45 Year Leadership View #3: A Leader Must Balance…

45 Year Leadership View #3: A Leader Must Balance…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

swansMarsh Carter’s Leadership View #3:

A leader must balance accomplishing the organization’s mission with responsibility to followers.

As Vistage speaker Rick Eigenbrod reminds us, the one thing all leaders have in common, followers. When we forget this is the most important characteristic of leadership, we look around and there is no one behind us. While the mission may be what is driving us as leaders, have we stopped and asked what is driving our followers?

Remembering that all we humans act in our own self-interest, the organization’s mission must resonate and must matter to each and every one of our followers if we are going to get there. It is a delicate balance between being out in front because we have the vision; and inspiring our followers to move forward because they see what is in it for them.

In the best of circumstances, we as leaders inspire and our followers are the ones who accomplish the mission.

My question for you is:

What are you asking today to confirm that your followers understand and are driven to accomplish your mission?

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

45 Year Leadership View #2: Sometimes, The Most Effective Techniques…

45 Year Leadership View #2: Sometimes, The Most Effective Techniques…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013 04-07 iStock_000019160239XSmallMarsh Carter’s Leadership View #2:

Sometimes, the most effective leadership techniques are the simplest.

We often strive to find a method or a framework that we can employ to become more effective as leaders. Sometimes, as Marsh reminds us in his Leadership View #2, it’s the simple things. Sometimes, all we need to do as leaders is simply ask questions, listen and respond accordingly.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

Leadership Quote: What You Do Speaks So Loudly…

Leadership Quote: What You Do Speaks So Loudly…

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

2013 03-31 Action Plan iStock_000019998849XSmallAs it is time for my monthly leadership quote, I am taking a brief pause from the 45 Years of Leadership series.  The series will return next week with Marsh’s Leadership View #2.

This month’s leadership quote: 

What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you say – Ralph Waldo Emerson 

  • We say we provide a great place to work, do our actions demonstrate this by committing to the growth and development of our staff?
  • We say we want to grow our business, are our actions focused on growth?
  • We say we want to spend more time learning to play the guitar, are we practicing?
  • We say we want to make a difference, are we intentional each day in taking actions that do in fact make a difference?
  • Are we pausing each day, to ask ourselves if our actions are aligned with our words?

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

A 45 Year View Of Leadership

A 45 Year View Of Leadership

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

Flowers purple crocus in the snow, spring landscapeThis past Thursday was the first day of spring and while here in Chicago it still feels like winter, I did see a crocus today. Spring, for me, represents new beginnings.

With that in mind, I am launching a 15 week series entitled “A 45 Year View of Leadership“, honoring my friend, Marshall Carter. Marsh is the current Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, and retired Chairman and CEO of State Street Bank. In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Marsh was a military leader and received the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart.

The last time I saw Marsh, he shared that he is a regular reader of this blog and he gave me a document entitled, “A 45 Year View of Leadership“.  He said “do whatever you want with this”. The document is a list of 15 points. Although I wanted to write a book of his stories, this wasn’t something he wanted. So we agreed that I would write this blog series, honoring him instead with my stories that support his words.

Marsh Carter’s Leadership View #1:

Be cautious about applying your own, or someone else’s, successful leadership traits and techniques to different levels of organizations and/or different cultures.

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo’s recent pronouncement that all employees must come to the office, is a perfect place to start the discussion about applying your own, or in this case, someone else’s successful leadership techniques. While I have no idea whether this is the right thing for Yahoo or not, what I do know is it may or may not apply to other companies. Yet, because Marissa is CEO of Yahoo, and visible in the press, the CEOs I work with are all asking themselves if they should follow suit.

Which brings us to Leadership View #1, and its key word, culture. What works in one culture may not apply in another. Organizations have a style just like individuals. Some organizations and individuals are more collaborative; other organizations and individuals are more effective with individual contributors. In fact, Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, discovered in her research that pure introverts whose contributions to an organization are individual, e.g. programmers, are actually more productive when they work from home or in a private office. Studies show their productivity goes down when they are forced to work in shared spaces.

Before we rush into following Ms. Mayer’s leadership techniques, or perhaps our own from a previous situation, I encourage us to pause and follow Marsh’s sage advice in View #1, and ask:

Am I cautious about applying leadership lessons from one situation to another?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

 Elisa K. Spain

Diversity Or Integration, What's The Difference, Why Bother?

Diversity Or Integration, What's The Difference, Why Bother?

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

2013 03-10 DiversityStock_000014186302XSmallLately I have had a number of conversations with the leaders I work with about the challenges of adding diversity to their organizations. Diversity comes in several flavors. There are the traditional forms of diversity – gender, race, ethnicity and sexual preference. It also comes when someone from the outside joins an existing culture.

Some organizations handle this “integration” well and some don’t. Why?  My sense is the answer lies in how intentional the leader is about both the spoken and unspoken characteristics of their culture.

The word integration is rarely used today. It harkens back to the 1970’s when schools were being “integrated”. Fights broke out, learning became challenging and it was largely viewed in retrospect as an experiment that failed. And, this “experiment” for me provides learning for leaders who want to diversify their organizations.

Integrating- Merriam Webster “to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole”

Isn’t this exactly what we are wanting to do when we diversify? And…Diverse teams are hard…they are harder to build, are unlikely to come to consensus and are more likely to have conflict.

So, why bother?  Because… they are harder to build, are unlikely to come to consensus and are more likely to have conflict, they make better decisions. Research studies prove this.

What to do?
Diversity is not always the best approach. Homogeneous groups are easier. Because of their similar backgrounds, preferences and styles they are likely to agree and move forward quickly.
  • If the goal is getting more of what you already have, then a homogeneous group may be the way to go.
  • If the goal is innovation and critical thinking, you are more likely to get there with a diverse group.

If you decide you want to build a diverse team, first begin by defining what you are looking to accomplish with the diversity. Then ask yourself the following questions as you begin to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole:

  • Do I know the backgrounds, preferences, and styles of current team members?
  • What actions do I need to take to learn this information about my current team?
  • Have we defined our culture? And, even if we have, what are the unspoken characteristics of our culture?
  • What actions do I need to take to learn this information about my culture?
  • What on-boarding actions do I need to take to achieve integration?

Elisa K. Spain

 

Is It Possible To Be Too Lean?

Is It Possible To Be Too Lean?

by Elisa Spain4 Comments

2013 02-17 Frustrated Office Worker iStock_000015900242XSmallWhen the “great recession” began, companies got lean and they went there quickly. This worked, for employers, owners and employees.  Now 3+ years into recovery, lean continues while sales have grown. The result is increased profits.  So….what’s the issue?

I have been hearing a troubling refrain lately. I began hearing this from middle managers in large public companies I work with; and I am now hearing it from small and midsize companies.

Middle Managers say it like this:  “My team is exhausted and the workload continues to increase. I am struggling with how to become more efficient than we are and I am seeing signs that we are becoming less effective”.

High Performing employees put it this way: “The saying used to be, the best thing you can do for a high performing employee was terminate a low performing employee. I don’t feel this way anymore. In fact, quite the opposite. When anyone leaves, I groan. I groan, because I know there is going to be more work for me and I am struggling to get the work I already have done”.

As business leaders and owners, I encourage you to ask:

  • Are my middle managers and high performing employees saying similar things?
  • Am I listening?
  • Am I perhaps too lean? What are the risks to production, client servicing, morale and ultimately profitability if I am?

Elisa K. Spain

 

Laws Of Success: 80% Is Showing Up

Laws Of Success: 80% Is Showing Up

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

Many open doors isolated on white background. 3D image“Eighty percent of success is showing up”, so says Woody Allen.

Sometimes it’s hard to show up when:

  • we would prefer to be someplace else
  • we are tired, or not at our best
  • we have been there before and got nothing out it
  • it’s out of the way, and it’s snowing
  • it was a long day at work, and we would rather go home

I am certain we could have a brainstorming session and make a long list of reasons not to show up.

What if, instead, we shared our stories of when we did show up and were surprised by what came from the experience?  Here’s a beginning list of a few of my ‘success’ stories:

  • I was invited to an event, I didn’t want to go because I knew no one. I went anyway and the result was a reconnection with an old friend and a business opportunity.
  • We were on our way home and my partner suggested we search for a place we heard about. Normally, I would resist, this time I said yes. We had a great experience and unexpectedly, we met the owner of the business who may well become a client.
  • 6 years ago, I was checking references on a prospective executive for a client. I got into conversation with the guy’s boss and ended up meeting him. Turns out he was a Vistage member, encouraged me to become a Chair and gave me the name of his Chair to call.  I made the call and the rest, as they say, is history.

What are your stories? Please share your comments.

Elisa K. Spain

 

Do The Ends Justify The Means?

Do The Ends Justify The Means?

by Elisa Spain2 Comments


An age old question…

I saw Lincoln, Steve Spielberg’s latest movie, and came away from it with some questions, from a leadership perspective. Abraham Lincoln is renowned as one of the greatest presidents and leaders in United States history. In this movie, Spielberg tells the story of Lincoln’s last days, the time in which he worked to pass the 13th Amendment and end the Civil War. Both Lincoln and Thaddeus Stevens took questionable actions to advance their end goal of abolishing slavery. Lincoln sought to change the vote of house members and delay a meeting with the southern leaders, while Stevens modified his oratory to be more inclusive; shocking and disappointing his constituents.

And.. they won. The 13th Amendment was passed, banishing slavery for all time.

So, the leadership questions are:

  • When the goal is pure and the cost of not achieving it is high, do the ends justify the means? and
  • How do we as leaders make that decision that “this particular outcome” is one that qualifies?

Elisa K. Spain

Celebrate Your Gift

Celebrate Your Gift

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

At this gift-giving time of the year, I am reminded that we all have natural gifts.

The notion that we can constantly make ourselves better, in theory, is a great idea. But when does it become too much?

For me, the best way to answer this question is to notice our strengths and work to enhance them. In my Vistage work, and as a leadership coach and advisor, I refer to this as discovering and working in our genius.

While personal growth and development are part of living a full life, and after all this is what Vistage is all about, I wonder sometimes if we have become so focused on achieving that we are never able to appreciate who we are or what we have already accomplished.

For me, the best way to avoid the “better, better, better” trap is to ask the following questions:

  • What am I already good at? What do I need to do to become excellent at this?
  • Of the things I am not good at and am striving to improve, what can I delegate to someone else?
  • Can I find a way to accept being adequate or “good enough” at the rest?

Once we know and understand our strengths, and focus on that, we not only become more effective, we become more satisfied, and ultimately become better leaders.

P.S. This is the last post for 2012. Happy holidays to all.  See you in the new year.
Do Titles Matter?

Do Titles Matter?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Last week I had the chance to listen to Vistage speaker and futurist David Houle. David talked about coming changes, many of which are driven not only by technology, but by Millennials entering the workforce. We are already seeing flattening organizations and a move away from hierarchy and titles and offices and cubicles and all the stuff Baby Boomers and Generation Xers are comfortable with. In entrepreneurial companies, which make up the majority of our Vistage groups, hierarchies never existed. These companies pride themselves on being nimble and quick to respond to marketplace demands. The result is a competitive advantage, now more than ever, because these are the companies able to attract and retain Millennials. As Vistage companies grow, we Chairs encourage owners to build a leadership team so they can build a sustainable enterprise. Owners want experienced leaders to do this – In walks the boomers and Xers, accustomed to structure and ready to create that sustainable enterprise, and with their ability to create processes to support a sustainable enterprise, comes their comfort and desire for hierarchy, titles, offices, etc.

CLASH  

Perhaps as David says, as the Millennials become leaders, this will all even out. In the meantime, here are my questions for Boomer and Generation X leaders and followers:

  • Is it time to pause and ask, how much of what I expect in terms of hierarchy, paying dues, etc. matters?
  • What recognition is truly important for me to feel successful in my organization?
  • When joining a new organization or taking on an assignment, what behaviors, rather than titles and trappings, should I be asking for from my leader that will set me up to succeed?

Elisa K. Spain