Leadership Quote:  You Can Tell Whether A Person Is Clever…

Leadership Quote: You Can Tell Whether A Person Is Clever…

3d man holding question mark and exclamation pointThis month’s leadership quote:

“You can tell whether a person is clever by his/her answers. You can tell whether a person is wise by his/her questions.

-Naguib Mahfouz

In Vistage we chairs encourage our members to stay in a questioning mode. This is probably the most important ingredient in effectively getting to the resolution of an issue and the most difficult to do.

Those of us in leadership roles are accustomed to having the answers. After all, it’s having the answers that got us where we are; we solve problems. So… when we hear  a problem, we want to shout out our answers and help the other person (or is it we want them and everyone else to hear how smart we are? Perhaps if we are honest with ourselves, it is a little of both).

Here’s the thing, I think I am smart too. When I bring an issue to the table, first I am a bit uncomfortable, because I am being vulnerable. Second, when you give me answers, I immediately go into objection mode.

If on the other hand, you ask me questions, I can get to the answer myself. Does it take longer than just giving me the answer? Sure for you. Sometimes you can help me by making observations, but don’t solve it for me. That may help you, but it doesn’t help me.

So, as our Vistage speaker, Amy K says, “strive for the better question”. Easy to say, hard to do. Here are a couple of tips I have picked up from Amy that can aid the process:

  • Write down your question before asking it.
  • Write down 11 questions, and then pick your best to ask. The act of writing down so many, helps you push for the better question.

And in the moment, when writing the question isn’t practical, listen to yourself. When I catch myself making a statement, instead of asking a question, I will pause and say, “wait, let me rephrase that as a question”.

The Socratic method after all was named for the man viewed as the wisest in the land because of the questions he asked.

Elisa K. Spain

Culture Doesn't Change, But It Can Bend

Culture Doesn't Change, But It Can Bend

Opt 1 2014-04-20 Blog

 

It is often said that culture change is the most challenging change one can attempt in an organization. In fact, Edgar Papke, Vistage Speaker and author of True Alignment, says that culture can only change when you change the majority of the people at the same time.

Hmm, does that mean if we aren’t willing to fire 1/2 of our team, we may as well not bother?

I say no. While I agree with Edgar that complete change will only happen with a complete change in players, culture does bend.

It’s hard; it takes a long time and can sometimes (often) be frustrating. Yet, the results can be worth it. Here is an eight step process (synthesized from John Kotter’s landmark book, Leading Change) that can serve as a template toward bending the culture.

  1. Create a Sense of Urgency
  2. Pull Together a Guiding Team – choose a powerful group with leadership skills, credibility, authority and a sense of urgency
  3. Develop a Simply Stated Vision for Change – paint the picture of how the future will be different
  4. Communicate – create a surprising, compelling and visual experience – strive to change feeling, rather than thinking
  5. Empower Others to Act – remove barriers, including people that are barriers
  6. Produce Short Term Wins – find them and celebrate them
  7. Don’t Let Up – press harder and faster after first successes
  8. Institutionalize the New Approaches/Behaviors – continually reinforce

Elisa K. Spain

 

 

 

 

Ask, The Answer May Surprise You

Ask, The Answer May Surprise You

Opt 2 2014-04-13Sometimes, in our zeal to anticipate our customers’ needs, we forget to ask what they prefer.

The notion of anticipating customer needs has been around for some time. And… certainly it makes sense when it comes to product development. Steve Jobs was famous for anticipating customer needs; knowing that we often don’t know what we are going to want next, best to give it to us and let us try it out. While it isn’t easy to anticipate customer product preferences, when we do it successfully, awesome innovations enter our society.

I wonder though, if we have taken this notion of anticipating needs beyond where it was intended, i.e. toward anticipating (guessing) preferences. I keep learning that when I guess at what someone wants, I am often wrong. Here are some small examples:

  • I believe the customer I meet with regularly wants to meet in the morning, so I keep scheduling morning meetings. It turns out, she would prefer afternoons and thinks I am only available in the mornings.
  • I believe a customer has referred someone to me because they expect me to include them in my vendor search. But instead, he is indifferent, and just providing a referral in case I need one.
  • Because my service provider is organized and intentional, I assume she is inflexible and unwilling to adapt to my scheduling preferences.

In short,  ask for what you want and ask them what they want; the answer may surprise you.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

 

Vistage Confidence Index: Optimism Remains High In Q1 2014

Vistage Confidence Index: Optimism Remains High In Q1 2014

2014-04-06 Confidence Index Q1 2014The quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.

CEOs in the latest Vistage survey maintained their economic optimism at the same high level as in late 2013, despite the negative impact from the harsh winter. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 101.3 in the 1st quarter 2014 survey, virtually identical to the 101.5 in the 4th quarter of 2013, but well above the 96.6 in last year’s 1st quarter. The past two surveys set the highest average six-month level of confidence in three years. The harsh winter was reflected in more negative evaluations of current economic conditions, but firms reported increases in employment and investment intentions compared to either last quarter and last year.

Below are some key highlights from the Q1 2014 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):

  • 58% of CEOs plan on increasing the number of employees in the years ahead, the highest level recorded since the start of 2007.
  • 76% of all CEOs reporting using management training and leadership development programs, with 47% of all CEOs intending to increase their investment in such training.anticipated higher sales revenues in the next year.
  • 56% of CEOs provide retirement savings programs to eligible employees.
  • 74% of CEOs expect to increase revenue in the next year.
  • 57% anticipated higher profits in the next year.

Elisa K. Spain