The
challenge is to really see, smell, and take pleasure from all that
nature has to offer. For task oriented, results-driven people like me,
that is not always so easy. I can get myself too focused on what needs
to be done next, and not really look around and savor where I already
am. Staying alert for photo opportunities with my new digital camera is
helping to counterbalance this tendency — as long as I don't get too
focused on achieving photo results!
In Southern
Ontario, the end of May and into June is also the time of year to do
hard pruning of roses, clematis, and shrubs. What is dead from winter
kill and needs to be cut off and what is new growth to be nurtured is
now very evident. A good gardener is a good pruner — just like a good
leader. He or she uses sharp tools to trim out old ideas that look ugly
and choke new growth. In this issue I'll address some of the common
'winter kill' of less effective teams and individuals, and how to prune
them out.
A Power Failure Whodunit
One of the Timeless Leadership Principles in our Leadership Wheel model (view the model at www.clemmer.net/models/tlship.shtml)
is Responsibility for Choices. I have come to emphasize this one more
heavily than the others because so many people in my keynote speaking
and workshop audiences feel so helpless and powerless.
It's
so easy to get stuck in Pity City. Since misery loves company, Pity
Parties become popular as everyone points fingers at their favorite
targets on the other side of the We/They Gap found in many
organizations (head office versus regions/divisions, frontline staff
versus management, lower management versus senior management,
management versus unions, sales versus operations, etc.). Problems,
setbacks, and disappointments are often wailed about in a rousing game
of Blame Storming ("They are doing it to us again"). One group that I
worked with recently reflected on how they don't spend as much time in
Pity City, but they do get stuck in Frown Town far too often!
I
have been in too many workshops, over too many years, listening to
managers complain about staff not taking initiative and being
disempowered. Those same managers then turn around and helplessly point
fingers upward or outward at others as the reason for their own
negativity, cynicism, and inaction. That's not leadership. In the
Responsibility for Choices chapter of The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success I decided to address this growing problem directly. We need fewer middle managers, and far more middle leaders.
An excellent article in the April 2003 issue of Harvard Business Review illustrates
the power of strong and highly strategic leadership in the face of
overwhelming bureaucracy, inertia, and resistance to change. In
"Tipping Point Leadership," W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne draw
powerful leadership lessons from William Bratton's remarkable career
leading up to and including his unprecedented success as police
commissioner of New York City. They show how he led a highly effective
change process with a sharp focus on priority setting, performance
management, strategic leverage, and the like. The steep drop in crime
rates (murders down 50%, theft down 35%) and sharp rise in "customer
satisfaction" (a positive rating for NYPD that soared from 37% to 73%
in four years) is astounding.
What's even more impressive and instructive about Bratton's career is what an incredibly effective "tempered radical" (see my book review in this issue)
he was at the bottom and middle rungs of the Boston Police Department
and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. Since he had little formal
power, he used a much more powerful force – leadership!
Go to www.hbr.com to read a summary of the article and order reprints.
Is That a Moose Standing on the Table?
One
of the more popular metaphors I have been using in workshops and
management retreats is the notion of Moose-on-the-Table. It's a
playful, fun way to open up deep, authentic conversations about
problems or issues that aren't being addressed. When I work in the
U.S., people are sometimes more familiar with the idea of
Elephant-in-the-Livingroom. I have also heard of pink skunks and other
such creatures.
One reason I like
Moose-on-the-Table is because it's so Canadian. Another reason is that
moose can be very territorial, hard to remove once established,
dangerous when confronted, and awkward, gangly creatures. You can read
an excerpt on Moose-on-the-Table from The Leader's Digest (and view the graphic slide I use in my presentations) at www.clemmer.net/excerpts/authentic_comm.shtml.
An excellent Harvard Business Review
article that shows just how dangerous untended Moose can be is in the
May 2003 issue. In, "Is Silence Killing Your Company?" Leslie Perlow
and Stephanie Williams show how the vicious circle of silence (not
dealing with the Moose-on-the-Table) be reversed with the virtuous
circle of communication.
Go to www.hbr.com to read a summary of the article and order reprints.
Personal FAQs and More...
Probably More Than You Ever Wanted to Know
With our ongoing web site renovations and the publicity around my new book, The Leader's Digest,
we have revamped our Media Centre to provide more of my background and
answer questions that I am often asked. It also contains press releases
and story angles on The Leader's Digest. You can access the centre at www.clemmer.net/media_center.shtml. I had some fun putting together answers to question #10 (www.clemmer.net/media/qa.shtml#ten)
on my most impactful life change book, humor, pet peeve, and favorite
music, TV show, and movie. Of course, the great thing about reading
e-newsletters and visiting web sites is that when the authors get to
full of themselves, you can give them a good swift click and head off
somewhere else!
Two New Excerpts: Insights on our Web Site
I adapted an article called "Cultivating Leadership" from The Leader's Digest for Restaurant News.
It outlines the differences between management and leadership, and uses
my personal gardening analogy to discuss the nurturing aspect of
leadership. You can view the article at www.clemmer.net/excerpts/cultivating_lship.shtml.
I write a column for a local publication here in the Waterloo Region called Exchange Magazine. A recent column provided an overview of our Leadership Wheel that The Leader's Digest is built around. You can view this excerpt at www.clemmer.net/excerpts/timeless_lprinciples.shtml.
Getting More From Your Leadership Speaker
This editorial piece was posted by HR.com's Knowledge Manager, David Creelman, at www.hr.com. He's clearly a very bright and astute guy...
Organizations
commonly call in speakers to give their spiel about leadership. It's
basically a canned presentation but these speakers are often enjoyed by
employees. However, the speaker is giving his or her message, not your
organization's message.
An alternative
tactic is to choose a speaker who has been closely involved with a
project. For example, if you have built a leadership competency model
you might ask the consultant to speak about it. This gives an on-target
message but everyone knows the consultant is being paid to spout the
company line.
Jim Clemmer recently shared a
third tactic that is worth considering. His clients sometimes ask him
to present his leadership model but link it to their own message. The
resulting message is aligned but it has the credibility of coming from
an outsider.
What I like about this
approach is that it gives the listener something to think about. It
gives an alternative, but not inconsistent, view that employees need to
integrate with the company message.
Getting people to think is far better than just getting them to listen.
A
sample of customized presentations and workshops (like David describes
above) that I have designed and delivered is available at www.clemmer.net/speaking/custom.shtml.
Outstanding Performance is Voluntary
I recently received an e-mail from a visitor to our web site asking for "your
thoughts about leadership within volunteer organizations and what can
be learned for people who provide leadership for 'paid employees'."
Here's my response:
I
have long believed that managers who provide leadership for paid staff
can learn a great deal about true leadership from the volunteer sector.
A manager gets people to do what needs to be done. A leader gets people
to want to do what needs to be done.
I first wrote about "voluntarism" in my book, Firing on All Cylinders: The Service/Quality System for High-Powered Performance,
in the context of providing an environment that nurtures the
discretionary effort that leads to outstanding customer service (the
only way we can get there). Here's a passage from the Passion and
Commitment chapter of my recent book, The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success, which attempts to summarize some of my views on the topic:
Taking
an organization from good to great customer service ultimately depends
on the people who provide that service. It can only happen through the
volunteerism – the willingness to go beyond what is merely required –
of people who serve on the front lines. Going from ordinary to
extraordinary performance happens through the discretionary efforts of
frontline staff deciding to make the thousands of "moment of truth"
(any time a customer interacts with the company in person, by phone, or
electronically), they manage every day as positively as they possibly
can. This enthusiasm, loyalty, or devotion can't be forced on people.
It only happens through a "culture of commitment," where frontline
people reflect to the outside the intense pride and ownership they are
experiencing on the inside.
Get the Point with Improvement Points
If
you're looking for quick tips/ideas/thoughts for discussion with your
management team or your own learning, visit the Improvement Points
Archive at www.clemmer.net/quotes.shtml and click on one of the 22 topic areas within the broad categories of Change, Management-Leadership Balance, Organization Improvement, or Personal/Leadership Development.
These topic areas and categories are the same ones used for organizing
the over 250 free columns and articles on our web site (www.clemmer.net/articles.shtml). This is all built around the key models and frameworks found in my books, keynote presentations, workshops, and retreat (www.clemmer.net/models_main.shtml).
I
currently receive your monthly newsletter and really enjoy your
articles. I find them very timely and have circulated them to a number
of friends and encouraged them to subscribe. These improvement tips add
another dimension to the information you provide. I particularly like
how you use the work of others to make your perspective on a subject
more meaningful.
Keep up the great work.
- Brian Johnstone, Advisor, Business Improvement, Industry Canada
Improvement Points Subscribers' Top Picks for May
Improvement
Points are short quotes from one of the hundreds of free articles on
our web site that are sent by e-mail three times per week. Each quote
comes with a heading that corresponds with my core models and
frameworks (www.clemmer.net/models_main.shtml).
Subscribers have the opportunity to click on the title of the article
that the quote was taken from and go read the entire piece. Of the
quotes/articles sent out in May, the three most popular were (you can
click on the article title to read it):
What's the Right Organization Structure?
Here's a note I recently received from the president of a company we've been working with:
I
am looking for a book/information on organizational structures.
However, there's a twist. We are currently set up as most companies
are, with a vertical (silo) model. I want to change this. Part of our
vision is to be a "knowledge-based" company. In order to accomplish
this, information has to flow from the outside-in and from the
inside-out. The more effective the transmission of information, the
more connective the organization will become.
In
order to do this, I feel that we need a circular "network" model,
rather than a vertical integration model. We want to be like a
multi-dimensional, living organism (e.g. the human body) where
information/knowledge is exchanged and flows unimpeded throughout the
organization. Projects get done through a collaborative workplace and
information is available centrally to everyone.
I'd appreciate your advice/recommendations.
We
have long believed that form follows function. In other words, first
determine what the key goals/objectives, business models, and key
processes are and then put a structure in place to support that. So
"the right organization structure" is impossible to generalize in a
book. You can find some of my work on systems and structure on our web
site at www.clemmer.net/excerpts/org_structure.shtml.
We
tend to work with Clients to shape a structure and support systems
after work like process management has been completed. You can see our
approach to process management at www.clemmer.net/process.shtml (including key slides from the executive overview of this approach).
A Little Feedback on Feedback
The May issue of the Leader Letter
focused on feedback. The Center for Creative Leadership has posted a
great summary of top ten mistakes managers often make in giving
feedback. You can view this from their March 2003 newsletter at www.ccl.org/connected/enews/articles/0303mistakes.htm.
More Feedback on The Leader's Digest
Easy
to digest...presenting it in easily accessible snippets is a smart way
to reach leaders who are usually busy, well, leading rather than
reading.
- "Recommended Readings," Marketing Magazine
You
might be surprised to hear that I started on page 152 with the
fish-tank factor (my husband would have preferred the tank top factor!)
It speaks volumes.
It's such a joy to see
you seize the opportunity to make your living doing what you love! Like
you, I seek to help others find their feet, and their ideal work
situations.
I appreciate how you
succinctly state philosophy and concepts, and proceed to provide
procedures for real-world implementation. Thank you for filling a
serious gap on the management bookshelf.
Perhaps
too few readers will comment on the format and layout of the book. It's
friendly, like an elementary school reader. The large typeface is
user-friendly, and the margins provide space for personal notations.
'As we speak', I'm experiencing some turbulent times, and have undertaken a strategic job search. The Leader's Digest is my pillar of strength. I can open it at any time at any page, and find exactly what I need to read.
- Linda Stagg, B.Com., MPA Student
Continuing the Dialogue: High Flying Gurus
Hi Jim,
Enjoyed your response to Davis Balestracci about Jack Welsh (in the May Leader Letter at www.clemmer.net/newsl/may2003.html#goodpoint).
I think Jack was simply after the energy and innovation, information
flow and customer intimacy of small business units. He had been in
Japan when Toshiba decided to produce a VCR in half the time, at half
the cost, and he made 'stretch' one of his business goals after that.
But
Mr Balestacci's skepticism about 'guru du jour' is well taken.
Generalizations about business strategies have the handicap of being
out of context. As Aristotle said, the truth is in the particular
circumstances. People hearing high-flying theme speakers at conferences
often react by saying that the suggestions don't apply to their
circumstances. Guru-speak can get very complacent and self-satisfying
when it has nothing tangible to prove. Managers and leaders taking such
advice have to ensure that their managing and leading is actually about
something.
It always seems that, however
beautiful the view is from 30,000 feet, God is always in the details.
Enjoy your newsletter (especially book reviews). Continued good luck
with it. Cheers.
- John Greenwood, Ph.D. Greenwood Editorial Consultants
Key Notes from My Key Notes:
Updating "It's OK, son, everybody does it"
I
recently gave a keynote at a conference where another speaker also
presented on leadership and using technology to maintain a competitive
edge. During his presentation he talked about downloading music from
the Internet for his personal collection. Since Napster was shut down
by recording companies' legal action for copyright infringement, he
discussed the merits of various new services he was now using (to
illegally steal music) that had sprung up to replace Napster.
As
I listened to him, I wondered how he might feel about people
photocopying pages of his books or duplicating his audio and video
products. This got me thinking about the famous piece Jack Griffin
wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times years ago entitled, "It's OK, son,
everybody does it." I decided to update it:
It's OK, son, everybody does it
When
Mark was 6 years old, his parents took him to a movie. Kids under 5 got
in free. His parents told the cashier he was five and they didn't have
to pay for Mark. Reacting to his quizzical look as they walked into the
theatre, Mark's Mom said, "It's OK, son, everybody does it."
When
Mark was 8, Mark's Dad was caught speeding. He angrily argued the
charge with the officer, telling her that she should be spending
precious police resources catching real criminals rather than harassing
honest, law-abiding citizens. As they drove away he got on his car
phone and called directory assistance for the number of an agency that
would fight the charge in court for him. As he waited for the number,
he said to Mark, "It's OK, son, everybody does it."
When
he was 12, Mark sat around the dinner table at a family gathering as
his Uncle Joe explained where to buy illegal satellite dishes to steal
TV service. Another relative explained how to hotwire the cable TV
lines to get free service. "These big, rich companies just rip us off
anyway," explained Aunt Marg to Mark. "It's OK, everybody does it."
When
he was 15, Mark was introduced to web sites that allowed file swapping
of music and DVDs to his computer. His best friend, Derek, showed him
the hundreds of "free" songs and movies he had downloaded. "It's cool,
everybody does it."
When he
was 17, Mark went to work part-time for a friend of the family who ran
a small business. Mark was hired to help update and expand the
company's web site. He needed a copy of the various software programs
the company was using set up on his own computer. The company owner
told him to install copies of the software with the disks from another
machine in the office so they didn't have to buy legitimate programs
for him. When Mark asked if that was allowed, he was told "It's OK,
kid, everybody does it."
When
he went to university on an athletic scholarship, his coach talked to a
few of his professors to "cut him some slack" as his grades slipped but
his value to the school team soared. An older teammate gave him web
site addresses where he could buy essays to hand in as his own. "It's
OK, bud, everybody on the team does it."
One
of Mark's key essays was identified as plagiarized. His other work was
scrutinized and more evidence of cheating was found. He was expelled
from the school. His aunts and uncles were outraged. "How could you do
this to us?" his father ranted, while his mother sobbed, "You sure
never learned anything like that in this family!"
As Jack Griffin observed in his original piece, "if there's anything the adult world can't stand, it's a kid that cheats."
- Jim Clemmer, based on "It's OK, son, everybody does it" by Jack Griffin
Thoughts that Make You Go Hmmm...
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
- Anais Nin, writer and diarist
"If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out."
- Arthur Koestler, Hungarian-born writer
"I believe half the unhappiness in life comes from people being afraid to go straight at things."
- William J. Locke, British writer
"If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
- Anatole France, French critic, writer
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."
- Mark Twain
Worth Reading: Book Review on Tempered Radicals
I
first came across Stanford Organizational Behavior professor, Debra
Meyerson's work as I was gathering research for the Responsibility for
Choices chapter of The Leader's Digest.
Her fifteen years of research on how "everyday leaders stick to their
values, assert their agendas, and provoke learning and change without
jeopardizing hard-won careers" fit perfectly with the focus of this
timeless leadership principle.
In her October 2001, Harvard Business Review
article, "Radical Change, the Quiet Way," Meyerson finds that at "some
point, many managers yearn to confront assumptions, practices, or
values in their organizations that they feel are counterproductive or
even downright wrong. Yet they can face an uncomfortable dilemma: If
they speak out too loudly, resentment may build toward them; if they
remain silent, resentment will build inside them." She discovered that
the best leaders "learn to rock the boat without falling out of it."
Her book, Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work,
(Harvard School Press, Boston, MA, 2001), is full of inspiring
examples, solid research, practical how-to sidebars, and sound advice
on leading change from positions of little or no formal power. This
book provides a powerful "evolutionary's manifesto" to being a
Navigator rather than just Survivor or Victim of change, injustice, or
bad management from above.
"Tempered
radicals...mitigate their anger and use it to fuel their actions. In
the world of physics, when something is 'tempered' it is toughened by
alternately heating and cooling. Tempered steel, for example, becomes
stronger and more useful through such a process. In a similar way,
successfully navigating the seemingly incongruous extremes of
challenging and upholding the status quo can help build the strength
and organizational significance of tempered radicals."
Page 7
"The
first and most important characteristic of encounters turned into
opportunities is that people see that they have a choice in how to
respond. The second critical characteristic is that people recognize a
variety of productive responses fall between the extremes of silent
submission and aggressive confrontation. Being prepared to look for
these alternatives in any encounter is critical to making effective
choices in the moment."
Page 59
"Tempered
radicals inspire change. Yet their leadership resides equally in their
capacity to inspire people. They inspire by having courage to tell the
truth even when it's difficult to do so, and by having the conviction
to stay engaged in tough conversations. They inspire by demonstrating
the commitment to stay focused on their larger ideals even when they
suffer consequences or get little recognition for doing so. Their
leadership does not rely on inspiring through periodic heroism and
headlines. Their leadership inspires - and matters - in big and small
ways every day."
Page 176
Time is Running Out!
Our 2 for 1 introductory offer for The Leader's Digest
has been very successful with thousands of books sold. We will be
returning to regular pricing soon for the hottest new leadership
available today (no hype or bias there)! Go to www.clemmer.net/books/tld.shtml for a look at the book and to place your order.
Coming Events
Lessons in Leadership (June 10) - still some tickets left!
I
am delighted to be supporting a very worthy cause, the Laura's Hope
research fund for Huntington's Disease. As part of an impressive line
up of Canada's top professional speakers, I'll be joining Warren Evans
CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), Donald Cooper CSP, Peter Urs
Bender CSP, Kit Grant CSP, and Dave Broadfoot CSP. The big bonus is
that most of your registration fee will be going to the cause - this
entire line up of high powered and high priced speakers are donating
their time to benefit Laura's Hope. Buy a corporate table and bring
your Clients, team members, or colleagues. Be inspired and help make a
big difference to pushing this research over the top. Click here for
details: www.laurashope.com/lil.
Communitech Luncheon: "Managing Things and Leading People," Waterloo, Ontario (June 18)
Communitech
is a not-for-profit, member-supported organization that is recognized
as the voice of technology in the Waterloo region with over 300 members
(such as RIM, Open Text, Descarte, etc). Because of the University of
Waterloo's world renowned technology leadership, the Waterloo region is
building a reputation as one of North America's compelling new
technology clusters. I will be giving a brief overview of my approaches
and experiences working with management teams to balance management and
leadership. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of my new
book, The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success. Members and non-members are welcome to register. Click here for details: www.communitech.org
I would love to hear from you on any of the discussions raised in this issue of the Leader Letter...or
any other matters concerning my work. Of course, I especially welcome
conversations exploring how I might help you or your team/organization
with a keynote presentation, management team retreat, or workshop.
Send me an email at [email protected] or call me directly at (519) 748-5968.
I hope to connect with you again next month!
All the best,
Jim
Please
post or forward this newsletter to colleagues, clients, or associates
you think might be interested. If you received this newsletter from
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The CLEMMER Group
10 Pioneer Drive, Suite 105, Kitchener, ON N2P 2A4
Phone: (519) 748-1044 ~ Fax: (519) 748-5813
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.clemmer.net
Copyright © 2003 Jim Clemmer and The CLEMMER Group
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