Being a Leader vs. a Manager

January 24, 2012 By

Today’s Post is by Alexandra Kieta

Alexandra is studying in the Department of Aviation Technology. Her home town is Indianapolis.

 

Leadership and Management are so vastly different. Many people who
call themselves leaders are merely managers. Many people who are labeled
supervisor are true leaders. Your official label doesn’t make you who you are
and automatically give you respect….your actions and attitude do.

Here’s a short list of some things I believe are the more important varying
aspects between the two:

Leadership (L) and Management (M)

L: Walk beside and/or behind your followers.

M: Walk in front of your followers like they’re in elementary school.

L: Be open to their thoughts, ideas, concerns, feelings, etc.

M: Not listening to feedback that might change what you have established.

L: You work for your subordinates. You help them grow.

M: Tyranny.

L: Influence.

M: Authority.

L: Respect.

M: Fear.

L: Going through learning experiences to get your company where it needs to go.

M: Making your employees go through the motions to achieve another step in the
plan.

L: Produce more leaders.

M: Produce more conforming followers.

By being a leader, you build relationships and people and a positive culture.
By only being a manager, you build an environment where people don’t enjoy
their work. (And since we all work for a living, who wants that?!)

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Leadership with Silent Accolades? Steve Jobs vs Dennis Ritchie

January 23, 2012 By
Steve Jobs

A post by Purdue Student: Abishek Roy (AB)

Steve Jobs was the Chairman and CEO of Apple Computers Inc. and
arguably one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Jobs saw the power of
innovation in building his company. Till today, we can see the innovating power
of Apple Computers Inc as it continues to take market leadership in the
industry. If you want to maintain your leadership, you have to be the one who’s
constantly up with new ideas, new initiatives, all in the spirit of moving your
organizational mission forward. In whatever industry you’re in, your constant
innovation in alignment with your mission will keep you ahead of the pack.

On the other hand Dennis Ritchie was an American computer scientist who helped
shape the digital era by giving the world the computational language C. He also
got the National Medal of Technology from President Clinton in 1999. Ritchie
was the head of Lucent Technologies System Software Research Department when he
retired in 2007. Very few people will have any grasp of how much the technology
Dennis Ritchie developed impacts their daily lives. Without exaggeration, every
single computing device that you are likely to interact with on any given day
can in some way be traced back to work done by Dennis Ritchie. It doesn’t
matter if you use Microsoft Windows, or an Apple iPhone, they all rely in some
way or another on the programming language “C”, which Dennis help write back in
the 70s.

Now comes the interesting part, Steve Jobs died on October 5th and the whole
world knew about it while on the other hand Dennis Ritchie died exactly seven
days later on October 12th. Now if I were to guess, 95% of the people would
have never heard about Dennis Ritchie before reading this.

I personally have nothing against both of them, but believe both lead some
change that impacted everyone’s common life at some point. But the question
still remains, why media did chose Jobs death as more relevant. The answer
still requires perspective. Well perhaps one way to look at it is very simple.
The job of invention does not complete the cycle of disruption that advances
our world. How frustrating it must be to know of important breakthroughs; the
long history of e-paper is an excellent example ; that cannot find their way
into our everyday lives because our collective imagination is lacking or slow.
Why do we still use printers? Maybe because a false concept about the
permanence and credibility of tree pulp persists.

Jobs’ role was that of translator. His ability to understand the change that
technology made possible, to package it in ways that attracted the broader
world, and, yes, to sell that new vision was not important to progress. It was
essential.

Abishek Roy (also known as AB) is a student at Purdue. You can find his Linked In profile at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/abhishek-roy/2b/74b/817

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Blog Competition

January 23, 2012 By

Those of you that follow this blog have noticed a lack of activity since last September. That is due to the fact that I took on teaching three undergraduate classes at Purdue University in West Lafayette, two sections of Introduction to Entrepreneurship and one section of Leading Change. In addition to my client work and coaching – life was full last fall.

Well – I am back – so look for some great posts in 2012. I am starting the year with selected posts written by students in my Leading Change course. So, over the next two weeks – enjoy insights on change and leadership from our leaders of the future.

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The challenge Steve Jobs leaves us

October 7, 2011 By

I was a bit unprepared for how hard the death of Steve Jobs would hit me. After all, we’ve known he’s been terribly ill. And most of all, I don’t know the gentleman, just admire him greatly – for so many reasons.

Yet on Thursday, as I did my final preparation for my Introduction to Entrepreneurship class at Purdue, I realized that we had to mark the occasion of the death of the centuries preeminent entrepreneur, futurist and transformational leader.

I immediately found the perfect finale to class that day. I told the class we had a surprise guest speaker coming via video. I then played the commencement speech Steve gave at Stanford in 2005 entitled How to Live before you Die.  And as I set with the next generation of entrepreneurs learning from a great one – I cried.

I challenged them. I challenge myself. I challenge you. How can each of us bring our gifts to the world? What can each of us do to create something beautiful? Useful? Wonderful?

Here is an excerpt from Steve’s address:

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

And some final wisdom from him…

 “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” [The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]

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Communication in Times of Change

July 28, 2011 By

Welcome to guest blogger Myra Cocca!

Running a division or an entire organization or company is tough, but when it is going through significant changes, the challenges become even greater. And today, given business dynamics, what organization isn’t going through a lot of change?!

While the temptation is to help “the organization” go through change, as a leader you must also help “the people” through the change: your employees, vendors, suppliers and other audiences that the change impacts. After all, people change (or not, as the case may be) organizations.

The facts bear it out:  Companies that keep their employees engaged are able to withstand change better. According to research done by Towers-Watson in 2009/2010, companies that communicate with courage, innovation and discipline, especially during times of economic challenge and change, are more effective at engaging employees and achieving desired business results.

Here are some practical recommendations when guiding people, notably employees, through change:

  • Listen.
  • Assess employees’ readiness for change.
  • Establish milestones and measurements.
  • Identify change agents, skeptics and critics.
  • Provide counsel to leadership on the realities.
  • Identify your key messages about the change. These messages should help employees understand the forces of change – “the why.” They should also identify challenges and opportunities – the “what’s in it for me” (WIIFM) – for employees.
  • All of the above are planning steps to communicating the change. When communicating, repeat key messages using many communication tools. One important tool is storytelling. Concrete stories about how the change is making a difference are powerful and can help reinforce the behaviors you want to see.
  • Celebrate milestones. Celebrate people!

Many change models are available to guide you through significant change. Research done by John Paul Kotter, Harvard Business School professor and an authority on leadership and change, offers eight steps to change. As a communicator, I particularly value Kotter’s emphasis on establishing an urgency for change. This is so important, especially when radical change is needed to quickly turn around a company. In his model, he also focuses on the importance of establishing a vision and generating short-term wins for change efforts.

Communicating change is difficult – no question about that. But, with some practical steps in hand and perseverance, your organization will be a step ahead.

IronStrike, www.IronStrike.biz, helps executives, companies and organizations navigate change through effective employee and leadership communications.

 

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The Magical, Mystical, Maddening Middle

June 16, 2011 By


As I write this roofers are making a racket above me, as they strip every single shingle from my house. The living room is filled with the contents of one bedroom; my dining room with the second. I joke that I feel like a real hillbilly – as the contents of my garage are housed on my front porch. My yard is filled with deep ruts and patches of bare dirt.

All this is a result of a tornado that hit our home on April 19th.  No one was hurt but the damage to our home, cars, yard and majestic 100-year-old oak trees was substantial.

It’s been an interesting time – as it plopped me right into the kind of transition process that I make a living helping others through. It was me that had to say good bye and grieve the old, and me that had to gut it out, roll up my sleeves and work through the physically demanding work of hauling, moving, clearing and repairing.

In our work we use a change model from Robert Bridges. Actually, Bridges would tell us that it is not the changes themselves that get us unglued as much as the transition. Change is the physical manifestation – in my case the tornado. The tough part for us is the transition or the psychological shift. The change can be swift – in less than one minute great damage was done. The transition can be seemingly endless. I find myself quite impatient, knowing that things will be in disarray at my home for many, many months and perhaps an entire year.

Bridges describes three broad segments of the transition process: Endings, Transition and New Beginnings. Endings occur when we recognize that the old ways must (and will) go. New Beginnings occur when we begin to solidly incorporate the change into the way we think, act and feel.

The transition zone is the middle space – where we are not quite what we used to be, and not yet what we need to be. It is the place that many of us dread. I call this time mystical, as the future state is not very clear yet – often a true mystery.  In this middle spot we can yearn for the past. We get apprehensive about the future. We wonder if it will work. We question if we are capable. We are slower and less productive. It can be confusing. Unsettling. Exhausting.

So as I navigate the magical, mystical, maddening middle, I continually remind myself of the magic. Although I would never have chosen to have this happen, it clearly presents opportunities. I’ve wanted to clear clutter out of those two bedrooms – this forces the issue. I’ve always been limited to shade plants – and now the sun can reach my flower beds. I’ve gotten to know my neighbors better. And I’ve seen real and tangible manifestation of how wonderful my friends, family and even complete strangers are as they provided an amazing outpouring of help and support.

So here is live, real time report from deep in the middle – the transition zone. It is unsettling and uncomfortable and disconcerting. It is also a necessary time to work through – and to come out in a better place – however it is that you want that to be. The choice is yours.

 

 

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The New Capitalist Manifesto

June 7, 2011 By

 

Umair Hague has written a compelling book, The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business, for those of us interested in the future of business, leadership, and change in the 21st century. I read stacks of business books – but have read none more relevant for creating healthy, vibrant and successful organizations, which are sustainable by creating enduring, meaningful, sustainable advantages. And not just for them – but for society as a whole.

Umair is the first to admit that he does not have all the answers, and also that there is no one organization that exemplifies all five of his “cornerstones of prosperity” for the 21st century. Yet he provides a compelling starting point for exploration and uses many examples of existing companies that are creating what he calls “thick value.”

He highlights Nikes’ Considered Design in which the goal is that “anything and everything can be recycled into something just as desirable.” Clearly good for the environment but even better for Nike – as supply chain costs shrink to next to nothing.

Threadless, a phenomenal success story in retail clothing, uses consumer voting PRIOR to production and as a consequence only produces limited edition, highly desired products. Their mantra: “Better decisions faster,” – the result is amazingly high margins, no waste and extreme customer responsiveness.

Examples abound of Umair’s five cornerstones: Loss Advantage, Responsiveness, Resilience, Creativity, and Difference. Leaders of companies take note: this book is a must-read for leaders of organizations and entrepreneurs.

 

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Consider a New Business Model

June 2, 2011 By

Business 101 teaches us that companies have life cycles that mirror what we observe in nature – founding (or birth), high growth (or adolescence), maturity (adulthood) and decline (death). It used to be that companies could enjoy many prosperous and stable years in the maturity phase – measured in decades. Now we see companies ascend and descend in the blink of an eye, with long-standing goods and services being rendered obsolete – at times before they have even reached maturity.

I’m proposing a new mental model, still taken from nature, but one that is much more adaptable to today’s environment. It is the Evergreen. Evergreens stay green and productive all year round, and avoid the cycle of dormancy and re-growth by a process of continual shedding. The loss is almost imperceptible, yet allows the plant to stay green and growing all year round. Think about the power of continually shedding what is not working or no longer needed over time, and replacing it with fresh growth, from a business perspective. No erratic P&L statements, no massive downsizings and closings, quicker response to the market, and greater adaptability to the current reality.

There are thousands of species of Evergreens, and they come in a wide variety of sizes, and even colors. Certain species thrive in rain forests, others in drought-stricken areas. In addition to our typical Christmas tree, palm trees and California redwoods are also Evergreens. What they share is a unique survival mechanism, that of working within the ecosystem rather than against it. What they shed nourishes the soil beneath them with the perfect mix of acidity, which allows them to survive virtually everywhere on the planet, even in the harshest conditions. What if your business could work within instead of against the ecosystem and thrive – no matter how hostile and challenging? What if what you shed nourished you rather than depleted you? What if your company was Evergreen and you were an Evergreen Leader? We’ll explore what that means in our upcoming posts.

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Lessons in Transition from the Super Bowl Half Time Show

February 8, 2011 By

I admit it. I can be a geek sometimes. While millions of people across the globe watched the half time show for the performance (or perhaps to see if there would be another wardrobe malfunction), I experience a sense of awe and wonder at the spectacle and the amazing accomplishment of transforming a football field and stadium into the world’s largest live stage.

Think about it. In a mere 8 minutes the field must be transformed. And most of the work is done by volunteers. Oh, and by the way, volunteers who have not had much time to practice.

Just my short list of production elements that must be envisioned, coordinated, planned for and executed includes:

  • Stage
  • Lighting
  • Video
  • Sound
  • Musicians
  • Dancers
  • Pyrotechnics
  • Cameras
  • Special effects
  • Lasers
  • Costumes
  • Audience participation

 It struck me that, in many ways, it was like most transformations:

  • Long in the making
  • Requiring much planning and hard work
  • Best when done with creativity and vision
  • Can come together rather quickly in the end
  • Often appears rather effortless to those not involved

And no sooner have you basked in the glory of the transformation, another challenge calls you.

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4 Tips to Make Resolution Rituals Work

December 31, 2010 By

New Years: an annual time to reflect, plan, resolve and set goals for the upcoming year. It is the time we put the past behind us and begin anew.

Yet we all know that it doesn’t take many days (and in some cases hours) until we flub up. Harsh words are uttered. A cigarette is lit. We skip the gym. We are late (again). We put off that which we deemed very important just a few weeks ago. We spend more time with paperwork than with the people we work with.

Yet, in spite of year after year of failed resolutions, we continue this rite. So, how might we use some of the resolution rituals differently to get it “right” in 2011?

Tip 1: Use the Symbolism of a New Beginning

The reality is that January 1st is not all that different than Dec. 31st. However, in our minds we create a very big distinction. The symbolism of entering a new year, turning the calendar, and beginning anew offers a psychological marker that we attend to.

I’d suggest using that same symbolism to our advantage by looking at smaller and hence more frequent time increments. What if you think New Quarter or New Month or New Day in addition to New Year? This is the “practice makes perfect” principle. Make your birthday a time to reflect and course correct and you’ll have two opportunities per year. Make this a practice at the beginning of each season and you have quadrupled the effect. Make it a daily practice to reflect, adjust and set intentions and you will see a dramatic difference.

Tip 2: Think in Increments

 We have a tendency to think in “either /or” which sets us up for failure. We are either fat or thin, fit or a slob, successful or a failure. As such, we often make a dramatic change on January 1st (or 2nd) that is unrealistic and unsustainable. Anyone that has gone to the gym the first week in January knows what I mean.

The caterpillar does not turn into a butterfly over night. Use the image of metamorphoses as your guide. Set your direction and take repeated steps over time. Persistence will pay off; you will have transitioned in a manageable and lasting way. Take a small step, meet with some success and then raise the bar. Do this over and over again – and you truly experience a transformation.

Anais Nin puts it this way: “I made no resolutions for the New Year.  The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.”

Tip  3: Invite your Friends

New Years is a social time of gathering with others. It may be a few loved ones, it might be a small party or it might be with 999,999 other people in Times Square. No matter the size, the social element is a critical component.

Inviting others in on your resolutions or intentions is not only fun, but can greatly increase the chance of reaching the goals you set. I would never have done half marathons if my daughter and husband had not been by my side.  We worked out together, we shared what we learned, and we held each other accountable.

Tip  4: Celebrate

The overarching image of New Years is celebration. Sometimes we revel in the wonderful things that occurred in the past year. Other years we rejoice that the year is past and that we have survived all that has been thrown our way. Either way, we laugh, we dance, we relax and enjoy.

Bring that same sense of joy throughout the year. Take your team out for a celebration when they hit their goals. Build rewards into accomplishments. Plan for it in advance – to both avoid overlooking the need to do this and also as another motivator to maintain focus. For as Thomas Peters notes: “Celebrate what you want to see more of.”

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