholders, cultivateloyalty, and inspire service, even sacrifice.

We rate LD programs in seven categories:

I t ’ s t h e m a n t r a f o r m a n y L D m a n a g e r s .

by Ken Shelton

Volume 27 Issue 10

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Leaders Develop LeadersE . D . I . T . O . R ’ S N . O . T . E

2 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

Small to midsize organizations (20)1. Media Tec/CLO2. Carnival Cruise Lines3. Saltwater Institute4. DPR Construction5. Seagate Technology/LD6. BB&T 7. Container Store8. Equity Residential9. InsureMe 10. CSC

11. Analytical Graphics12. Simonton Windows13. Acuity 14. Highmark15. Vulcan Materials Co.16. Genencor International17. Datatel 18. Gables Residential19. American Laser 20. BJC Health

Large organizations (50)1. IBM 2. General Electric3. Boeing 4. Procter & Gamble5. Ritz-Carlton Hotels6. Sun Microsystems7. Fed Ex/ELI 8. Microsoft9. Qualcomm 10. Intel

11. Yahoo 12. Caterpillar Univ.13. Chevron 14. General Mills15. Alcatel-Lucent16. Capital One 17. Direct Energy LDP18. GM University19. Johnson & Johnson20. Motorola 21. Intercontinental Hotels22. Pepsico/Pepco Holdings23. Cigna 24. Mars 25. McDonald’s/HU 26. Whirlpool27. Wachovia Corp. 28. LaQuinta29. Bank of America30 Farmer’s Insurance31. MasterCard 32. SCC Soft Computer33. Northrop Grumman34. BNY Mellon Asset Mgmt.35. ConAgra 36. Disney/DI37. Allied Barton 38. UBS39. Black & Decker 40. Brown-Forman

41. Archer Daniels Midland42. Textron 43. Colgate44. Memorial Health 45. Medco 46. Johnson Controls 47. Barilla America48. JetBlue 49. Digitas 50. Lowes

Education (25)1. Univ. of Michigan/Ross2. Center for Public Leadership, JFK

School of Government, Harvard3. Univ. of Chicago/GSB/Leadership4. MIT /Sloan LC5. Harvard Business/Authentic LD6. Northwestern/Kellogg7. Pennsylvania/Wharton8. USC/Marshall/CEO9. UCLA/Anderson

10. Utah Valley Univ./CAL11. Duke/Fuqua 12. Vanderbuilt LD13. Yale Leadership Institute14. Stanford/GSB Leadership15. Emory Univ. 16. SMU/Cox17. Pepperdine/Graziadio/SBM18. Carnegie Mellon/Tepper/Leadership19. Alliant/MGSM 20. Ball State/ EdL21. OSU/Fisher College of Business22 . Rider Univ./CDLS 23. Univ. N.Colorado/Monfort Institute24. Rollins College/Crummer GSB25. Notre Dame/Mendoza/EIL

Non-profit organizations (22)1. ASTD 2. SHRM3. American Management Assoc. (AMA)4. Human Capital Institute (HCI)5. NYC Leadership Academy6. ISPI 7. HR.Com8. IQPC/Corporate University9. National Management Assoc. (NMA)

10. Greenleaf Center11. Conference Board12. Berkana Institute13. Leader to Leader Institute

14. CAEL 15. Philips Ultrasound16. Trinity Health 17. CHCI18. International Leadership Assoc.19. Healthcare Businesswomen Assoc.20. Addison Avenue Fed. Credit Union21. Rush University Medical Center22. Best Practices in Leadership Devel.

Government/military (15)1. Defense Acquisition University2. U.S. Marine Academy3. U.S. Air Force Academy4. U.S. Army/Westpoint5. FBI Academy6. U.S. Navy Naval Academy7. NASA/Leadership Alchemy8. U.S. Army Rangers9. ASQ Baldrige Award

10. U.S. Coast Guard 11. FAA12. U.S. National Guard13. National Defense University14. U.S. Tactical/Seals15. Naval Undersea Warfare Center

Consultants/trainers/coaches (33)1. Korn/Ferry International 2. Marshall Goldsmith Partners3. Zenger/Folkman4. Bluepoint Leadership5. Ninth House 6. Jim Collins7. Human Performance Institute8. Leaders Toolbox9. Marcus Buckingham Company

10. Tom Peters Company11. Guttman Dev. Strategies12. Strategos 13. Leadership Circle14. Josh Bersin & Assoc.15. Arneson Leadership Consulting16. Forum LD 17. Root Learning18. Table Group 19. Chip Bell Group20. iLeadUSA 20. Right Management21. Leadergrow 22. Monitor Group23. Leadership Challenge/KP

24. Authentic Leadership Institute25. Leadership Development Services26. Sensei International27. Michael G. Winston Leadership28. Mariposa Leadership29. The Levin Group30. Perth Leadership Institute31. Refinery Leadership Partners32. Future Considerations33. Benchmark Communications

Large consulting groups (33)1. Linkage/GILD2. Results-Based Leadership3. Achieve Global4. Center for Creative Leadership5. Senn-Delaney Leadership6. McKinsey/Leadership7. Denison Consulting8. DDI 9. Accenture

10. Lee Hecht Harrison11. Adizes Institute12. Richard Chang Assoc.13. Dialogos 14. Mercer15. Booz Allen Hamilton16. Hewitt/Leadership17. Plante & Moran18. BlessingWhite19. Vital Smarts 20 Franklin-Covey21. Ken Blanchard Companies22. Integro Leadership Institute23. Personnel Decisions Intl. (PDI)24. Human Potential Project25. Crowe Horwath 26. Leadergrow26. Kepner-Tregoe27. Gallup/Leadership28. Dale Carnegie/LD29. Oliver Wyman/LD30. Corrnerstone CG31. Deloitte/Leadership32. Maxcomm/Full Circle Group33. Leadership Circle

2010 BEST IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT RANKING

And we were often filthy—showerswere as rare as hot meals. Ordered toassume command of a platoon on thefront lines, I arrived around midnight.The men were sleeping in the ruins ofa house. The platoon’s runner took meinto what remained of the kitchen andshowed me a bench where I couldsleep. I then made my first importantleadership decision—I chose to put mysleeping bag on the floor with my men.Without knowing why, I made a quiet,unobtrusive entrance—not one of thoseflashy, arrogant entrances that so manyofficers made and enlisted men despised(some officers rub their superior rankin the faces of their men). I quicklylearned that the men needed me as muchas I needed them. The Battle of the Bulgehad taken a dreadful toll on my pla-toon. We were down to 24 men (from

48) with only two officers (down fromsix) in the company of four platoons.

Listen to your men. At 19, I was luckyto have joined a company of seasonedsoldiers. Although no one said it, themen had decided to teach me how tobe a leader. They started at once. Earlythat morning, the first sergeant toldme, “We’d like you to follow the cap-tain for a couple of days, just to seewhat he’s doing.” They’d decided Iwas too green to make it on my own, acondition that endangered their lives.

Learn from a mentor. That was myintroduction to the commanding offi-cer, Captain Bessinger, my first mentorand one of the finest leaders I’ve everknown. One thing he did as a leaderwas to listen to his men—a good wayto get valuable information but alsoevidence of his respect for them—eventhough he was quite deaf as a result oftoo much exposure to too many deci-bels in too many battles. And he didall he could to keep them safe from the

Field Leadership

I’VE SPENT MUCH OF MYacademic life in offices

and classrooms; yet Ilearned many leadership tenets in WWIItrenches. Here are lessons for leaders:

Listen to the music. Like so manyothers, my father lost his last real jobin 1932. From then on, he supportedmy mother, older twin brothers, andme loading illegal booze for the NewJersey mob. He worked tirelessly, buthe had no talent for business. Hopinga change in geography would changehis luck, he moved us from New Jerseyto Southern California, where a friendowned a drugstore in Beverly Hills.

In Los Angeles, my father opened amalt shop. It wasn’t much of a finan-cial success, but it bettered my life. Asa confused, nebbishy teenager, recent-ly graduated from high school, I wasunmoored, unsure of who I was, letalone who I wanted to be. I didn’thave interests so much as a handful ofobsessions. The healthiest, by far, wasmy quest to build a collection of greatpop music. Music was my therapy, asit is for many young people whoyearn for something they can’t yetarticulate—something grander thantheir lonely, mundane lives.

Learn to lead: ready or not. In June1943, as my 18th birthday neared, I de-cided to enlist in the Army SpecializedTraining Program. Just 18 months later,(Dec. 1944) I was the rawest secondlieutenant in the U.S. Army, a 19-year-old shavetail trying to keep my platoon(and myself ) alive as we pursued theretreating enemy into southern Ger-many. I was a replacement officer inthe 63rd Infantry Division, arrivingthere as American forces were in thefinal throes of the Battle of the Bulge.

Back home in Southern California, Imight have felt half-formed and inse-cure. But in Germany, I was about tobecome a leader of men, ready or not.

In your entry as a leader, be low-key.Our orders were to capture or kill Ger-man soldiers and clear the towns theyhad occupied and abandoned. Whenon the march (most of the time), wewere cold, wet, exhausted, and oftenhungry, desperate for anything hot.

potentially deadly bad decisions madeby the brass. The first, most criticalthing Bessinger did for me was to giveme the short course in survival on thefront. By example, he taught me howto navigate the lethal terrain of war.

Stop grousing. By January 1945 theGermans were in retreat but still dead-ly. The most dangerous thing we didwas fighting house to house. You haveno idea what might be waiting for you.Some civilians hung white flags in win-dows to let Allied soldiers know theywere peaceful, but so did Germantroops hoping to trick us. When wewere not fighting or trying to get warm,we did what soldiers have always done—we groused. Once, Captain Bessingerlistened patiently as I ticked off mygrowing list of complaints about theArmy—from the inadequacy of our airsupport to the woeful quality of thefood. One day, almost sputtering withdisgust, I began to rant, “I don’t knowhow the hell we’re going to win thiswar . . .” At that point, CaptainBessinger had enough. As usual hehad a cheekful of Red Man chewingtobacco. Perhaps to emphasize hispoint, he spat out his tobacco and said,“Shit, kid, they’ve got an army too.”

Earn trust and respect. The menquickly seemed to accept me, even likeme, and I soon felt comfortable, evensafe, with them. Trust, a kind of love,and the knowledge that you share acommon fate, forges bonds betweensoldiers. Courage is so often a functionof that sense of belonging, and some-times so is cowardice. GIs were citizensoldiers who had to obey their officers,but they didn’t have to respect them.Most new officers had no idea how towin over their men. The lucky oneshad the empathy and emotional intel-ligence to realize that their acceptancewas not a given and to signal theirrespect to those under their command.When I went through Officer CandidateSchool, our instructors at Fort Benning,charged with the task of turning rawmaterial into officers, tried to warn ushow important it was to prove our-selves to those we led. It was one ofcountless ways they tried, at recordspeed, to create officers who inspiredtrust and might stay alive long enoughto win the war. You can’t commandrespect, they warned us: “Don’t flauntthose gold bars. You have to earn them.”

Seek advanced training. Although Ididn’t appreciate it at the time, I waslucky to have been trained as an officerat Fort Benning. There, I completed anupdated version of the same grueling,legendary Infantry Officer Basic Course

by Warren Bennis

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 3

LEADERSHIP LESSONS

I t m a t t e r s m o s t i n t h e t r e n c h e s .

that polished the military and leader-ship skills of “Ike” Eisenhower, GeorgeMarshall, and Colin Powell. Our mottowas emblazoned on a banner: “I am theInfantry, the Queen of Battle. Follow Me!”We trained for 17 weeks in weapons,communications, navigation, fitness,vehicle and equipment maintenance,and leadership. We learned how tofight the enemy under the most realis-tic conditions the Army could simulate.

Thanks to Benning, I didn’t have tomaster the tricky business of fightinghouse to house in Germany. We learnedthe art of it in the replica of a Europeanvillage the Army built on red Georgiaclay. There I learned skills and habitsthat have served me well my entire life.I learned the value of organization. Ilearned how to work as part of a team.I learned that one of my most importantjobs was to take care of my people. FortBenning was exhausting and demand-ing. But I found a lot to like there. Themilitary was a great equalizer, andBenning was as close to a meritocracyas I’ve known. You could come fromthe wealthiest family and be a disaster;you could come from the poorest fami-ly and be a success. All that matteredwas performance—and attitude.

Education in leadership should pre-pare you for what needs to be done.Most lessons were experiential, and ofthe highest order. I never heard any-thing at MIT or Harvard that toppedthe best lectures I heard at Benning, nodoubt because I knew they might savemy life. The school wants three thingsout of officers: academically sound,physically fit, and leadership. Lack ofleadership washes the majority out.Everything you do in the field indicateswhether you have leadership or not.

Know the downside of leadership. Idon’t know now why I volunteered forOfficer Candidate School. There wereno early indications that I’d develop afascination with leadership or even thestomach for it. I remember readingJulius Caesar in junior high school andthinking it was a cautionary tale. Beinga leader might make you rich andfamous, but it could also get you killed.That seemed like a pronounced downsideto a child afraid of almost everything,from dogs to lightning. I’ve alwaysbelieved that fear is as contagious asmeasles or chicken pox, and my moth-er was the perfect vector. She was theleast calm person I’ve ever known (myfather called her Calamity Jane), and Ithink I caught my early fearfulness fromher. Oddly enough, I was rarely afraidas a soldier. That was true even thoughI knew that the average platoon leader

back on. And none of my men got sentback because of trench foot. It is one ofthe things I’m most proud of doing inthe war. It was an example of an officerfulfilling one of his most importantobligations—taking care of his men.

Endure to the end. By April 1945, weknew the war had to end soon. At thatpoint, we got really scared. Nobodywanted to die on the last day of thewar. We had just one more town totake—in Bavaria, near Ulm. The townhad been bombed by Allied planes, butthere were still enough tall buildings toshelter German snipers. My platoonwas between two others whose orderswere to cross the airfield and take thetown. It was clear that we’d be vulner-able to enemy fire if we went in with-out armored support, so one of myforward observers called for tank sup-port. In time, the tank commanderarrived, took one look at the exposed

airfield, and refused to leadus in. I don’t know whatgot into me, but I told himthat he would most certainlybe leading us in. I’d alreadydrawn my pistol. The manwas much older—I’d justturned 20—but he was per-suaded by my argument.We swept into town behindthree tanks, with his in thelead. Later, my superiorsawarded me the bronze

star for my soldiering that day.Invent a new life. I stayed in the Army

after the war was over in Europe andended up in Frankfurt. There I partici-pated in a project that planted the seedsof my interests in leadership: interviewingsoldiers about their morale, the qualityof their leaders, and what they wantedto do in the future. I also spent muchtime in the officers club, educatingmyself for what I hoped lay ahead.Without being obvious, I began to be afirst-class noticer of officers’ behavior.

On August 6, 1945, I was on a basein Heidelberg. As the officer of the day, Iwas inspecting the men at the guardposts when one soldier, wild-eyed,saluted and blurted out, “Sir, did youhear the news on Armed Forces Network—we dropped 20,000 tons of TNT onHiroshima. It’s gone. They say theJapanese must now surrender!”

I thanked him for the report. He sal-uted and said, with a look of joy,“Now we can have our lives back.”

I realized I didn’t want my old lifeback—I wanted to invent a new one. LE

Warren Bennis is author of Still Surprised, a Memoir of a Lifein Leadership (Wiley). Visit www.WarrenBennis.com.

ACTION: Apply these lessons in leadership.

had only six weeks to three monthsbefore he was seriously wounded orkilled. I rarely thought I’d die, evenwhen we were under fire. In fact, I wasfar more anxious as a new universitypresident than I ever was in combat.

Fully assume the role. My lack offear may have been directly related tothe role I assumed as a platoon leader.That role required me to appear calmand fearless to my men. Too often welook to psychobiography, not role, toexplain behavior. I believe that the roleswe play in life have more to do with our suc-cesses or failures than our personal histories.Being a soldier came with an impres-sive costume—a handsome uniform.And much as a good actor does, whenI put on that uniform and the gold barsthat went with it, I instantly became anofficer. The role prescribed certain atti-tudes and behaviors, and provided modelsfor how I was to act. It empowered meto try on selves that nothingin my past had suggestedto me. I was expected tolead my men and give andenforce orders and so I did,without any of the hesita-tion or insecurity that wasnatural to the boy I’d been.The uniform gave me per-mission—required me, real-ly—to observe the officersaround me and to findstrategies for being a suc-cessful officer in their example. Nothingin my previous life had indicated there was aleader in me waiting to emerge. But theuniform gave me entree into the lead-ers’ world. It created expectations of lead-ership that I was eager to fulfill, and itgave me an ideal vantage point from whichto observe good leadership and bad beingplayed out in real time for the highest possi-ble stakes, human lives. In an almostmagical way, the uniform bestowed onme the ability to do what I had to do. Itwas talisman and inspiration, a symbolof my new authority and responsibility.

Take care of people’s physical needs.In the field, one danger was trench foot.Our boots and socks would quicklybecome soaked. Soon our feet wouldbecome infected. If not tended to prop-erly, the toenails fell off, the feet turnedblack, and developed gangrene. Theproblem was enormous, especially forsoldiers stuck in foxholes. The onlyway to avoid it was to take off yourboots and socks, wash your feet, anddry them carefully, toe by toe, prefer-ably by a fire. Nightly, I made sureeach man took off his boots, washedhis feet, dried them carefully, and puton dry socks before he put his boots

4 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

promises to myself and my father, itwould end like this. We would all diein these mountains. We would sinkbeneath the snow, the ancient silencewould fall over us, and our loved oneswould never know how hard we hadstruggled to return to them.

In that moment all my dreams,assumptions, and expectations of lifeevaporated into the thin Andean air.I’d always thought that life was theactual thing, the natural thing, and thatdeath was simply the end of living.Now, in this lifeless place, I saw with aterrible clarity that death was the con-stant, death was the base, and life wasonly a short, fragile dream. I was deadalready. I’d been born dead, and what Ithought was my life was just a gamedeath let me play as it waited to take me.

In my despair, I felt a sharp and

sudden longing for the softness of mymother and my sister, and the warm,strong embrace of my father. My lovefor my father swelled in my heart, andI realized that, despite the hopelessnessof my situation, the memory of himfilled me with joy. It staggered me: Themountains, for all their power, werenot stronger than my attachment to myfather. They could not crush my abilityto love. I felt a moment of calmnessand clarity, and in that clarity of mind Idiscovered a simple, astounding secret:Death has an opposite, but the oppo-site is not mere living. It is not courageor faith or human will. The opposite ofdeath is love. How had I missed that?How does anyone miss that? Love isour only weapon. Only love can turnmere life into a miracle, and draw pre-cious meaning from suffering and fear.

For a brief, magical moment, all myfears lifted, and I knew that I wouldnot let death control me. I would walk

Keep Hope Alive

IN OCTOBER 1972,Uruguayan Air Force

Flight 571, carrying theUruguayan rugby team, crashed intothe Andes Mountains, leaving 16 peo-ple to survive for 72 days among thehighest peaks of Argentina and Chile.

After waking from the crash with aconcussion, I learned that my motherhad died on impact and my sister wasnear death. I became obsessed withsurviving. My rugby teammateRoberto Canessa and I decided tosearch for a way out of the mountains.Here I describe reaching the first sum-mit, which took four days to climb:

It was an agonizing process, inch-ing up the mountain that way, and thehours passed slowly. Sometime in latemorning I spotted blue sky above aridgeline and worked my way towardit. After so many false summits, I hadlearned to keep my hopes in check,but this time, as I climbed over theridge’s edge, the slope fell away flatand I found myself standing on agloomy hump of rock and wind-scoured snow. It dawned on me slow-ly that there was no more mountainabove me. I had reached the top.

I don’t remember feeling any joy orsense of achievement. If I did, it van-ished as soon as I glanced around. Thesummit gave me a 360-degree view ofcreation. From here I could see thehorizon circling the world like the rimof a colossal bowl, and in every direc-tion off into the fading blue distance,the bowl was crowded with legions ofsnow-covered mountains, each assteep as the one I had just climbed. Iknew that the Fairchild’s copilot hadbeen badly mistaken. We had notpassed Curicó, we were nowhere nearthe western limits of the Andes. Ourplane had fallen somewhere in themiddle of the vast cordillera.

I stood there, staring, motionlessuntil I felt a burning pressure in mylungs, and I realized I had forgotten tobreathe. I sucked air. My legs wentrubbery, and I fell to the ground. Icursed God and raged at the moun-tains. The truth was before me: for allmy striving, all my hopes, all my

through the god-forsaken country thatseparated me from my home with loveand hope in my heart. I would walkuntil I had walked all the life out ofme, and when I fell I would die thatmuch closer to my father. Thesethoughts strengthened me, and withrenewed hope I began to search forpathways through the mountains.

“There must be a way through themountains,” I said.” Do you see there,in the distance, two smaller peaks withno snow on them? Maybe the mountainsend there. We should head that way.”

In the morning we climbed the stepsto the summit. Roberto stood besideme. I saw the fear in his eyes, but I alsosaw the courage. “We may be walkingto our deaths,” I said, “but I’d ratherwalk to meet my death than wait fordeath to come to me.”

Roberto nodded. “You and I arefriends, Nando,” he said. “We’ve beenthrough so much. Now let’s go dietogether.” We walked to the western lipof the summit, eased ourselves over theedge, and began to make our way down.

MMaakkee MMiirraacclleess ooff YYoouurr OOwwnnI hope that my story helps you cope

with adversity. In adversity, leadersoften must take things one day at atime, keep hope alive, and make mira-cles of their own.

This harrowing experience taughtme to look forward, never backward,because I can’t modify the past. Manytimes I’ve asked myself why did I haveto go through something so extreme?Why did I invite my mother and sisterto go with me, only to die in the planecrash? I realized these questions willnever be answered, no matter howhard I search for them.

I learned that most of our lives willbe dictated by our own decisions andactions. I followed my heart and intu-ition when I was faced with the mosthorrible and hard circumstances I couldimagine, and I still do that every day.

This experience taught me muchabout leadership. The teamwork thatoccurred in an extreme survival envi-ronment showed me that there’s a dif-ferent type of leadership. Leadersemerged because of their actions andwork, not because they were appointedleadership positions. They were com-passionate, and the collaboration grewto levels where we were giving ourlives for one another. I have tried to bethe same type leader with my compa-nies, and it has worked. I give peoplemy best, and they give me their best.My people are my companies, not theother way around.

by Nando Parrado

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 5

LEADERSHIP HOPE

C h a r t a c o u r s e t o t h e s u m m i t .

In 2001/02, we went through a hardeconomic crisis. This crisis directlyimpacted my business. The situationwas so overwhelming that we didn’tknow what to do, except that we hadto do something. We started by cuttingcorners. I cut out all of the insuranceon the company’s assets. If we werebroke, what was the importance ofinsurance? At one point, we even stop-ped buying office supplies. I also rene-gotiated salaries with all of my staffand employees. We took it step by step,not knowing if we would survive.Thankfully, we were staying active.Many companies that were paralyzedby the economy did not survive.

When I was faced with this businesscrisis, I asked myself: How muchwould I have given 30 years ago to bein a situation where I was refinancingwith banks, negotiating new employeesalaries, and making incredibly fastdecisions that could make me go broke?

During that time, I would havesigned any paper given to me by thedevil to be alive and have to gothrough a bad business storm, insteadof being condemned to die a most hor-rible death. These were business deci-sions, whereas in the mountains, all ofthe answers were measured in termsof my own life or death. To make deci-sions where the outcome would onlyrelate to business gave me perspective.And then I just took it one day at atime. Three years after this huge busi-ness crisis, I was in the black again.

In business, I like to think I dealwith issues, not adversity. Sometimesthings do not go in the direction that Iwant them to go. Yet, I keep movingon regardless. I do not see failing asbeing unsuccessful. When adversitycomes, I look at the situation anddetermine the best course of action. Itry to sail through the storm, alwaysgoing forward—one step at a time. Ithink the essential thing is to not stop,but to always move forward.

I’ve redefined the meaning of theword impossible. For me, the onlyinsurmountable thing is death. Allother things can be dealt with. You cango around them, change them, leavethem, push them, change directions,change jobs. You always have options.

If you face any insurmountable oddsin a financial crisis, business crisis,relationship crisis, health crisis, youcan dive inside yourself and search foryour own version of a miracle. LE

Nando Parrado, “Miracle in the Andes” plane crash survivoris author of Miracle in the Andes. Visit www.parrado.com.

ACTION: Keep moving forward.

by Mitch Albom

a pill for his peace of mind. He loved tosmile. He avoided anger. He was neverhaunted by “Why am I here?” He knewwhy: to give to others, to celebrate God, andto enjoy and honor the world he was putin. His morning prayer began “Thankyou, Lord, for returning my soul to me.”

When you start that way, the rest ofthe day is a bonus.

What makes a man happy? I asked him.He rolled his eyes around the hospi-

tal room. “This may not be the bestsetting for that question. On the otherhand, here we must face the real issues.Some people will get better. Some willnot. So it may be a good place to definewhat happiness means. Society tells uswe must have things to be happy—anew this or that, a bigger house, a bet-ter job. I know the falsity of it. I havecounseled many people who have allthese things, and I can tell you they arenot happy because of them. The num-ber of marriages that have disintegrat-ed when they had all the stuff in theworld. The families who fought andargued all the time, when they hadmoney and health. Having more does notkeep you from wanting more. And if youalways want more—to be richer, more

beautiful, more famous—you are missing the biggerpicture, and I can tell you,happiness will never come.”

Suddenly, in the hall, Iheard an infant scream, fol-lowed by a quick “shhh!”presumably from its moth-er. The Reb heard it, too.

“That child reminds meof something our sagestaught. When a baby comes

into the world, its hands are clenched.Why? Because a baby, not knowingany better, wants to grab everything,to say, ‘The whole world is mine.’ Butwhen an old person dies, how does hedo so? With his hands open. Why?Because he has learned the lesson.”

What lesson? I asked.He stretched open his empty fin-

gers. “We can take nothing with us.”For a moment we both stared at his

hand. It was trembling.So, have we solved the secret of

happiness? I asked.“I believe so,” he said.Are you going to tell me?“Be satisfied. Be grateful for what

you have. For the love you receive.And for what God has given you.”

He looked me in the eye. Then hesighed deeply. “That’s it.” LE

Mitch Albom is the best selling author of Have a Little Faithand Tuesdays with Morrie. Visit www.mitchalbom.com.

ACTION: Be happy now.

MANY PEOPLE SEARCHfor happiness in a

tablet: Prozac. Paxil.Xanax. Billions are spent to advertiseand purchase such drugs. You don’teven need a specific trauma; just gener-al depression or anxiety, as if sadnesswere as treatable as the common cold.

I know that depression is real, andoften requires medical attention. I alsoknow that much of what we call depres-sion is dissatisfaction, a result of setting abar impossibly high or expecting trea-sures that we aren’t willing to workfor. I know people whose unbearablesource of misery is their weight, bald-ness, lack of advancement at work, ortheir inability to find the perfect mate,even if they themselves don’t behavelike one. To these people, unhappinessis a condition, an intolera-ble state of affairs. If pillshelp, pills are taken.

But pills can’t changethe basic problem—want-ing what you can’t have;looking for self-worth inthe mirror; layering workon top of work and won-dering why you aren’t sat-isfied—then working more.

I knew this from experi-ence. There was a stretch where I couldnot have worked more hours withouteliminating sleep altogether. I piled onaccomplishments. I made money. Iearned accolades. And the longer Iwent at it, the emptier I began to feel.

The time I spent with Morrie, my oldprofessor, changed much of that. Afterwatching him die, and seeing whatmattered to him at the end, I cut back.

But I still kept my hands on my ownwheel. I didn’t turn things over to fateor faith. I recoiled from people who puttheir daily affairs in divine hands, say-ing, “If God wants it, it will happen.” Ikept silent when people said all thatmattered was their relationship with Jesus.Such surrender seemed silly to me. Ifelt like I knew better. But I couldn’tsay I felt any happier than they did.

LLeessssoonn ffrroomm RReebbMy friend Reb, for all the milligrams

of medication he required, never popped

Have a Little FaithBe grateful for what you have.

PEOPLE FAITH

6 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

selves, or they risk giving way to feel-ing trapped, unable to please or to win.

High-impact leaders dare to makestrategic and tactical moves when oth-ers are stalled. They bypass fear, sincefear is a paralyzing agent. Action andmovement release energy that is oftensuppressed by worry of failure. Theycreate focus and alignment and man-age their way out of adversity.

TTeenn HHaarrdd--TTiimmee TTaaccttiiccssHere are 10 things to do in hard times:1. Reallocate time to high-percentage,

short-term returns. Focus 80percent of time on the mostimportant 20 percent to getthe most short-term impact.Allocate more time onsales-related activities.Reduce time spent in meet-ings. Become more focusedon performance goals andaligned around strategy.

2. Create measures aroundhigh-impact programs andprojects. You can only control what youcan measure. Focus on what mattersmost by asking for only a few keynumbers. Focus on where the organiza-tion can leverage its strengths.

3. Meet directly and frequently withthe sales force. Sales is the conduit tothe eyes and ears of the customer andthe place where rapid decision-makingcan keep leaders ahead of a downwardcurve. Start meeting with sales and ser-vice managers every week and askthem what can be done to increasetheir time spent with customers andprospects. Too much time is spent onnon-customer related activities. In hardtimes, you need to ask questions andfind ways to increase efficiency, effec-tiveness, productivity, and innovation.

4. Leverage A players and reduce Cplayers. Cut the least effective. Havingthe right people in the right positionsensures survivability by boosting thebottom line dramatically while gettingthe job done more efficiently.

5. Install innovation and improve-ment teams with flexibility to cut acrossdepartments and businesses. One teammight focus on cost reduction (efficiency),another on opportunities (innovation).Tell the innovation team to propose onlytwo initiatives (make them be selec-

Leading in Hard Times

SMART, ACTION-ORIENT-ed leaders who make

good decisions rapidlyand adjust quickly can thrive in badtimes. They focus on short-term winsand adapt their style to the new normal.They set clear direction and enablepassionate champions to drive resultsand accept accountability. In this way,they build a committed work force.They talk directly to the front-linesales and service force to learn whatcustomers want. They talk to man-agers about what employees arethinking, feeling, and needing.

Great leaders see bad times as anopportunity to fix, repair, prepare, adjust,focus, and become more action-oriented.They think about what they need todo to get through the challenge andbetter prepare for the new. One expe-rienced leader said: “Bad times arelike times in a sailboat race when thewind stops. The winning boat usesthis time to get ready to be the first tocatch the wind.” High-impact leaderssend clear messages, always with theunderlying theme–we’ll get throughthis and be better in the next round.

LLeeaaddiinngg wwiitthh CCoouurraaggeeLeading in turbulent times can tear

leaders apart. Hard times can becomeeven lonelier for leaders, since theymust project a positive but realisticspirit. On the outside, leaders have tobe resolute and strong while oftentheir hearts are broken, knowing thatgood people lose their jobs, incomesare reduced, and projects delayed.

Leaders also come under attack asnegativity abounds, everyone wantsmore time with them. This starts atthe top. Boards become more critical,ask more questions, want more check-points, and may not understand whythings aren’t turning faster.

Relationships suffer. More demandson direct reports result in a feeling ofpulling away. Peers who once werepals seem to compete, with less timefor just getting together. As intensitybuilds, leaders can feel under siege.Yet leaders must avoid bunker men-tality and must take care of them-

tive). Tell the cost-reduction (efficiency)team that they can’t impact qualitydelivery to customers (effectiveness).

6. Lean on “go to” people. Whentimes get tough, lean on winners.Winners never give up; they expresshope, confidence, and passion; andthey make the tough decisions andmove on with them. Winners are pas-sionate champions. Employ your pas-sionate champions as change leaders.(without overextending them).Passionate champions are A playerswho want results, make results hap-pen, and deliver every time possible.

7. Triple communications. In hardtimes, people need to hear more fre-quently what the plan is and be reas-sured of the objectives. Weekly, commenton progress toward goals. Daily, con-nect with people to encourage themand praise their efforts in advancing

the business. During athreatening time, amplecommunication inspiresfocused drive and keepspeople going.

8. Get in front of cus-tomers more. Listen to cus-tomers to find nuggets ofopportunity. Use a badtime to listen more to yourcustomers. Assign seniormanagers 10 accounts to

oversee and to ask customers, “Whatare two or three reasons that you buyour products and services?” Ask thisquestion to open the door to new pos-sibilities. Meet monthly to discusswhat was learned and who and whatcan be improved.

9. Get rid of waste. Bad times enableleaders to get under the covers. Trackyour use of time and look for specificways you can better align your timearound the major initiatives. You maysee your sales volume rise dramatically.

10. Make the tough moves now.When you know you are right, don’thesitate. Make the moves when youneed to make them. During difficulttimes, change is even harder. Once youget through it, everyone sees it’s theright thing to do. Use hard times toupgrade on all key positions.

When the air is full of fear, bravehearts—leaders with conviction—con-fidently walk in the direction that mostare running away from. Mustering oth-ers to follow, they win others to jointhem by speaking in simple languageand overcoming barriers with resolvethat keeps everyone focused. LE

Phil Harkins: Linkage CEO, GILD co-chair, powerful conver-sationalist. Visit www.linkageinc.com.

ACTION: Try these 10 tactics.

by Phil Harkins

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 7

LEADERSHIP COURAGE

E x e r c i s e c o u r a g e a n d a p p l y 1 0 t a c t i c s .

3. Maintain a united front. A reason-able amount of conflict is good. It canhelp stimulate ideas and bring out thebest in people. But as a leader, your jobis to have the final say. Your team mightsquabble and butt heads, but your jobis to ensure that they all leave the tablewith a common purpose. “We can argueall we want behind closed doors, butwhen we put on our public face, ourteam must be in agreement externally.”

4. Set (and manage) expectations. Asa leader, you set the collective tone,attitude, and work ethic of your team.Decide what is expected and makeyour thoughts known. Do you expectothers to meet deadlines or to exceedthem? Will you track everyone’s work-ing hours, or do you allow some flexi-bility? How informed should yourdirect reports keep you about the sta-tus of their projects—just the high

points or do you prefer detail? Yourpeople are not mind readers! Makesure they know what you expect ofthem and what they can expect fromyou. Keep regular appointments toreview each individual’s progress andto reinforce your expectations. As pri-orities conflict and you adjust expecta-tions, share these changes with yourteam. If someone needs to drop every-thing and focus on one problem or pro-ject, make sure he or she knows it. Ifyou need to be kept more informedabout a key initiative, make the personresponsible aware by saying, “Pleasekeep me posted on your progress andlet me know if you run into problems.”

5. Don’t just make rules—build char-acter. You can set rules all day, but whatyou want to do is help develop thecharacter of your team. Character iswhat kicks in when the rules breakdown. It is also what helps your teamget through tough, demanding times.

Leader Productivity

PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITYis great. But once

you become a leader,productivity is no longer just a matterof being the best you can be, but of bring-ing out the best in others. This can behard! Priorities compete. Personalitiesconflict. And some folks just won’tcommit to doing productive work.

So how do you create a productiveteam culture that contributes not onlyto individual productivity, but also tothat of the group? Here are six tips:

1. Teach others that “not in their jobdescription” should be “not in theirvocabulary.” Sometimes, employeesare asked to do things outside of theirnormal duties. When it takes a teameffort to get the job done, you wantfolks ready to roll up their sleeves andpitch in. Yes, in general, you wanteveryone to have their own definedresponsibilities. But these tidy bound-aries can’t hold up 100 percent of thetime. Keep a positive attitude andreward your team for pulling togetherand getting things done. Create a cul-ture where people jump at the chanceto help others as opposed to standingback and watching the chaos unfold.

2. Save the day now. Fix the prob-lem later. Imagine this scenario: there’sa big project on the line, and yourteam needs to pull together to pull itoff one day before the deadline. You’refrustrated. You want to know how thishappened. Who dropped the ball?Why didn’t they ask for help sooner?Where did the system break down?Well, forget it—at least until the dustsettles. This is not the time for second-guessing, finger-pointing, or scape-goating; you can’t tolerate any of thatfrom anyone on your team. At the out-set of your work, let everyone knowthat problems will be addressed, butnot until the crisis has passed. The firstorder of business it to pull togetherand finish the project with a positiveattitude. Once the project is complete,you can figure out what happened,and ensure that it never happensagain. This way, cooler heads prevail,and the project won’t suffer because ofinternal strife and tension.

A team with strong character requiresmuch less management. People appre-ciate not being micromanaged, andyou’ll have more time to address yourjob duties. High productivity is basedon a person’s values. If you employsomeone who values hard work andhonesty, that’s what you can expectfrom them when you’re not looking.Clearly state the productivity traits youwant people to demonstrate: integrity,accountability, punctuality, excellence,self-discipline, responsibility, and hon-esty. Post them on your wall. Repeatthem often. Refer to your values whenexplaining your decisions. Ensure thatyour team knows what you stand forand what you expect from them.

6. Engage your employees. Engagedemployees enthusiastically contributeto both team and company success.They are proud of what they do andwhere they work. The leader makes thedifference here: the relationship betweenemployee and manager is an excellent gaugeof the employee’s engagement level. Engagedemployees are SuperCompetent: the typeof people you count on to drive perfor-mance outcomes. Engagement is drivenby several factors, including employeeconfidence and autonomy, the natureand quality of the job, access to trainingand career development, opportunitiesfor growth, ongoing communicationand feedback, a clear grasp of the goalsand why their contributions matter,trust in the leaders and their integrity,pride in the company and their place init, relationships with team membersand co-workers, and presence of a com-petent and supportive managers whofoster an environment of excellence andmotivate team members by walking thetalk, making personal integrity clear.

7. Lead by example. People mightquestion what you say, but they can’tdeny what they see you do. If you arrivelate, miss deadlines, or settle for slop-py work, you signal that that this isacceptable. If you show a sincere com-mitment to following through on yourpromises, fulfilling your obligations,and behaving with integrity, you set apositive standard. Be consistent.Contradicting yourself one time canundo years of demonstrating goodbehavior. People tend to notice incon-sistency in a heartbeat and have littlepatience for it. Hold your team to ahigh standard, but hold yourself to aneven higher one. LE

Laura Stack is a productivity expert, speaker, founder of The Pro-ductivity Pro, and author of Supercompetent, The ExhaustionCure, Find More Time, and Leave the Office Earlier. Call 303-471-7401 or visit www.TheProductivityPro.com.

ACTION: Cultivate a culture of excellence.

by Laura Stack

8 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

COMPETENCY PRODUCTIVITY

C r e a t e a c u l t u r e o f e x c e l l e n c e .

you can rapidly define a future worthaiming for; and you can use AfterAction Reviews to understand whatworks and what doesn’t.

Increasingly, it is quality of think-ing that differentiates great companiesfrom good ones. I co-founded thinkx

intellectual capital to bring togethercolleagues from all over the world tohelp people raise the power of theirthinking—to think exponentially.

Some say the x in thinkx brings outthe notion of unlimited thinking andunlimited possibilities. We see it asexponential power—of you, your com-pany, and your results.

Most organizations have the ideasthey need inside their own walls. Bydeveloping the productive thinkingcapacity of your people, you can gen-erate more ideas, more innovativeideas, more workable ideas, and, ulti-mately, more success.

Productive Thinking is a clear,repeatable process for solving prob-lems, identifying opportunities, andcreating innovative change. It canhelp you raise the power of yourthinking—to think exponentially. Yourorganization’s most important

resource is its capacity forproductive thinking. Thebetter your people canthink, evaluate, and applytheir ideas, the more suc-cessful you are.

Whether working aloneor in teams, you will getbetter results in less timeby developing your pro-ductive thinking skills.With productive thinking,

you discover a new sense of freedom,confidence, and possibility, projectteams perform at the highest level ofproductivity and creativity, and solu-tions are transformed from good toinspired.

I founded my company thinkx onthree beliefs: 1) The most productivepriority in any organization is thedevelopment of its intellectual andcreative capital so it can tap into thewisdom of its people; 2) Althoughmany people talk about innovation,few understand how to make it hap-pen; and 3) How we think can be moreimportant than what we know.

The Productive Thinking Processcan help you see more clearly, thinkmore creatively, and plan more effec-tively. LE

Tim Hurson is co-founder of thinkx and author of ThinkBetter: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking. Visitwww.thinkxic.com or www.timhurson.com.

ACTION: Try the Productive Thinking Process.

AS SOMEONE WHOconsults with lead-

ers in strategic prob-lem-solving, I’m often asked, “Whatare the most common problems yousee in the companies you work with?”It only takes me a moment to answer.There are three:

1. Solving the wrong problems.Almost everywhere I go, I see roomsfull of smart, dedicated people, work-ing their tails off—on the wrong stuff.Companies spend gobs of time, ener-gy, and money trying to solve thewrong problems. Often their solutionsare well-designed, clever, even bril-liant. But if you’re asking the wrongquestion, it really doesn’t matter howgood your answer is. It’s not going toaddress the real problem.

2. Heading towardnowhere. Time and again, Isee leaders implementingnew programs without aclear idea of where theywant to go. Sometimes theyknow what they’re trying tochange from, but rarely dothey have a clear view ofthe future they want toreach. It’s like trying to findWaldo without knowingwhat he looks like. You can’t. Yetmany companies spend huge amountsof time and energy aiming somewhereinto the future, hoping they’ll hit a target.

3. Filling the same hole over andover. Despite what we hear aboutcompanies becoming learning organi-zations, very few of them know howto learn from their successes and fail-ures. They institute programs, market-ing campaigns, strategies, and thenwhen they’re finished, they don’t real-ly learn from them. No wonder a com-mon complaint is the cynical commentabout the latest flavor-of-the-monthinitiative.

Sound familiar? You’ve likelyencountered each of these syndromesmore than once in your career. Thegood news is that you can learn sim-ple thinking tools to avoid these threecommon mistakes: You can easilyidentify the right problems to solve;

Think BetterGet tools to help you.

by Tim Hurson

COMPETENCY THINKING

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 9

LEADING ANY ORGANI-zation requires deal-

ing with hot-buttondiversity issues as race, gender, sexualorientation, and immigration status. Ifyour workforce doesn’t look anythinglike the people you are selling to, ormaking things for, or teaching, you areless likely to be successful.

When I was Governor of Vermont, Ialways had a female chief of staff whodid most of the hiring. Soon I noticedthat my office had become a matri-archy. The vast majority of senior staffwere women, half the Cabinet appoint-ments were women, and half Judicialappointments were women. One daymy chief of staff came to my office andtold me she was hiring a new policyanalyst: “I just want you to know thatyou’ll be seeing a new face around here.”

I said, “Let’s discuss this. There’s atremendous gender imbalance in thisoffice, and I wonder if you could find aman for this position?”

She answered, “Governor, you’reright. There is an imbalance. But it’s sohard to find a qualified man.”

We are all more comfortable hiringpeople like us—people who look like us,people we went to school, or church, orsynagogue with. It’s not just agingwhite guys like me who do it. Womendo it, African Americans do it, Jews doit, Catholics do it, Gay people do it—everybody does it—and doing it does-n’t mean we are all racist or bigots. Butin a diverse country, ethnocentrismleads to institutional racism if one groupof people does most of the hiring.

The trick is to understand what sub-conscious decisions those who do thehiring are likely to make outside thehiring process, and figure out how tocompensate for that. Since becomingaware of subconscious matters is suchhard work, I recommend that youdiversify the group that does the hir-ing. You can better achieve diversity byhaving the hiring done by a diverse group.

When I took over the DemocraticNational Committee, I became the titu-lar head of a very diverse organization.But there was not as much diversityinside the organization as you mightexpect from a political organization

Hiring DiversityA n d s h a r i n g t h e p o w e r.

PEOPLE DIVERSITY

by Howard Dean

that was selling its candidates to anincredible array of customers. We had17 desks for various interest groups:one for Hispanics, African Americans,Gays and Lesbians, Women, Veterans,Religious groups, Asian Americans,Pro-choice advocates, Jews, etc.

This arrangement had two big prob-lems. First, it continued the warringinterest group model (which yieldedfew results). Second, although anyonecould find someone they could identifywith at the DNC to talk with, the corefunctions of the party at the top werecontrolled by white men; hence, thevarious desks couldn’t break throughthe hierarchy in a reliable way to getwhat they and their constituents needed.

So, despite the objections of manygroups who thought their influencewould wane, we got rid of the desksand replaced the outreach program witha single office—the American MajorityProject. The message was clear: We stillcare about your group, but we’re now goingto look at you for all your talents, and onthe merits, not simply as a member of anethnic or other minority to be dealt with.And: The only way we can be a majorityin this party of so many minorities is if weall work together for a common goal.

This could not have worked withoutan even bigger change. When I won theelection, a team of experienced DNCmembers assessed all we were doing.Their mission was to keep those whowanted to change and who were doingtheir job well, gently send the otherson their way, and build a senior opera-tions team that looked like our voters.Over time, constituents were delightedto find that instead of having a desk todeal with them, they had senior people whounderstood them and their community,even if the answer to a request was no!

We need to change organizations sothat the old, rapidly-shrinking majority(people like me) no longer relies ontokenism and silos to satisfy a diversecustomer base. The majority must accel-erate the inevitable—genuine power-sharingin senior decision-making. We can betterappeal to a diversity of people with aunified message when we are crediblein terms of conveying both our loyaltyto the ideals and qualities of our orga-nization and our loyalty and personalunderstanding of people we talk to.

The bar has been raised by the newgeneration. The question is not simply,“Do they look like me?” but “Do theyunderstand me?” and “Do they haveenough clout to deliver for me?” LE

Howard Dean is former governor of Vermont and founder ofDemocracy for America. Visit www.democracyforamerica.com.

ACTION: Share leadership with diverse talent.

by Hank Haney

you must be patient with your plan.This formula works for everything inlife, including executive coaching.

One key to success is to alwayshave a plan, whether it is in teachinggolf, in business, or in life in general,so I am always talking about having aplan. You can’t get to where you wantto go without a plan. The Haney Planis my personal plan for success.

The best part of being an owner andleader is being able to train peoplewho work with you to be able to besuccessful in their own right. The moresuccessful that people who are associ-ated with you are, the more successfulyou will be yourself, regardless of howthose people are connected to you.

I’ve always believed that all golfers(and leaders) can improve their gamesand that the real enjoyment of golf(and leadership) is that challenge to bethe best that you can be.

Like many leaders and coaches, I’vegone through some transitions, but Isee transitions in my career as chal-lenges and opportunities. I’ve movedmy career in an exciting direction,focusing on speaking and teaching atmy own Golf Academy and opening

the Hank Haney GolfAcademy at Mission HillsHaikou in China.

I continue to work withgolf’s top players, but mypassion is to help any golferwith the desire to improve. Mystudents have won everymajor championship in pro-fessional, amateur, andjunior golf. They improveand have fun in the process.

We train amateurs and professionalsalike in the fundamentals.

We use sophisticated digital videoanalysis and work with you on everyaspect of the swing to improve power,accuracy, and consistency. We empha-size the short game of chipping, pitch-ing, sand shots and putting to loweryour scores. To develop a completeplayer, all the mental aspects andcourse management skills are covered.

As you progress, we help you tounderstand what your swing is doingby analyzing the ball flight—the cor-nerstone to becoming your own bestteacher. You learn how to practice,how to play the golf course, how toanalyze your game to find the areasthat need the most improvement, andhow to think and act like a champion.LEHank Haney is CEO of Hank Haney Golf, former Instructor toTiger Woods and author of Essentials of the Swing, The OnlyGolf Lesson You’ll Ever Need, No More Bad Shots and FixYour Yips Forever. Visit www.hankhaney.com.

ACTION: Practice patience in your leadership.

GOLF TEACHES US MANYleadership lessons.

I consider golf to be thehardest game to master, and the lessonof patience is one every golfer mustlearn. Patience is key in leadership; ittakes confidence to be patient; and confi-dence comes from knowing that you know.

I admire every leader because leader-ship is never as easy as it looks. Everyleader not only sets an example for hisor her followers, but is responsible forcreating more leaders. The more lead-ers there are, the more able followersthere are. The more people follow, themore goals of a group get met.

One of the greatest leadership chal-lenges I’ve faced—and one of the great-est opportunities that I’ve had to lead—was resigning from working with TigerWoods. In doing so, I wasable to show my colleaguesthat two of the most impor-tant things in life are: 1) tonot be afraid to do some-thing that you believe in,and 2) when you do some-thing, to do it the right way.

I believe that the processthat it takes to improve ingolf is no different than theprocess that it takes to makeimprovements in anything. The formu-la for success is the same, and you canalways improve no matter how goodyou are at something. The key is tounderstand that you are either gettingbetter, or you are getting worse.

I know when I’m making progresswith a student. Progress always hap-pens, but it doesn’t always show itselfin a way that you hoped or thought itwould. Goals are stepping stones thatallow you to make and see progresswith your plan. As long as you stepforward, that is all you have to moni-tor no matter how small the steps are.

In my Teach the Teacher seminars, Iteach golf instructors how to diagnoseany situation that a coach might faceand how to formulate a plan to worktoward improvement. I don’t think itmatters what you’re trying to improve;you must first diagnose the situationand then formulate a step-by-step planto work toward improvement. Then

Practice PatienceThink and act like a champion.

COMPETENCY PRACTICE

1 0 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

puter scientists, but they need to knowhow the intelligent use of new technol-ogy can help them; recruit, develop,and maintain a network of technicallycompetent people; make and managesmart investments in new technology;and be positive role models in the useof new technology. Without technolog-ical savvy, you can’t have integratedglobal partnerships and networks.

4. Building partnerships andalliances. Forming alliances will beeven more dramatic in the future.Reengineering, restructur-ing, and downsizing areleading to a world whereoutsourcing of all but corebrand-related activitiesmay become the norm. Theability to negotiatealliances and manage com-plex networks of relation-ships is increasinglyimportant. Joint leadershipof new business models isvital to a successful global venture.

The changing role of customers, sup-pliers, and partners has implicationsfor leaders. In the past, it was clear whoyour friends (customers and collabora-tors) and enemies (competitors) were.In the future, these roles will becomeblurred. Building positive, long-term,win-win relationships becomes critical.

5. Sharing leadership. Sharing lead-ership is a requirement. In an alliance,telling partners what to do and how todo it may lead to having no partners.In dealing with knowledge workers—people who know more about whatthey are doing than their managers do—old models of leadership will not work.Future leaders will ask for input andshare information. They may be diffi-cult to keep. They’ll view themselvesas professional free agents who willwork for the leader who provides themost developmental challenge.

Most high-potential future leaderssee the value of these new competen-cies and are willing to have their per-formance measured by them. If futureleaders have the wisdom to learn fromthe experience of present leaders, andif present leaders have the wisdom tolearn new competencies from futureleaders, they can share leadership inways that benefit the organization.

Future Leaders

IN ADDRESSING THE TOPICof future leaders, I’d

first ask, who are they?Many qualities of effective leadership—characteristics such as communicatingvision, demonstrating integrity, focus-ing on results, and ensuring customersatisfaction—will never change. Butfive new factors play in the selection:

1. Thinking globally. Leaders willneed to understand the economic, cul-tural, legal, and political ramificationsof global markets. Leaders must seethemselves as citizens of the world withan expanded field of vision and values.

With dramatic projected increases inglobal trade and integrated global tech-nology (such as e-commerce), leadersmust learn how to manage global pro-duction, marketing, and sales teams toachieve competitive advantage.

New technology will make it feasi-ble to export white-collar work world-wide. Programmers in India will com-municate with designers in Italy to helpdevelop products made in Indonesiaand sold in Brazil. Technology canhelp break down barriers to globalbusiness. Leaders who can make glob-alization work in their favor will havea competitive advantage.

2. Appreciating cultural diversity.Leaders will also need to appreciatecultural diversity, defined as diversityof leadership style, industry style, in-dividual behaviors and values, race,and sex. They’ll need to understandeconomic, legal, social, religious, andmotivational differences—as well assmaller issues such as the meaning ofgifts, greetings, or timeliness.

The ability to motivate people in differ-ent cultures is vital. Motivational strate-gies that are effective in one culturemay be offensive in another. The samerecognition that could be a source ofpride to one could be a source of em-barrassment to another. Leaders whocan understand, appreciate, and moti-vate colleagues in multiple cultureswill be a very valued resource.

3. Demonstrating technological savvy.Future leaders will view technology asan integrated part of their lives. Theyneed not be gifted technicians or com-

CCooaacchhiinngg FFuuttuurree LLeeaaddeerrssI help successful leaders achieve

positive, long-term, measurable change inbehavior—as judged by key co-workers. Irefuse to work with leaders who don’tcare. I only work with people whomake a sincere effort to change andwho believe that this change will helpthem become better leaders and rolemodels. I won’t work with people whohave an integrity violation—those peo-ple should be fired, not coached.

I involve key stakeholders by ask-ing them to help the person that I amcoaching in four ways:

1. Let go of the past. When we bringup the past constantly, we demoralizepeople who are trying to change. Whathappened in the past can’t be changed.By focusing on a better future (feedfor-ward), stakeholders help themselves

and my clients improve.2. Be helpful and sup-

portive, not cynical, sarcas-tic or judgmental. If myclients reach out to keystakeholders and feel pun-ished for trying to improve,they quit trying. I don’tblame them! Why shouldany of us work hard tobuild relationships withpeople who won’t give us

a chance? If my clients’ co-workers arehelpful and supportive, my clients aremore likely to improve.

3. Tell the truth. I do not want myclients to get a glowing report fromkey stakeholders and later hear, “Hedidn’t really get better—we just saidthat.” This is not fair.

4. Pick something to improve your-self. My clients are open with stake-holders about what behavior they aretrying to change. My clients ask forsuggestions. I also ask the stakeholdersto pick something to improve and toask my client for suggestions. Thismakes the process two-way and helpsstakeholders act as fellow travelers,not judges or critics. It also expandsthe value gained by the corporation.

By using feedforward—and byencouraging others to use it—leaderscan dramatically improve the qualityof communication, ensuring that theright message is conveyed, and thatthose who receive it are receptive to itscontent. The result is a more dynamic,open organization—where peoplefocus on the promise of the future ratherthan dwell on the mistakes of the past. LE

Marshall Goldsmith is the author of Mojo, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and Succession. Visitwww.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.

ACTION: Attend to these five factors.

by Marshall Goldsmith

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 1 1

LEADERSHIP ADVANCEMENT

H o w c a n w e h e l p t h e m ?

a vision, enlists people, and creates a cul-ture where people can reach their potential.

Our mission and vision at NYC/LAwas to provide the system with principalswith a strong grounding in instructionaland transformational leadership who thenmake a difference for children. Of course,bureaucracy makes an organizationresist change. In education, you faceresistance in spades. This system hasbeen entrenched in an old paradigm for solong that poor, status quo performance isaccepted. This happens in businessestoo. To a new leader, it is clear thatthings need to be done differently.

It’s easy to realize you need a revo-lution when you’re on a burning plat-form—the hardest transformations arewhen companies are doing well.

At Ameritech, we’d come off of sixyears of record earnings. But thechairman, who at 62 could have retired,said the company was ill-prepared forits future. So, we focused on mid-levelmanagers as leaders. We changed ourgo-to-market strategy—from a 100-year history of a big, heavy, multi-lay-ered organization to a flat, nimbleorganization with a focus on the cus-tomer. We learned how to tap intohuman capacity and human capital.

When I went to US West, it was aburning platform—the lowest-perform-ing Bell operating company. I thought,Why not use the same methodology with adifferent twist? As a new person, youthink you can get everyone to play at ahigher level. That doesn’t work. You’vealso got to infuse new blood to combatthe antibodies fighting against change.

The challenge for the leader of trans-formation is gaining traction and build-ing momentum—moving toward atipping point. After just one year at theNYC/LA, we had 77 new principalsand 242 principals whom I workedwith the previous year. When I went

Leading Transformation

AS AN EXECUTIVEcoach and leader-

ship development con-sultant, I help senior leaders formulatestrategy and lead transformations. I’veled many ventures, but I’m perhapsbest known as former CEO of theNYC Leadership Academy.

I’ve been asked, Why would a high-tech CEO with a bright future sign up totransform the New York public school sys-tem? For me, it was a seductive propo-sition. I grew up poor in a family with13 children. So, it’s hard for me to lookthe other way. Every time the mediashot at me, I remembered that most ofthe kids that fail in this system looklike me. I got my reality check know-ing this was the most important workI’d ever tried to do. Still, many peopleregard public education as an impene-trable fortress of vested interests andimpervious to change. I tackled thetransformation task because I have afirm commitment to learning and knowhow to ignite the spark of leadership.

As CEO and teacher-in-chief of theNYC/LA, I was part of a daring attemptto turn school principals into agents ofchange using LD practices from busi-ness, military, and government. Themission of the Academy was to grad-uate leader-principals into NYC ele-mentary, middle, and high schools.Our tough-love approach to developingprincipals into agents of change drew thefire of the media and the ire of unionsand local politicians. In response, Iopened our books, classrooms, andleadership philosophy to a skepticaland often hostile press—and themoney and support kept coming in.

Leaders on the front lines of trans-formation must be deadly serious aboutLD. When I first spoke with ChancellorJoel Klein and Mayor Michael Bloom-berg about the change initiative and itsfocus on LD, it was clear they knew thattransformation must be steered from thetop and that there is no more importantintervention than LD. Giving principalstechnical training or new pedagogicalapproaches has been tried before, with-out change. The cornerstone of transfor-mation is a strong leader who articulates

into the school system, I could see theresults—principles turned into prac-tices and applications. The ultimatemeasure was that more NYC studentsgraduated from high school and wenton to vocational schools or universities.

As a leader of transformation, youcontinue to set the bar higher. Everyone of our intervention tracks under-went 40 percent revision because expe-rience made us smarter. We became arepository of best practices. I appliedthe lessons and principles in LD gleanedfrom business, military, government, andnon-profits. I borrow from everybody—if you’ve got the best, I’ll use it. I believein benchmarking. If you want to becomethe best at what you do, learn how tobe a learner. Open yourself up to learning.

How do you evaluate a person’s po-tential to benefit from an LD program?When I look at aspiring principals, Ilook at whether they can be great prin-cipals in real schools. I look for edge,energy, and vision. Do they have theconviction and passion to enlist others?Does the leadership bucket have a lotmore volume than the instructionalbucket? It’s hard to make a leader outof someone who is an instructionalexpert but shows no leadership traits.

When I’m recruiting principals to takeover troubled schools, I look for seasonedveterans who have done it—peoplewith a track record in an urban schoolsystem, in tough circumstances andtough communities, and who, in spiteof all the barriers, can get it done. Torecruit them, I touted the future attrac-tiveness of a candidate who can comeinto this system and get things done.There is great upward mobility.

How did you measure your success inLD? First, set clear expectations—we hada checklist of things that we promised todo. Second, prove that you can act withinthe fiscal constraints imposed upon you—we were fiscally responsible. Third, de-monstrate results—we showed that ourprincipals can turn schools around andthat students can achieve at a higherrate. When you put the right kind ofleader in a school, within three years,the leader can turn a school around.Many leaders have now done it. WhatI tried to do is scale it through LD.

Like most leaders, I’m focused onbottom-line results. If I don’t improveperformance, I fail. There are saferthings I could do, but I pick difficultthings. All great leaders see the power andwisdom of investing in people. LE

Robert E. Knowling, Jr. is Chairman of Eagles LandingPartners and former CEO of the NYC Leadership Academy.Visit www.eagleslanding.com.

ACTION: Lead a transformation.

by Robert E. Knowling, Jr.

1 2 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

PERFORMANCE TRANSFORMATION

Y e s , i t c a n e v e n h a p p e n i n e d u c a t i o n .

Create and use an active-listeningattitude. Learning to be an active listen-er is like learning to be an active jog-ger—it takes effort. You start little bylittle and work upward. It’s as much astate of mind as a physical activity.Besides, as you work longer and getbetter, it pays ever-increasing benefits.

SSppeeaakk wwiitthh AAuutthhoorriittyyThe ability to communicate well to

groups is vital to leadership. In fact, thetop predictor of upward mobility is how muchyou enjoy and how good you are at publicspeaking. Organizations seek individualswho can sell products, present propos-als, report findings, and explain ideas.

Improve your speaking in five ways:Care about your subject. Passion is

the starting point. Pick a subject thatyou’d like to share with others becauseyou know that they could benefit fromyour knowledge. Enthusiasm shows.

Be brief. The best way to impress anaudience is to finish early. Said JamesRoosevelt, son of FDR: “My father toldme,” “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.” Sohit it hard, hit it well, finish strong, andkeep it short. The less your audience’sminds wander, the more they’ll appre-ciate you and remember what you said.

Make use of memory joggers. Useexamples to transmit your messagepowerfully. Statistics, if used sparinglyand presented simply, can add dramaand credibility to a message. Compar-isons can help your audience evaluatedifferent options quickly and logically,and testimony—personal stories ofcredible people—can make your mes-sage more memorable and believable.

Remember the pause that refreshes.Use the sweet sound of silence, thepower of the pause. Pauses are notempty spaces. Instead, they enable theaudience to respond to your wordswith their own thoughts, images, and

Look of Leadership

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TOa gathering where

you sensed the talk wasjust a series of monologues? No one islistening. They’re rehearsing what theymight say—or talk without communicating.

While we hear, we only pretend tolisten. Listening is more than hearing.It also takes intellectual and emotionaleffort. To appreciate the other personand what’s being said, you need to askquestions, give feedback, remain objec-tive, figure out what’s being said andwhat’s not being said, and observe andinterpret body language. When youwant to win people’s attention, listeningis just as important as speaking. Good lis-tening draws people to you; poor lis-tening causes them to drift away.

Practice active listening in five ways:Listen–really listen–to one person

for one day. Choose one person youcould relate to better. Commit to listen-ing to him—not just hearing him—forone day. Then, extend this exercise tomore days, and to other acquaintances.

Create a receptive listening environ-ment. Turn off the TV. Hold your calls.Put away spread sheets and silence thecomputer. When listening, forget aboutclipping your nails, crocheting, solvingcrossword puzzles, or snapping yourchewing gum. Instead, provide a pri-vate, quiet, comfortable setting whereyou sit side by side with others with-out distractions. If that’s not possible,perhaps suggest a later meeting in amore neutral, quieter environment.

Be alert to body language. What youdo with your eyes, face, hands, arms,legs, and posture sends out signals asto whether you are listening to andunderstanding what the other personis saying. When you acknowledge theother person both verbally and nonver-bally, you build trust and increase rap-port. And you’ll learn something, too!

Abstain from judging. If you pre-judge someone as shallow, crazy, or ill-informed, you cease paying attentionto what they say. So judge only afteryou’ve heard and evaluated what theysay. Don’t jump to conclusions basedon how they look, what you’ve heardabout them, or whether they’re nervous.

feelings. “The right word may be effec-tive,” Mark Twain said, “but no word wasever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”

Don’t dawdle at the finish line. Theend is as important as the beginning.This is your chance to sum up yourbest thoughts, words, and images andimprint them indelibly on the audience.Don’t blow it by running beyond yourtime limit, or fumbling a final message.Know what you want to say, say it, and end.

PPrroojjeecctt aa PPoossiittiivvee IImmaaggeeYou make a statement about your-

self before you open your mouth. Yourimage or silent message includes every-thing from your posture to your posi-tivity. It’s the way you carry yourself—physically, emotionally, and intellectu-ally. Such quiet signals affect people’sperception, impression, or image of you.

Image, especially when backed up bystrong performance, is a powerful force.And a negative first impression—sayingthe wrong thing, wearing the wrong clothes,coming across as uncaring or inept—createsroadblocks that cut off relationships.

To create a favorable first impression(and have people put a positive spin oneverything you say or do and admireyou even before they know much aboutyou), try these five ideas:

1. A winning image starts with a goodself-image. Get some photos or tapesof yourself when you feel you’re look-ing your best and study them. What doyou see that you like, or don’t like? Askfriends for their opinions. Promise youwon’t take offense–and don’t!

2. Avoid annoying or distractinghabits or mannerisms. Such habits astugging at clothing, drumming fingerson a table, tapping pencils, clickingpens, doodling, jangling keys or change,biting nails, cleaning teeth make it moredifficult for the other person to hearyou, and detract from your image.

3. Seek winners, spurn losers. Choosefriends who want you to succeed andwho encourage you. Reduce yourexposure to the negative, whether it’sgossip from co-workers, violence inthe media, or pessimism in self-talk.

4. Treat everyone as if he or she isthe most important person you’ll meetthat day. Replace arrogance with empa-thy. Every once in a while, you’ll learna big lesson from that “little” person.

5. Make fitness a lifestyle, not a chore.Walk up and down the stairs to yourhigh-rise office or apartment. Ride abike to the store. Take a nature hike. LE

Tony Alessandra is a founding partner in The Cyrano Group and author of The NEW Art of Managing People. Visit www.alessandra.com.

ACTION: Develop the look of leadership.

by Tony Alessandra

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 1 3

LEADERSHIP STYLE

L i s t e n , s p e a k , a n d p r o j e c t i m a g e .

organizational dynamics: Observers caneasily view the entire system at once;communication among players istransparent and instantaneous; and theconnection between behavior andresults happens immediately.

FFrroomm MMiiccrroommaannaaggiinngg ttoo LLeeaaddiinnggWhen asked to play without a leader,

the orchestra plays accurately, but themusic lacks emotion and pace. When Imicromanage the performance, thegroup sounds stilted and flat. When aninexperienced conductor stands in, theperformance is tentative and uneven.But when the maestro con-fidently conducts, musi-cians respond with a lushand expansive rendition.

So, what purpose does aconductor or CEO serve?

The leader’s first job is toprovide others with a senseof the big picture. The con-ductor can see and hear thewhole, gather informationfrom the music, and conveythat information to the group. At theend, I invite participants to standbehind me as I conduct, to betterunderstand the unique perspective ofthe entire system that the leader holds.

A skilled conductor infuses the notesof a musical score with meaning, inspir-ing the orchestra to perform with rich-ness, depth, and emotion. Visionaryleaders can make a qualitative difference ina team’s functioning. A conductor mustprovide guidance in advance of theorchestra’s playing a note; leaderscommit themselves to things that havenot yet happened. If leaders make acommitment—and engage others increating a vision—when the time comesfor people to act, they know what theyneed to do to bring the vision to life.

Conductors don’t make music directly—the people they lead do. Leaders can’tprecisely control operations, but thepeople who work for them can. Aneffective conductor enables people to exe-cute their jobs well: revealing thingsabout the music to the players, show-ing them what’s important, and liftingthem out of their silos to gain a senseof the whole. Under a controllingleader, musicians may be more togeth-er in terms of timing, but they give

Maestro Leadership

HOW OFTEN HAVE YOUwished as a leader

that you and your peo-ple could break free of the business-as-usual mentality—the enemy of inno-vative thinking, fresh initiative, highaspiration, and exceptional performance?And yet leaders often capitulate to theseductive allure of “good enough.”

How do you enlighten people aboutthe crucial difference leadership can make ina way that inspires impressive results?

I do this in the Music Paradigm, usinga symphony orchestra as a metaphorfor an organization dealing with chal-lenge or change. Executives sit amongmusicians as I lead them through craft-ed exercises that illustrate qualities,reactions, and practices of top teams.

I may ask the orchestra to playwithout a conductor. They intensifytheir communication, and manage toplay quite well. Then I ask them tomake a different interpretation, andthey can do that too. I often select aparticipant to stand on the podiumand hold the baton in her hand. Shefeels the way I move it and listens tothe orchestra’s response. Then we dis-cuss what it means. The experienceserves as a tangible reminder of thebeauty and promise in effective team-work and inspirational leadership.

This exercise shows the courage re-quired of conductors and leaders: thewillingness to be the first to commit toa purpose that exists only as an idea.Most of the people that you need toexecute a plan won’t at first under-stand your vision. But they feel the forceof your commitment. When they see youliving in your imagined future, they’llput themselves at risk for it. But, if youretreat from your purpose and alignyourself with the present state, you’lllose energy, ambition and meaning.

The Music Paradigm provides a cre-ative framework for rethinking leader-ship styles. You gain unique insightsabout the contribution that each play-er makes to the whole, the importanceof effective teamwork, and the impactof different leadership styles on per-formance. A symphonic performanceserves as an ideal lab for studying

less emotionally and feel less able tomake their unique contributions.

As the musicians illustrate both dys-functional and functional behaviors,the dysfunction leads you to look with-in yourself and your organization. Themusic starts to sound like what is hap-pening in your office, and you begin toquestion your leadership. And, thefunction that is created by the musicleaves you with a picture of what yourorganization could achieve. When yousee the music that is created through greatleadership and teamwork, you start to havemore productive meetings, increased cre-ativity, openness, inspiration and energy,and individuals become eager to considerways to work more effectively.

As in an orchestra, the power of anorganization lies in the people doingthe work and how they interact witheach other. The role of a leader is tocreate the best possible space for this to

happen: Don’t tell playerswhat to do; provide themwith a vision for the whole,guidelines, and resources;and give them permissionto get the job done. Recog-nize that you, as the leader,don’t have all the power.But you do have the powerto create circumstanceswhere others can excel,transcend what is possible,

and together achieve the goal.Under the direction of a great mae-

stro, musicians work together in aston-ishing synchronicity. Why? The maestroconceives of the orchestra as a living,intelligent system of interlocking aware-ness. So he changes the orchestra’splaying by addressing the connectionsbetween the players, rather than isolatingthe parts. The maestro’s direction helpsmusicians to identify with their collec-tive sound. They feel more like an intelli-gent community that doesn’t need a con-ductor to tell them who’s sharp or flat.They can solve the problem themselves.

This is why the maestro’s rehearsalsgenerate such enthusiasm. People feelthat they are working together, empow-ered to use their own judgment. Thisopens the door to participation withthe rest of their artistry—shaping theirown phrases and drawing from the fullrange of their instruments’ sound palette.The maestro offers musical vision andguidelines that help musicians to aligntheir efforts into a coherent interpretation. LE

Roger Nierenberg is a Symphony Orchestra conductor, creator of The Music Paradigm and author of Maestro. Visit www.musicparadigm.com. Call 212-246-0525, visitMaestroBook.com, or email: RNierenberg@MusicParadigm.com.

ACTION: Lead your team like a maestro.

by Roger Nierenberg

1 4 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

PERFORMANCE STYLE

G o b e y o n d b u s i n e s s a s u s u a l .

it was all housed in a sleek, clean, sun-lit space that had been meticulouslydesigned down to the last detail, togive our students the same sense ofself-worth and possibility that FrankRoss’s classroom had nurtured in me.

A person’s environment shapes whothey are and how they see the world.Decay fills us with despair while beau-ty inspires us to hope and to dreambeyond our circumstances. MBC is amodel for education, culture and hope.

Our Youth & Arts program servesabout 3,900 youth a year through class-es and workshops in ceramics, photog-raphy, digital imaging, and design art.MCG Arts enables students to workintensively with visiting artists of greatstature through exhibitions, lectures,workshops, residencies, and visits.

Our Jazz program is dedicated topreserving, promoting and presentingjazz music by bringing audiencestogether with jazz artists at a 350-seatmusic hall in Pittsburgh for innovativeperformances and recordings. After 20years, MCG Jazz has become an anchorof Pittsburgh’s cultural life. For me, jazzis one of the most powerful metaphors forliving an extraordinary life. Jazz is a stateof mind in which possibilities for innova-tion and discovery are revealed to you, andyou can tap into deep reserves of com-mitment and passion. Many jazz artistshave influenced my thinking; and theirmusic has helped me live an authentic life.

MBC is a business model that works.In fact, it works so well that I’m repli-cating the MB enterprise throughoutthe country. Our future rests in our abilityto form visions and partnerships. As leaders,we’ve got to change the way people seethemselves and their futures.

Entrepreneurs are visionaries. The useof art to change students’ attitudes is atthe heart of my vision. I see connection

Vision Inspires

IN MY MEMOIR, MAKEthe Impossible Possible,

I describe the imagesof my earliest memories. I grew up inManchester, an inner-city neighborhoodof Pittsburgh. What I saw as I walkedto school each day was an unbrokenlandscape of decay that taught me indel-ible lessons about hopelessness anddefeat no matter where my gaze fell.

Home was different. There my moth-er enlisted her children’s help in keep-ing their simple abode neat and clean.

And in high school, a teacher, FrankRoss, introduced me to the art of mak-ing pottery. It changed my life. Frankwas a skilled artisan on the potter’swheel. The relationship that we creat-ed around a revolving mound of claygave form to the future vision ofManchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG).

The decline of the steel industrycreated widespread unemployment,and I decided to address the problemby offering vocational training to dis-placed and underemployed workers.The Guild began as an after-school artsprogram in a donated North Side row-house that I secured while a student atthe University of Pittsburgh.

My vision for the center was metwith skepticism and doubt in board-rooms where I tried to raise funds. Butas word spread through the communi-ty, an influential patron saw the poten-tial in my vision and motivated othersto support it. With the support, Ifounded the MCG when I was 19.

Due to my track record, I was askedin 1971 to assume leadership of MBand guide its transition to providingskills relevant to Pittsburgh’s emergingmarket economy. This doubled thestrength of MB’s ability to help thecommunity. I envisioned a templatefor social change, and formed relation-ships with people who shared my vision.

Today MBC is a gleaming, expan-sive community arts and jobs trainingcenter in Pittsburgh. This place wasbuilt to offer our students the samerich experiences that had turned mylife around. There is clay. There is artand photography. After a while, therewere flowers and gourmet food. And

between the creativity instilled by a love ofthe arts, and skills needed in business.Artists are by nature entrepreneurs. Theyvisualize something that doesn’t exist—they look at a canvas and see a painting.

When I saw Frank Lloyd Wright’sFalling Water for the first time throughthe growth of rhododendrons, I wasamazed. Here I was, a 16-year-old kidfrom inner-city Pittsburgh, looking atthis house with a creek running throughthe middle of it. I thought, If I can bringthat light into my neighborhood—bring itto people who deserve it and respond to itas wholeheartedly and creatively as any-body—then I am home free. I’m talkingabout respect, about common senseand decency, about the dictate that ourbest hopes must always be acted upon,that all people everywhere possess aninnate hunger for, and right to, what issustaining, good, and beautiful.

Success is the point where your mostauthentic talents, passion, values, andexperiences intersect with the chance tocontribute to some greater good. A suc-cessful life or career is not somethingyou simply pursue—it is somethingthat you create, moment by moment.

Over 30 years, I’ve been transform-ing the lives of people, striving to givedisadvantaged kids and adults thetime and tools they need to envisionand build a better, brighter future.

Every one of us has the potential forremarkable achievement. Every one ofus can accomplish the impossible in ourlives if given the right inspiration andmotivation. We all make ourselves poorin one way or another when we acceptthat we are not smart enough, experi-enced enough, or talented enough toaccomplish something. I work with theleast advantaged among us, and if Ican help them achieve the impossible intheir lives, think what each of us can do!

People are born into this world asassets, not liabilities. A person’s out-come is often determined by the waywe treat him (and ourselves). The sandin the hourglass flows only one way.Stop going through the motions of living—savor each day. Life is here and now,not waiting for you in the future.

You don’t have to travel far to changelives. I grew up in a ghetto, four blocksfrom where I built our training center.You only need to change your thinkingto remake your world. All of us canbuild on our passions and strengths,dream bigger, set the bar higher,achieve meaningful success, and helpmentor and inspire the lives of others.LE

Bill Strickland is CEO of Manchester Bidwell and author of Makethe Impossible Possible (Broadway). Visit Bill-Strickland.org.

ACTION: Have a leadership vision and voice.

by Bill Strickland

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 1 5

LEADERSHIP VISION

Envis ion a bet te r, b r ighte r future .

Since turning over the CEO reins tosuccessor Dan Akerson, Whitacre hasreceived undeserved criticism for step-ping down. But this was his intention.He noted, “It was my plan—to helpreturn this company to greatness—andnot stay a day beyond that.” He’s a manof his word, and he delivered on everypromise and commitment he made.

EExxaammppllee 22:: WWiinn WWaalllliinnAnother role model is Winston Wallin.

Now in his mid-80s, Win is former CEOof Medtronic and my ex-boss. He hadthree distinguished careers—at Pillsbury,Medtronic, and the University of Minn-esota. As a board member, Win mademajor contributions to the success ofCargill and Norwest Bank (now WellsFargo). But his greatest legacy may bethe Wallin Education Scholars, a pro-

gram that enables thousands of highschool students to attend colleges.

After graduating from UM, Win join-ed Pillsbury, where he spent 37 years,rising to president/COO. The Pillsburyboard made a grievous error in not choos-ing him to succeed Bill Spoor as CEO.

Pillsbury’s loss was Medtronic’s gain.Win accepted the board’s request to beCEO in 1985. Medtronic was flounder-ing, and Win soon recognized Medtronic’sfuture was at risk: Medtronic was block-ed from entering the nascent implantabledefibrillator market by a pioneeringpatent held by archrival Eli Lilly.

Win’s first act was to ask Medtronicpacemaker chief Bobby Griffin to launcha massive R&D effort to get Medtronicinto the defibrillator business. Win alsorecognized that the company was tooreliant on pacemakers, in part due toseveral failed attempts at diversification.So he hired Dr. Glen Nelson as vicechairman in 1986; together they beganto diversify Medtronic’s business.

When I joined Medtronic as presidentin 1989, it was the best move of my

Authentic Leaders

IT IS FASHIONABLE THESEdays to vilify leaders,

from BP’s Tony Haywardto Wall Street bankers. When a prob-lem arises, we look for the villain whocaused it. Then we search for the perfectleader to guide us—only to find theyhave feet of clay.

Instead we need authentic leaders—people who own their mistakes,acknowledge their faults, and alwaysput the interests of their organizationsahead of self-interests. Young leadersneed role models whose actions pro-vide guidance for their leadership.

EExxaammppllee 11:: GGMM’’ss EEdd WWhhiittaaccrreeOnly a year ago, General Motors

emerged from bankruptcy. What a dif-ference a year has made! GM is nowsolidly profitable, growing its revenuesonce again, retooling its lineup of auto-mobiles, and enabling the U.S. govern-ment to recoup its bailout investment.

GM’s fall into bankruptcy was morelike a steady decline over 50 years.When the end came in early 2009,President Obama had the courage tofinance the company to bring it out ofbankruptcy. And, he appointed a highlysuccessful board chair in Ed Whitacre,who became CEO four months later.Whitacre was a successful telecommu-nications executive, chair and CEO ofSBC who saved ATT from its demise.

Ed Whitacre’s remarkable leadershiprapidly turned around GM. His one-yeartenure marked a dramatic shift in theold way of doing business, as the daysof redundant bureaucracy and disjoint-ed innovation quickly ceased. Whitacreabandoned GM’s moribund committeesystem that protected executives frombeing accountable for results, and madeclear, decisive decisions while challeng-ing people to move much faster.

Whitacre even appeared in GM ads,heralding the new GM and challengingcustomers to give GM cars a try whileoffering them their money back if theyweren’t satisfied. He got a break whenToyota ran into quality problems, buthe moved quickly to take advantage ofit by ramping up production rates andsales and marketing efforts.

career. My first week on the job, Wintold me, “Bill, don’t worry about thenumbers for six months. Get out andlearn the business from the top doc-tors.” That sent me on a quest to workwith some of the world’s finest physi-cians by watching them implant every-thing from pacemakers to defibrillators.

Win retired from Medtronic in 1991,but he certainly didn’t retire from life.In addition to chairing Medtronic’sboard, he joined five corporate boardswhere he provided invaluable advice.He also answered UM President NilsHasselmo’s request to help turn aroundits struggling health sciences area.

In the 1990s, Win and his wife, Max-ine, formed the Wallin Foundation, set-ting aside a major proportion of theirgains from Medtronic stock. More than3,000 students have benefitted from$26 million in scholarships.

Aspiring young leaders would dowell to look to Win Wallin for a modelof authentic leader and sustainable success.

LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp EEtthhiiccssToday’s leaders need to be asking

questions: How do we do business?What happens when you get asked forfavors? You need to trust but you alsoneed a verification and compliance system.

When there are any deviations, itshould be a zero-tolerance policy, withno second chance. If you make mistakes,you should get a second chance. Buton questions of company values, thereis no second chance. Everybody needsto know that. We need to vet, not justcriticize, people who violate ethicalstandards. We also need to upholdleaders who seek to make a difference.

To get through a crisis, leaders needan outside team. It starts with havingone person with whom you can be entirelyopen. That person for me is my wife,Penny. If I get too high on myself, shepulls me back down; and if I get down,she gives me a practical view of things.I also meet with a men’s group weeklyto talk about issues and challenges.And when I have tough questions, Ihave mentors like Warren Bennis andDavid Gergen who I can call up.

It’s easy to fall into group-think. Youtend to talk about the same issues, andtend to think about them the sameway. It’s vital to have outside exposure,an external team that brings perspective.

Leading with ethics and values isthe best way to build an organizationand the right way to sustain success. LE

William W. George is a professor of management at HarvardBusiness School, former CEO of Medtronic, and author of 7Lessons for Leading in a Crisis. Visit www.billgeorge.org.

ACTION: Model authentic leadership.

by Bill George

1 6 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

LEADERSHIP AUTHENTIC

W h a t a d i f f e r e n c e t h e y m a k e !

Coaching for compliance. When wetry to help someone, we’re often seduc-ed into focusing on things that need tobe fixed, like a person’s weaknesses. Inthe process, we invoke the NEA andthe body’s stress reaction. Those beingcoached often feel on the defensive,feeling a need to justify or prove them-selves or pushed toward the coach’simage of how they should behave. Inthis way, we often slip into coaching forcompliance. Instead of invoking the per-son’s Ideal Self, we invoke the person’sOught Self. They stimulate the image ofthe person they ought to become. Whenthis Ought Self is imposed and is incon-sistent with a person’s Ideal Self, itcauses the person to close down his orher mind and willingness to change.

Coaches often utilize feedback data,analyze the weaknesses or gaps in thedata, and try to get the person to iden-tify what they can do to change—thusunintentionally arousing the NEA anddiminishing the person’s ability tomake sustainable change.

Life seems more exciting when weconsider the possibilities and pursuethem. We are actually healthier, moreopen, more capable of learning, andbetter able to function at a higherplane. Coaching with compassion arous-es this in the coach and in the personbeing coached. It is coaching forresults and sustained desired change.

Two competencies—empathy and emotional self-awareness—predict the effect-iveness of executive coaches.

Empathy. Coachingrequires listening to andunderstanding people,their issues, problems, andsituations at work andhome. If a person is seenmerely as a problem bearingplatform, the coach will

focus on the problems, not the person—and miss factors that sustain currentbehavior. The coach must be sensitiveto changes in the person and tailorsuggestions to the person’s needs.

Emotional self-awareness. A coachcan’t focus on a person if the coach ispreoccupied with his or her own chal-lenges. Awareness of transference, counter-transference, and projection must be apart of executive coaching. Coachesmust separate their own feelings andvalues from those of the client. This isdifficult without high self-monitoringor Emotional Self-Awareness.

IInntteennttiioonnaall CChhaannggeeAdults learn what they want to learn.

Other things, even if acquired tempor-

How People Change

IN THESE UNCERTAIN ANDfearful times, many

people are avoidinglooking to their future and just tryingto get by in the present, or toleratingtheir situation. It is a dysfunctionalresponse to having a dream.

Sadly, as managers doing perfor-mance reviews or trying to motivate aperson to improve, we also often com-mit the act of visionocide. We kill peo-ple’s dreams and inhibit their progresstoward a better future. The source ofthe misdirected effort lay in misunder-standing how people change.

PPoossiittiivvee aanndd NNeeggaattiivvee AAttttrraaccttoorrssIn pursuit of change, adaptation, or

in response to threat, we move towarda Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) ora Negative Emotional Attractor (NEA).Arousal of the NEA pulls us into astress-aroused state by arousing theSympathetic Nervous System (SNS).This results in decreased cognitivefunctioning, perceptual openness, andimmune system function-ing, and greater suscepti-bility to illnesses—youtend to feel nervous, anx-ious, and worried.

In contrast, arousal ofthe PEA helps us functionat our best. Arousing hopefor the future stimulatesthe ParasympatheticNervous System (PNS)—the state in which themind and body are at their best, creat-ing new neural tissue that allows forlearning, engages the immune system,and enables us to be open to ideas,feelings, and people.

Coaching with compassion involvesarousing the PEA by eliciting dreamsabout the future, about possibilities,arousing hope, and helping people toarticulate their personal vision. Whenyou coach someone to their PEA, youarouse enhanced cognitive and emo-tional functioning. The emotionalrenewal enables people to considerpossibilities of change—be more opento the coach and other people—andbreak through to a new insights abouttheir dreams and future possibilities.But this does not always happen.

arily, are soon forgotten. They may act asif they care about learning something,go through the motions, but then disre-gard it or forget it—unless it is somethingthat they want to learn. Even when peo-ple are under threat or coercion, theirbehavior will typically revert to its originalform once the threat is removed.

Most sustainable behavioral changeis intentional (affected by your will,values, and motivations). Self-directedchange is an intentional change in an aspectof who you are (Real Self) or who youwant to be (Ideal Self), or both. Self-direct-ed learning is self-directed change in whichyou are aware of the change and theprocess. The process, however, is rarelylinear. Your behavior may be stuck forlong periods of time and then changesuddenly. This is a discontinuity. Self-directed learning often begins whenyou experience a discontinuity, theassociated epiphany, or a moment ofawareness and a sense of urgency.

I see eight major learning points:1. Engage your passion and create

your dreams. Describe the person youwant to be (your Ideal Self) and the lifeand work you want in the future.

2. Know thyself—your Real Self.3. Identify your strengths (aspects of

yourself you want to preserve) and yourgaps or discrepancies (aspects of your-self you want to adapt or change).

4. Keep your attention on both char-acteristics, forces or factors! Attend toboth strengths and gaps—not lettingone become the preoccupation.

5. Create a personal learning agenda!Others may tell you how to change orimpose goals on you, but this won’thelp you change. Fit elements of yourlearning agenda into the structure ofyour life, work, and learning style.

6. Experiment and practice new habitsand actions and learn from your experi-ences! Learn more from experiences.

7. Find settings in which you feelsafe to experiment and practice!

8. Develop and use your relation-ships as part of your change and learn-ing. Have coaches, mentors, friends,and others with whom you can discussprogress on your learning agenda.

Your future may not be entirely with-in your control, but most of what youbecome is within your power to create.As Goethe says: “What you can do, ordream you can, begin it, Boldness hasgenius, power and magic in it!” LE

Richard E. Boyatzis is Professor of OB at Case Western ReserveUniversity and HR at ESADE. He is author of The CompetentManager; Primal Leadership with Daniel Goleman and AnnieMcKee; Resonant Leadership, with Annie McKee; and Becom-ing a Resonant Leader with Annie McKee and Fran Johnston.

ACTION: Coach people to make progress.

by Richard E. Boyatzis

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 1 7

PEOPLE CHANGE

Create positive attractors.

conduct a negotiations audit. A systemat-ic evaluation and assessment based onconfidential interviewing can do threethings: 1) analyze where current dealpreparation and decision-making prac-tices are falling short, and why; 2) howtraining must be tailored to address thosespecific problems; 3) what leaders mustdo alongside training to ensure that newskills and learning will be deployed.

More leaders are recognizing thatefforts to improve require key sponsor-ship; mechanisms for knowledge cap-ture and continuouslearning; and realignment ofprocesses and incentiveswhere needed. The resultsof thinking more holisticallyare not trivial. In 2008—ayear when the net income ofthe Global 2000 fell by 31percent—companies rankedin the top quartile of negoti-ation posted an averageincrease in net income of 42.5 percent!

2. Specify the criteria that define asuccessful negotiation. It is not enoughto articulate company values. Too oftenpeople assume that negotiations fall intosome nether world where values-basedbehavior does not apply. In worst cases,trumpeting values like trust and collab-oration create cynicism in business part-ners when negotiation behavior(driven by short term goals) is moredictatorial than collaborative. Creatinga list of criteria, and scorecard for mea-suring against them, ensures that innegotiations, people will balance short-term financial targets with other longerterm interests (risk, deal stability, trust,reputation, time spent negotiating).

3. Embrace negotiation as a corecapability. Many leaders remain ner-vous about helping their people tonegotiate better. Leaders in one Fortune200 company readily admitted thatconflicts were routine, and that resolv-ing them was critical to success. “Justdon’t use the word negotiate,” theypleaded. “We’re very collaborative.”(Their counterparts told me a differentstory.) In spite of books like Getting toYes—which argues that negotiationscan take the form of joint problem-solving—the word negotiation still sug-gests to some deception, exaggeration,manipulation, and even threats. No

Better Agreements

AS WARREN BENNISargues, nothing is

more important to goodleadership than making good decisions.

I help leaders negotiate betteragreements. This involves treatingnegotiation as an organizational capabil-ity, so that decisions about negotia-tions are not left largely to the lastminute, or to individual intuitions.

In my role, I’m struck by the effortthat leaders put into negotiation skillstraining, without focusing on other(often less costly) moves that wouldenable their people to negotiate better.

Even experienced negotiators areprone to powerful tendencies that hindertheir ability to negotiate better deals.Much research suggests that negotiators:fail to prepare adequately by thinkingthrough how the other party sees theproblem and their alternatives; fail tocreate as much value as they could;believe they have claimed most of theavailable value (when they haven’t);believe that others will choose andinterpret data in the same way theywill; and fail to recognize ways inwhich the situation powerfully shapestheir behaviors and thought processes.But these shortcomings affect otherjudgments and intuitions as well.

For example, people have undue con-fidence in their ethical invulnerability. Inone study of medical residents, only 1percent felt that sales reps from drugcompanies had impacted their pre-scription choices, but reported that 33percent of their colleagues had beeninfluenced. Among physicians, 61 per-cent claimed they had not been influ-enced—but only 16 percent felt thattheir colleagues had been similarlyimmune. We all imagine our bestintentions will guide our decisions,but the evidence suggests otherwise.

DDoo FFiivvee TThhiinnggssLeaders must do five things to enable

better decision-making in negotiations:1. Recognize that negotiation is not

just an individual skill, but an organi-zational capability. When I am askedby leaders to design training programsin negotiation, I first suggest that they

wonder leaders remain wary. But lead-ers should not let the word negotiationdeter them from focusing helping theirpeople get better at reaching agreements.

4. Create opportunities—throughcoaching, training, and leadershipdevelopment experiences—for your peo-ple to confront their own emotionalbarriers to conflict. Most executives cantell stories about key team membersavoiding conflict because they don’twant to be seen as obstacles to success.But conflict that goes underground cancreate much bigger problems later.Leaders should seek to normalize con-flict on their teams among people whoare paid to care about different things.Even normalizing conflict does notguarantee that people will have theemotional intelligence or courage toconfront different interests, perceptions,

beliefs, or priorities. It’seasy after the fact to con-demn others for failing tohave acted courageously by“speaking up” or raisingissues that might “causeproblems.” It’s harder to bethe person in the room,actually facing the situa-tion. Effective leaders rec-ognize how hard it is for

people to voice disagreement.5. Recognize that negotiations are a

potent source of feedback regardingstrategy. Leaders often tell me, “Weperform a high-value service, but innegotiation we’re treated like a com-modity.” When pushed, however, theycan’t explain how their services are dif-ferent or better that what their competi-tors can provide. They can’t point toexamples of boosting their client’s topor bottom lines in ways that justify ahigher price. If you can’t articulate con-vincing arguments about the value youadd, you can expect to be treated as acommodity at the negotiating table(and the rise of Procurement reflectsthis reality). Yet this is principally astrategy problem, not a negotiationproblem. Leaders who use negotiationsas feedback are more likely to addressthe fundamental problems that lie atthe heart of the negotiation, rather thansending their people to negotiate withthe hope that there is some “magicaltactic” that will rescue a favorable deal.

Leaders who manage negotiationswell are process designers, coaches,and role models. By moving in thesefive ways, you can expect dramaticallybetter results in your organization. LE

Hal Movius is co-author of Built to Win: Creating A World-Class Negotiating Organization. Visit www.cbuilding.org.

ACTION: Negotiate to reach better agreements.

by Hal Movius

1 8 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

COMPETENCY NEGOTIATION

H e l p y o u r p e o p l e r e a c h t h e m .

through the coastal communities.BP also got good marks by using

social media, tweeting its efforts andenlisting hundreds of volunteers.

Lesson 4: The media will pull outsound bites. Be prepared. BP CEO TonyHayward was trying to position thecompany as fulfilling its responsibili-ties, but saying “It wasn’t our accident,but we are absolutely responsible for clean-ing it up,” seemed to muddy the mes-sage. Predictably, the line, “It wasn’t ouraccident,” was repeated over and over.Similarly, the line that the company“would pay all legitimate claims,” wasinterpreted that they would fight for anarrow definition of claims. This linewas repeated over and over by compa-ny executives, clearly indicating it waspurposeful. BP did post a statement onits website saying it will“pay all necessary and appro-priate clean-up costs” as wellas “legitimate and objectivelyverifiable” claims for proper-ty damage, personal injuryand commercial losses.While it’s early in the inci-dent, this claim will be cred-ible when they can startposting examples wherethey have processed andapproved a claim.

Lesson 5: Get validating third partieson board before a crisis. Messages aboutwho was responsible or what failed (Trans-ocean’s blow out preventer) shouldhave been discussed by experts, even ifBP retained them. BP’s statements thatthey weren’t at fault made it look as ifthey were trying to avoid responsibili-ty. Predictably, Transocean and Halli-burton produced their own facts aboutwho ordered whom to do what, tryingto shift blame back on to BP. The publicdoesn’t speak the same language andcan’t sort out who’s credible.

Lesson 6: Ask yourselves what willthe media, regulators, and others find—and what they will think of it—if a dis-aster or problem occurs. Media combedBP’s readiness reports and plans forspills, finding them pro forma. It lookedlike BP had patched together copy fromother plans. For the Gulf of Mexico, oneparagraph pulled from a 500+ pageplan for spill mitigation noted that oilcould “harm seals, sea otters, and wal-ruses” (there are no seals, sea otters orwalruses in the Gulf). Assigning a teamto “play reporter” before any real crisiswould have helped BP understand itsexposure to criticism and risk.

Lesson 7: Get the most advancedmessage/media/spokesperson trainingavailable. BP executives, while clearly

BP’s Oil Spill

WE ALL WATCHEDthe oil spill crisis

in the Gulf, specificallyBP’s response to the crisis, with greatinterest. I hope that it caused you toreevaluate how you think about crisiscommunication. In the past, you mayhave been prepared to give a responseby the “end of the day.” Now, youmay not have more than five minutesto formulate your initial response.

Here are eight lessons for leaders:Lesson 1: It’s not enough to practice

operational scenarios—practice com-munication scenarios. The division ofownership between BP, Transoceanand Halliburton meant there was noclear definition of who was to speakon what subject and when. The resultwas finger pointing and bickering—making all three parties look bad. Bycontrast, Turner Construction, theworld’s largest construction companyand a division of a German-based com-pany, employs many subcontractors.Since Turner’s name is on the sites,Turner always controls the communi-cation and takes the position that whathappens is their responsibility.

Lesson 2: Set expectations at the startthat things will change. BP initially es-timated 1,000 barrels of oil was leakingdaily. Eight days later, they announcedit was more like 5,000 barrels a day. ByMay 5, BP said it could be as much as60,000 barrels a day. That led to criti-cism that they had lowballed the esti-mate on purpose. Here is an exampleof language they could have used dur-ing the first day when they were in factfinding mode: “As we gather information,we will provide it in a timely and appropri-ate manner. We ask you to remember thatnew information may change our assess-ment of the situation and our plans. Facts,figures and even conclusions will changeand evolve as we get new information. Thisis part of handling a situation like this.” Byusing such language upfront, you canrefer back to it when new facts emerge.

Lesson 3: Start talking with people onthe ground and have a physical presencein the community. BP got it right to waitone month before communicating viathe usual corporate full-page ads. Instead,employees and managers spread out

making a great effort to be accessibleand forthcoming, made a number ofmistakes. First, they repeated lines like“all legitimate claims,” and then theysaid stupid things—which were boundto be amplified. “This spill is tiny whencompared to the size of the ocean and vol-ume of water in the Gulf.” “The oil in theGulf is the consistency of tea.” “The over-all environmental impact of this spill willbe very modest.” Executives also did notknow how to acknowledge questions,and in a memorable exchange with U.S.members of Congress, appeared torepeatedly duck questions about whatthey would consider “legitimate” claimsthat the company would pay for.” So aquestion would be asked, “Will you payfor lost income?” and the BP executivewould repeat the line, “We will pay for

all legitimate claims.” Theseframing questions are com-mon, and the respondentdoes not need to be limitedto “yes” or “no” but mustpick a substitute phrasesuch as “I don’t know,”“It’s too early to tell,” “Ihope so,” “I can’t predict.”

Lesson 8: Have “compet-itive video” ready to go.The images of oil slicks on

top of the ocean, deep water plumes ofdark matter, oil-soaked birds, beachedfishing boats, and other similar imagesdominated the news. Competitive videoshould have been ready to counterthese predictable images. Caution: thevideo needs to be authentic, not “PR.”Useful examples are videos of trainingexercises which back up a company’scommitment to safety procedures andshow a company’s concern for antici-pating problems and preparing for them.

Think about the anticipated crises—what images they will generate andwhat pictures will counter them. Yearsago, PepsiCo was hit by claims thatconsumers found syringes in cans ofPepsi. PepsiCo didn’t argue that thiswas extortion or sabotage—which theywere certain it was. Within hours, theyreleased video of their high-speed can-ning lines, showing that it would beimpossible to insert anything. Thevideo also showed inspectors standingover the lines. The footage receivedwide exposure and was very convincing.

Rethink and revamp your approachto crisis communication. Review theselessons from the BP crisis and stay dili-gent in your crisis preparation. LE

Merrie Spaeth is Founder and CEO of Spaeth Communi-cations. This article is adapted from her speech for theMontreal Chapter of IABC. Visit www.spaethcom.com.

ACTION: Learn and apply these eight lessons.

by Merrie Spaeth

L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 1 9

LEADERSHIP PR

Eight lessons for leaders .

the ideas we recommend to them—isto be vulnerable with them.

Vulnerability is about honesty andauthenticity. Only by facing and over-coming those fears, and getting com-fortable being naked, can we earn thetrust that creates loyalty with clients.

Naked service providers confrontclients (kindly) with difficult informa-tion and perspectives, even if the clientmight not like hearing it. Naked con-sultants ask potentially dumb questions,and make potentially dumb suggestions,because if those questions or sugges-tions ultimately help their client, it isworth the potential embarrassment.They also admit their weaknesses andcelebrate their mistakes. Even beforelanding a client, a naked consultantwill demonstrate vulnerability andtake risks. They’ll give away their bestideas and start consulting with prospectsduring a sales call. In fact, they’ll foregoselling to find a way to help a client,even if they never actually become one.

Service providers that practice thenaked approach will find it easier toretain clients through greater trust and

loyalty. It also allows firms to be moreopen, generous and less desperate inthe sales process—the differentiatorfrom more traditional sales approaches.

NNaakkeedd AApppprrooaacchh ttoo IInnnnoovvaattiioonnMany leaders in search of innova-

tion generate as much cynicism as theydo new thinking. They exhort people tobe more innovative, providing classesand workshops designed to teacheveryone how to think outside the box.They also include innovation on a listof core values, emblazoning the wordon annual reports and hallway posters,hoping that this will inspire people tocome up with new ideas for revolution-izing strategic and financial prospects.

Even well-intentioned and dedicat-ed employees are bound to respondcynically to these efforts, frustrated bywhat they see as hypocrisy. They justdon’t perceive a genuine eagernessamong leaders to embrace the newideas of rank-and-file employees (andthey are mostly accurate in that percep-tion). For all the talk about innovation,

Getting Naked

WHEN I GRADUATEDfrom college and

became a consultant, Iwas taught how to answer questionswithout giving away my age or inex-perience. This is part of the “never letthem see you sweat” mentality.

I was taught how to research andpresent ideas to clients as if I had allthe answers, to demonstrate authorityand portray myself as smart—evenslightly superior to clients. Many ofmy colleagues, including me, hatedour jobs. And to be fair, it didn’t feellike our clients liked us much either.But that was the world of consulting,and unfortunately, in many places, thisapproach to client service still exists.

When I left that job and joined a realcompany, I became a client myself, bring-ing in consultants to do work for us.There I developed an approach to con-sulting that we’ve used in my firm for12 years. We call it naked consulting,and it has yielded more client loyaltythen we could have ever imagined.

TThhee NNaakkeedd AApppprrooaacchhNaked service boils down to the abil-

ity to be vulnerable, humble, selfless,and transparent for the good of a client.Most of us live our lives trying to avoidawkward and painful situations, whichis why it is no surprise that we are allsusceptible to the three fears that sabo-tage client loyalty:• Fear of losing the business. Worry-

ing about losing a client’s business maycause us to avoid the very things thatultimately engender trust and loyalty.• Fear of being embarrassed. Rooted in

pride, this fear can lead service provid-ers to withhold their best ideas.• Fear of feeling inferior. To avoid

feeling irrelevant or being overlooked,we try to achieve and preserve a highlevel of importance in clients’ minds.

We find that clients are more inter-ested in candor, modesty, and trans-parency than they are in confidence,authority, and perfection. Yes, clientsneed to know that we have the knowl-edge and experience to help them. Butonce we reach that level, the best wayto differentiate ourselves from compe-tition—and to help a client implement

most executives don’t like the prospectof their people generating new ways todo things, hoping instead that they’llsimply do what they’re asked to do inthe most enthusiastic, professional waypossible. So it is no surprise when theyget pounded for preaching innovationwithout really valuing it.

What should leaders do? They should“get naked,” stop over-hyping innova-tion and realize that only a few people inthe company really need to be innovative.

As heretical as that may seem tothose who believe that “innovation iseveryone’s business!”, consider thateven the most innovative organizationsneed far more people to be dutiful,enthusiastic, and consistent in theirwork than innovative or creative.

What should leaders demand of theirpeople, if not innovation? How about acombination of creativity and autonomy?This suggests that we as managers andleaders need our people to take com-plete responsibility to do their jobs andsatisfy customers in the most effectiveand charismatic way possible, withinthe bounds of sound business princi-ples. You may mean that when you usethe word innovation, but that is notwhat your employees are hearing.

Creativity and autonomy thrive ingreat companies. Southwest airlines,Chick-fil-A, and Nordstrom excel in it.Their employees are passionate andcommitted and take responsibility forturning customers into loyal fans. Sure,they’re encouraged to share ideas aboutnew ways to work, but they are knownfor being great at what has already beendefined as the product or service that theircompany offers. Most leaders would takethat any day, even before innovation.

One group that must exercise thecapacity for innovation is the leader-ship team. They are the keepers of inno-vation, ultimately responsible fordetermining the acceptable boundariesof change, and identifying the few oth-ers within their departments who havethe invitation and freedom to innovate.

So, before calling for your people toinnovate, be more specific about whatyou really want from them. And if youreally believe that your organizationisn’t innovative enough, focus yourefforts first on the people at the top.

When you can be vulnerable with thepeople you live and work with daily, youbuild stronger relationships, show yourtrust in them, and inspire them to improveby being vulnerable themselves. Thatis certainly worth getting naked for. LE

Pat Lencioni is CEO of The Table Group and best-selling authorof Get Naked and other books. Visit www.TableGroup.com.

ACTION: Be naked in your approach to service.

by Patrick Lencioni

2 0 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 L e a d e r s h i p E x c e l l e n c e

PERFORMANCE SERVICE

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