Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of November 24th
Accidental or Intentional?
In a most basic sense, there are really only two leadership end states: Accidental or Intentional. And the same can be said for things like organizational ethos, virtues, standards, and behaviors–they will become either accidental or intentional. Think of this distinction analogous to how a vacuum gets filled: Any void will be consumed one way or another, either accidentally (bad) or intentionally (good) with a very mindful design. So what is the lesson for all leaders? We must be very mindful and intentional with those highly-discretionary elements of our leadership; things like vision, ethos, virtues, values, performance standards, and core behavioral expectations. If we constantly refresh these elements, they become intentional qualities filling the sails of our organizations like a positive and prevailing wind. Conversely, if we fail to intentionally strengthen these things we will hit a wind hole and our sails will become slack, and our ship will become adrift. Great leaders are highly intentional helmsmen who remain always mindful to fill their sails with a positive wind.
Hands or Hearts?
I am surely not the first to say this, but the most toxic, and ultimately destructive, leader-follower relationship is a transactional one. A transactional leader is one who sees people as subordinates and as assets, and thus interacts with them in a purely transactional way. I give you a dollar in pay, you give me back a dollar’s-worth of effort. Sit at your desk, do you work, go home. Repeat again the next day. A person working in this kind of wasteland experience will give to their boss, and to their company, at best only their hands. They will do just the technical and functional things asked of them, no more. Alternatively, a heroic leader, operating out of a heroic paradigm, creates transformational relationships based on common purpose, meaning, service, and a passion for excellence. Heroic leaders touch hearts before they ask for hands, for as they rightly know, it is in hearts and souls where championship performance, and greatness, reside.
What Do You Value?
Leaders must regularly ask themselves this direct question: What do I value? The places we’ll likely see the answer to this question are where, and to what ends, we invest our time and resources. Where we spend our time reveals what matters most to us. This is true of our personal and organizational values. If we value money and profit, we’ll see the preponderance of our time allocated to a bottom-line focus. If we value personal prestige, we’ll see the majority of our time and resources devoted to self-aggrandizement. I have come to believe the highest leadership value, and therefore, the greatest allocation of time and resources, should be on developing other leaders. I call this the lens of “leaders cultivating leaders.” There is no greater strategic imperative than allocating most of our time to the development and succession of emerging leaders. In such an environment, intentional acts like mentoring, coaching, succession development, and knowledge transfer become the coin of the realm. So, what do you value? Look at where, and to what ends, you allocate your time.
High, Clear, Firm
An important question for leaders to contemplate is, “What drives high performance in our people and teams?” I have come to answer this using the following model: High Expectations; Clear Goals; and Firm Accountability. First, leaders must create high expectations for leadership, performance, and behavior. With high expectations, leaders set and then constantly drive towards championship standards and elevated definitions of excellence. High expectations pull people out of their heads and into their hearts, the source of all great achievement. Second, leaders must set clear goals focusing on these cardinal points: Where are we going, and why are we going there? Clear goals allow people to focus their attention, galvanize around common purpose, and harmonize in unity of effort. This shared intentionality is the hallmark of great teams. Finally, leaders must cultivate firm accountability in their people and their organization. We must be accountable to ourselves, our teams, our ethos, and to our standards. Teams anchored on this High-Clear-Firm model will out-perform teams that are not and will flourish across time.
Reignite & Reinvent
Two essential qualities of heroic leadership are the ability to consistently reignite and reinvent. We must reignite our inner motivation, passion, and commitment for self-leadership. Over time, if we are not aware of our inner world, we become fatigued and the fire once burning brightly begins to dim. To combat this atrophy, leaders must re-stoke the flames of expert leadership through any and all measures that bring vitality, energy, optimism, and conviction. Similarly, leaders must consistently reinvent themselves and their organizations to meet ever-changing conditions. Interestingly, to effectively reinvent we must simultaneously stand firm on those non-negotiable elements (character, virtues, ethos) while agilely modifying those elements meant to be negotiable (tactics, techniques, procedures, policies). Furthermore, to reignite and reinvent, leaders must have a “beginner’s mind”—a willingness to constantly learn, explore, and question the status quo. Reignited and reinvented leaders confidently pull themselves and those they lead towards the bright headlands of a better future.
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