Friday, November 23, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know I've been a little MIA lately, but work has been keeping me busy. Stay tuned!
-Jason

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Respect

I find it a little bit odd blogging about this topic... I sort of was under the impression that parents should be instilling into their children what respect is and how all individuals deserve a level of respect (the same that you would want for yourself). [This would be the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".]

However, the more I read in books on leadership, to topics on diversity, and even to business news in the Wall Street Journal... I think many people are missing (or deficient) in respecting others. (I can tell that this will be a rambling post so bear with me).

So what am I talking about... well first of all I have been reading The No Asshole Rule, and it seems to me that many of the problems that people face in the workplace are caused by what he calls "assholes". To break this down even further... I would say workplace politics and strife (which lead to reduced productivity and employee dissatisfaction) have their root cause in lack of respect by people of one another.

Sutton cites statistics of how the average CEO makes upwards of 500 times more than the average worker in his or her company. Because of this, many CEO's (and others in higher levels of management) will see themselves as being "superior" to the people working for them. This leads to a mindset of "I am more important than yours... Your ideas are less valid than mine... Your feelings matter less than mine..."

We've already seen how Toyota, through their constant sharpening of the saw (what they call kai-zen) took input from the bottom layers of their production lines in order to become (for a few months) the #1 car maker in the world. Do you think this could have happened of the CEO in Japan said something like "I don't care what you think... just do it like I've told you" to the factory workers actually building their cars and trucks in Texas? Obviously not!

OK, so respect we know it's important... but I thought the professional world would be full of strict rules of respect and propriety... that this should be a non-issue, right???

Well, unfortunately not. See this... Diversity Inc Noose Watch... You may or may not have been following this in the news (diversity activism is another one of my passions), but DiversityInc.com has been tracking reported incidents of nooses being hung threateningly at workplaces across the country. What's more shocking is that within a few months scores of incidents have reported. Furthermore, regardless of the specific reasons behind these incidents, using such a powerful symbol, is a blatant disrespect for other people's rights to feel safe and secure at the workplace.

So what can we do as Young Leaders to help inject respect back into the workplace. Here are a few tips... and be sure that more will come in the future:
  • Listen - Yes I probably talked about this before... not that half-assed listening that most people do when they are thinking about what to say next... but really listen, because almost always will have something of value to say.
  • Realize that people are people - Yeah, Jason here we go again with the Zen riddles... Let me explain. We often hide our emotions putting up a front to protect ourselves from the outside. You know that deep down you want to be understood, you want to be appreciated, you want to be respected... realize that others are exactly the same way. Once you realize this, you can move beyond the masks that we hide behind and create those true and personal connections with others. You'll be more productive (and much happier) because of it.
  • Stand up for what's right - Yes, easier said than done, but how about the next time you see someone being taken advantage of or unfairly berated... why not be the bigger person, step in, and tell the offender what they are doing is wrong? It's hard, yes! It might get that other person pissed at you. But you know what? 9 times out of 10, you will gain that other person's respect, and maybe just maybe get them to change their ways.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend, and as always comments are requested and appreciated.

Thanks,
-Jason

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Flash of Enlightenment Think "Why" before "What"

So I've talked about SMART Goal setting and also on the importance of WHY also in terms of Goals. But now I've think I've come to an epiphany type of realization.

In every action that you do as a Young Leader your first question to yourself needs to be "Why am I doing this?"... "For what purpose am I doing this?"...

I know I had talked about this before, but before the why to me was more of an afterthought.... something to keep me motivated. But it's not. It should actually be the first thing!

OK, so I'll give two examples. One narrow in scope and one huge:
  1. Meetings - Previous posts about meetings stuck to technical details without peeling one layer below. But I feel even if you follow those hints, tips, and tricks to a T... things will still be hit or miss. After all if I'm coming up with the agenda... and I say to myself "So what do we need to talk about talk about at this meeting?"Then I might come up with a list of things and I would like to talk about.

    But what if I really needed a decision to be made (not the topic just talked about). Or what if half of the attendees don't necessarily need to listen or participate in the conversation? Then, I haven't run an effective meeting, because I accomplish what needed to be done and I have wasted people's time.

    However, what if I went one step deeper and had thought about "Why do I want to have this meeting?"... "Why would my team members want to attend and participate in the meeting?" This way, now I am focused and will have an effective agenda and meeting... not just run an efficient meeting.

  2. Goals - So we can extend the above to goals and goal setting. I would say the SMART Goals and strong Time Management would be very efficient. No doubt about that.

    However, to truly have effective goals.. you need to answer the "Why?" questions. "Why do I want an action?"... "Why do I do I want to do this specific action?"... "Why would anyone want to follow me in my vision?" (See Tony Robbins for further explanation on how the emotional connection to 'things' tangible and intangible are so important.)

    So lets narrow this down... Lets say you want to Write a Book. A SMART Goal might be to go to the library and check out 100 books on the topics that you might want to talk about in your book and outline your main ideas with a specific detail level that you can accomplish by next year.... (At little daunting, but reasonable).

    However, what if we ask the Why questions... "Why do I want to write a book?"... Maybe it's because, "I want to share my ideas to help people all over the world." "Why do I have to write a book instead of using any other media?" "I might not have to, because the internet allows people to share ideas throughout the world in all sorts of different ways". "Why couldn't I create a web Blog about my ideas and along with continuing research refine my ideas while still being able to share my ideas and help people all over the world?"... "Why not?!"
And that's it! Ask the Why questions.... go deeper.... be more effective!

As always comments are requested and appreciated!

Thanks,
-Jason

Thursday, October 04, 2007

More Icebreakers

I just heard of another icebreaker, and I really like it.

Essentially it's Icebreaker Bingo. So this is how it works:
  1. Make a grid.... it might be easiest to use a few boxes 4 or 9 max.
  2. Put in each box a question like "Has the same last initial as you", "Born in the same month as you", or "Has the same favorite food/movie/color... as you". Go on be creative.
  3. Now make as many copies of your grid as there will be people at the meeting that you want to have an icebreaker for.
  4. So the point of the game is for the participants to go around... trying meeting new people and finding out interesting facts about other each other.
  5. Every time them find someone who fits the description in the box they can check it off. First to check off all of the boxes wins!!!! :-)
So yeah thats it, I liked it. For more icebreakers see my previous posts. Icebreakers and Icebreakers II.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Building Teamwork

One last quick post on making Teamwork work. (#7 Principles)
  1. The team must have a leader - Yes this sound very Zen and all, but seriously without a leader all you'll have is chaos.
  2. The must have unanimous focus on a quantifiable goal - So this is two things. Both are addressed in SMART Goals.
  3. The team must have clearly defined roles - Without clearly assigned roles, people won't know what to do.
  4. The team must be willing to share resources - OK, so this goes on that poster about "All I Ever Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten", but seriously if you've ever seen a team where members won't share... you know that it's a recipe for disaster.
  5. The team must have frequent, effective communication - Without this what's the point of having a team... you might as well be working alone. Synergize!
  6. The team must have consistent, united, and enthusiastic effort - Same thing. When everyone puts in... 1 + 1 can equal 3 or more!
  7. Team members must periodically suppress their own egos - Think for the better of the team... for the better for just yourself.
Alright that's it for today. I promise to write on a more consistent basis. Until next time...

-Jason

Good Communication that Blocks Learning

Looking through my notes, I found another Harvard Business Review article that I think dovetails well into the posts that I had on Toyota and Quality earlier.

This one was called Good Communication that Blocks Learning by Chris Argyris. So first of all... I have a problem with his sensational title. It might be better titled "Don't Just Fix the Problem"... or "Double Loop Learning".

So essentially, Argyris scares people by saying that "Managing by Walking Around" aka having the managers actually go onto the factor floors or out into the field to see what can be improved... they should actually spend their time finding out why such problems existed and stayed around for so long.

This actually does make a lot of sense. I think it's exactly what Toyota has been doing in order to remain on top in terms of quality. Instead of just turning on the heat when the temperature goes below a set level, it would be more important to close the window to keep the house from getting so cold.

You need to be always challenging the process of processes. So instead of always having "the leadership" push improvement "initiatives" down the throats of their underlings, you need to have the process of "constant improvement" to be part of the corporate culture. Without this, the indivitual executive's pet initiatives will not be effective and only end up with finger pointing.

Spend some time and think about this. I'll try to write more about it later.

Again, comments are welcome and appreciated.

-Jason

Lessons in Public Speaking from Rachel Ray

OK, so I was reading this CRM (Customer Relationship Management) trade magazine and I read an article about "Sales Tips from Rachel Ray".

If you don't know who Rachel Ray is... just turn on Food Network and she's like everywhere.

Anyway, this got me to thinking about leadership, part of which at least is sales. After all you need to sell people on your vision in order to get their buy-in. So lets get to the chase, some tips from Rachel Ray and my interpretations.
  • Prep in advance – If you are not prepared for your presentation, you'll end up looking sloppy. Review your notes, make sure all props are ready before you go in.
  • Cut things into small pieces – They cook faster… and people will be able to understand them more easily. Thats why I try to break down the concepts in my articles to help all of you understand more quickly.
  • Time is money – People have short attention spans. So again, prepare in advance. Don't waste time on stage fiddling with your Powerpoint or the projector. The audience will get bored and not pay attention.
  • “Learn One and Get Some” – This is one of Rachel Ray's signature phrases. Essentially it means become solid in one thing… and adapt it to your numerous customers
  • Clean as You Go – Don’t neglect these other details, because they can bite you in the end, and being sloppy and taking shortcuts will only end up in you making some mistake down the road.
  • Be Human – nobody is perfect. Little mistakes are part of life. Learn to take them in stride. After all, what’s worse making a simple mistake that nobody notices or making a mistake and then making a huge scene about it by repeatedly apologizing, feeling embarrassed and then stumbling through the rest of your presentation.
Sounds pretty good right? Anyway, I'm in a writing mood, so look out for more articles soon!

Best,
-Jason

Saturday, September 15, 2007

The Dirty Dozen: Common Actions that Assholes Use

So I've been reading this new book The No Asshole Rule by Dr. Robert I. Sutton. I've not finished the book, but I am looking forward to learning how to create a working environment that is "free from assholes".

Sutton lists what he calls The Dirty Dozen
  1. Personal insults
  2. Invading one's "personal territory"
  3. Uninvited physical contact
  4. Threats and intimidation
  5. "Sarcastic jokes" and "teasing"
  6. Withering email flames
  7. Status slaps intended to humiliate
  8. Public shaming or "status degradation" rituals
  9. Rude interruptions
  10. Two-faced attacks
  11. Dirty looks
  12. Treating people as if they are invisible
I'm sure we've all seen this type of behavior in the workplace (or at school). In my opinion, much of this passive-aggressive behavior in the workforce is caused by the idea of "professionalism". OK, lets stop for a second... I'm not trying to say that people should not act in a professional manner... if we drop all aspects of decency and professionalism... we'll end up with an animal house (though that would get me to another great book Monkey Business, but thats a different story).

So I had a project manager who once gave me a piece of advice that "In this business perception is the reality". He explained that it almost didn't matter how hard you were working or how good of a job you were really doing... it mattered if the people who mattered (the ones in charge) perceived you as working hard and doing a good job. Time and again I have found this to be true.

First thing... he is one of the nicest people I've met through work so far. Sometimes a little too much of a pushover though. So taken in that context, I would see his advice not as much as coming from a person who was trying to game the system by sucking up to the big bosses, but more so from someone who probably got burned along the way because he spent too much time working hard and not enough time tooting his own horn.

Assholes are the complete opposite. They spend so much effort in playing passive-aggressive games to put others down (and an equal amount of effort in making themselves look good to the big bosses), but much less time actually solving problems and doing their "work". The problem is... the culture of most of corporate America encourages these assholes.

So looping back to the concept of "professionalism", what exactly does this mean? Well one would hope it would mean something along the lines of having some sort of expertise for solving problems for the client or the company and doing so in a respectful and thoughtful manner. Unfortunately, because of "perception = reality" this is not the case. Instead "professionalism" has been bastardized into... "train yourself to act in an affected manner as if you were an expert" (why bother in actually having the skills or knowledge) and "become an expert in playing politics breathing fire onto those who (even accidentally) have stepped out of line".

This post might sound bitter... I don't mean it to be. In fact the majority of the time people act like people (playing nicely and respecting each other). However, when things get tough, the uglyness does come out... I can't help but think there must be a better way.

Anyway, as always comments are requested and appreciated. Thanks for Reading!

-Jason

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Generation Y

OK, for those of you who hadn't noticed, I am a member of Generation Y. We are the so-called "internet generation". Our parents were the "Baby-Boomers" and since we were constantly told how we "were the future" we know we have to clean up many of our parent's messes, e.g., the medical care system, social security, nuclear proliferation, peace in the middle east... It's definitely a tall order.

However, the point of this post is mostly a response to an article I read in Fortune Magazine. I would have to say, it did paint a very flattering stereotype of Generation Y... though sadly, I believe most of it is hype. First of all... the iPod/hipster/Starbucks/Yoga picture that the author, Nadia Hira, paints can be summed up in one word... "poser".

OK, I agree that her point was to show how Gen-Yers think outside of the box, by being "counter culture" while at the same time supercharging their productivity with coffee and a "Crackberry". However, I believe this is a matter of image vs. reality. The last I heard, Gen-Y was the generation that invented ADD and ADHD and childhood obesity. Gen-Y is also the generation where you have "internet addiction", "World of Warcraft Addiction" (you've heard the stories of kids dying because they've spent 48 hours straight in front of the computer, only to have the police come in and find the body in a room littered with pizza boxes and chicken wings on the floor), and the use of the iPod to avoid social interaction. Yes, dressing hipster is very cool... but I think too many of Gen-Y are obsessed with projecting the image of being the kind of Steve Jobs (you know I love you Steve) who can get away with wearing sneakers to board meetings, sipping lattes, and sometimes being a total dick (cuz that's cool).

Hira continues with some very interesting anecdotes of some high performing Gen-Yers. Nothing wrong with that... but nothing special either. There will always be the cream that rises to the top.

So what's my point? I think Hira tries way too hard to deflect the truism of many Gen-Yers feeling a sense of entitlement. This is due to an upbringing that many had where parents constantly coddled their children... telling them that they were special "no matter what". So I hope I am not the first to realize that yes, while each and everyone one of us is special and unique, that alone does not mean we are entitled to get any special treatment... especially if we are getting it at the expense of someone else (who should also be someone who is special and unique).

Example #1 - Grade inflation: I went to a good school and earned top grades. I earned they by working hard and also due to my own natural talents. That is why I don't understand the reasoning for students who never went to class and maybe partied the night before a major exam should be given B's because they whined to the professor or their parents are "paying good money for them to do well". This ends up cheapening my education. My 3.98 GPA was great, but if the average GPA for the entire college was a 3.90 how would future employers be able to differentiate students? Secondly all of this hassle forces educators to lower academic standards until learning isn't much of a challenge.

I often tell this story to friends as a lesson in "learning through osmosis", but I think it is illustrative... One day in a high level math class I was dozing off for most of the class (the night before had been pretty late... and the professor's monotone voice didn't help much either). She was in the middle of deriving a complex proof and then stopped and asked the class what was the next step. I didn't immediately raise my hand, but then 30 seconds and then maybe a minute of silence later I couldn't stand the silence any longer and I gave my answer. This seemed to crack the professor up (she hardly ever before had shown any emotion). Not only had I answered correctly... but also was essentially out of commission the entire class period.

Good for me right? Well yes... but the take-away I want to emphasize here is that there was an entire room of 20-30 other iPod toting, Wall Street Journal reading, Starbucks-sipping students who either were clueless (which would be extremely sad for the Penn State Math Department) and/or who totally didn't care about their educations... and could have sat their until the end of the hour if the professor had not offered up the solution.

Now fast forward to the working world. (Granted not all people will go straight into corporate America, but that is what I'm most familiar with and what the Fortune article was trying to depict). These same students who couldn't or refused to participate in class are now given real-life responsibilities. Hira cites how many Gen-Yers will refuse to work 60 hour weeks insinuating that somehow their computer skills allow them to be much more efficient than their more experienced (though less tech savvy) coworkers. This may be true in jobs that require lower skill levels, e.g., administrative / clerical roles. However, in the highly technical areas of science, engineering, or technology, knowing how to navigate through Microsoft Windows won't get you anywhere... especially when the competition is fluent in 12 programming languages (including assembler), actually knows the difference between an alkene and an alkane, and is able to recreate formulas by hand instead of relying on the [Function] key on his calculator.

OK, this is getting to be a long post, so I will conclude with this. Yes, the future does look bright for us Gen-Yers... but still as always we can only get there with a strong guiding vision and through hard work, not because by "dressing hipster" or "acting cool".

And as always please use the comments section for all questions, comments, and hatemail.

Thanks,
-Jason

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Got Feedback?

Hey Everyone,

I received an email newsletter a few weeks ago. It had a quick list of "Do's and Don'ts" for giving good feedback.

As you may know, being able to give and receive good feedback is an important skill. People aren't perfect, and you are going to make some mistakes along the way. But with support and feedback from mentors as well as team members, you can improve more quickly, and achieve better results more quickly. I've included the bullet points that I think are the most useful and added my own thoughts. Enjoy!

Feedback Do's:
  • Provide direct and specific feedback (a la the One Minute Praise / Reprimand)
  • Be supportive and calm
  • Be prepared if delivering feedback from others - Sometimes you will have to deliver feedback from above. Remember that you can tailor the message to fit into the One Minute Reprimand.
Feedback Dont's:
  • Compare one employee to others - I think we need to teach more parents about this. Think how bad sibling rivalries can get... now put this in a setting where people's jobs are at stake... back stabbing and corporate politics aren't the most fun things to deal with.
  • Provide critical feedback (reprimands) in a public setting - This can be very embarrassing, and you wouldn't want that to happen to you, would you?
  • Criticize, condemn, or complain - Dale Carnegie Rule #1
  • Delay giving timely feedback - Another tip from the One Minute Manager. If feedback takes only a minute, don't delay or else the problem will continue just that much longer.
Thanks for reading! Comments (and feedback) are requested and appreciated.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Narcissistic Leaders

I'm going on some sort of kick with the Harvard Business Review article reviews. This next article that I read Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons by psychoanalyst Michael Maccoby, shows the progression of the research started by Zaleznik mentioned in the previous post.

Maccoby describes what we might call "Rock Star Leaders" or the "twice-born" leaders mentioned previously. I hate to pick on one person so much... but with the recent release of the Jesus-Phone... I mean iPhone... I'm going to pick on Steve Jobs.

I give him credit though; he is a genius. He is also extremely driven to mold the world into his image (something Freud would call narcissistic). And to a certain extent he has succeeded. A generation ago, people would feel naked if they left home without their watches... now people can't seem to get through the day without popping those little white ear-buds into their ears and plugging them into an iPod.

I would say narcissism is almost a logical offshoot of our capitalist society. (We all work hard in order to reap the benefits for ourselves. Nothing is wrong with this. This is what keeps the world turning.) However, at a certain point, narcissism can turn pathological, which will usually lead to the decline of the organization that the "Rock Star Leader" is running.

Narcissistic leaders have great many strengths:
  • Great vision - This one is obvious. Usually their vision includes they being worshiped like a god, hence Jesus Phone....
  • Charisma - The strength of their personalities attracts followers.
Maccoby explains that narcissistic leaders often have the personal charisma and drive that give them enormous strength during times of chaos. (Think Winston Churchill and Mao). However, during the times of peace things don't usually go so well. You need at least some managerial abilities in order to keep all of the boring but important things going as they should.

Their downfall is usually caused by the archetypal weakness of narcissistic leaders:
  • Overly Domineering - "My way or no way!" Thats how Jobs was fired from the company he started.
  • Thin Skinned / Poor Listeners - Any criticism is seen as a personal attack on their personal "perfection". Consequently, they have selective listening and can't learn from mistakes, eventually making one that they cannot recover from.
  • Lack of Empathy - Because they are so wrapped up in themselves, they cannot understand why other people may think differently or have different needs from them. They may be masters of politics, but they tend to see people as tools to exploit. In the end, people we become sick of it. (Winston Churchill was voted out of the Prime Minister's office right after he won WWII).
  • Poor Mentors / Mentees - Well if you're a poor listener and lack empathy, you probably won't do well with mentoring.
  • Overly Competitive - Having a competitive spirit is great, until you compromise your morals or your team members because of it.
How to survive if you are a Narcissistic leader:
  • Get a sidekick - No really, a strong, competent, and thick skinned "manager" can help bring balance. (Kinda like the Yin to your Yang).
  • Indoctrinate your team - (Use sparingly) If everyone agrees with you and trusts your decisions 100%, you can avoid conflict.
  • Know yourself - Try to understand your narcissistic personality. Often that may be enough to stop a rant with "Is this really that important to chew out one of my most loyal team members, or am I just being psycho?"
Sorry Steve, but the Lisa, Newton, NeXT, puck mouse, and Apple TV should be good indicators of your narcissism. Get over it and you'll be the better for it. Now how about sending me one of those nice 80GB Video iPods :-).

Managers and Leaders

Back in 1977, Abraham Zaleznik wrote a classic article in the Harvard Business Review called "Managers and Leaders: Are they Different?"

The simple answer was "Yes, they are. But he goes on and elaborates on a number of different points. He dips into some psychology, which is definitely different from the majority of business leadership articles written today. This is a seminal work and definitely worth a read.

So how do Managers and Leaders differ? I would first preface this with saying that all leaders or managers fall on a sort of "Manager / Leader Continuum". There really aren't any "pure leaders" or "pure managers". We need them both, and depending on someone's style, they will use more tools from the leadership toolbox or from the management toolbox.

Well first of all we would typically stereotype managers as lacking creativity and ethics.

Alright, calm down... this is not validation on your suspicions that your manager is a heartless baby candy snatcher... this just means that taking a strict Max Weber-esque definition of a manager, we will see someone who painstakingly follows the rules and does nothing else. They don't have their own self-ethics. (Think someone who will refuse emergency care to a dying patient because they haven't filled out their paperwork). Similarly, they lack any creativity because they are always worried about going by the book and ONLY by the book.

Leaders on the other hand are painted as dynamic and creative, working "for the people". Granted this may be an over dramatization of leadership, but it helps paint a picture of the ideal.

The second stereotype about managers and leaders that Zaleznik discusses is that leaders are proactive while managers are reactive. This dovetails into the stereotype about managers being "tactical" thinkers while leaders are "strategic" thinkers. Again both are merely different spots on the spectrum with both types of thinking being necessary in order to be effective.

Zaleznik also describes managers as being able to "play the game" referring to politics, while leaders are more often tough and direct. He also alludes to theories in psychology, stating that leaders are "twice born", people who have had lives filled with struggle and living with a feeling of being separate and not belonging. Leaders therefore have a strong sense of duty and responsibility to "make things right", while managers who are "once born" are more comfortable with "making things the same".

Zaleznik finishes with an open question about the development of leaders within today's business culture of pitting peers against each other and seeing who come out on top. He rails on the fact that this will merely excessively reward aggressive behavior (something that is ultimately self defeating).

I would say that Zaleznik is at least partially giving a critique of the current status of people who we call "leaders". I would have to admit that many of my own postings have come out my critique. I also find his work to be a great starting point for a discussion on the difference between leaders and managers, however I would have to say that the research has advanced since the time of his writing. Specifically, I would have to say that Zaleznik's critique on "management" is overdone. Most of it would more accurately be pointed towards "ineffective leadership", because I do believe that effective management has its merits.

Thanks for the read, and as always comments are requested and appreciated.

Until next time,
-Jason

Emotional Intelligence

Hi Everyone,

This will a short post on "Emotional Intelligence" the pioneering book written by Daniel Goleman. In a nutshell many would say that the strength of a leader is measured by his/her emotional intelligence.

According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is made up of 5 main categories:
  • Self Awareness
  • Self Regulation
  • Motivation
  • Empathy
  • Social Skill
More on this in a future post!
-Jason

Sunday, June 24, 2007

The One Minute Repirmand

OK, so you can see that I'm on a One Minute Manager kick, but this will be a brief article about the "One Minute Reprimand".

So far I have never gotten a "One Minute Reprimand". I actually have never gotten a reprimand that hasn't turned into a "One hour or two hour reprimand"... though parents have the habit of lecturing their kids a little bit too much.

In the work environment though, I have felt that negative feedback often is vague... and almost always not very constructive. I think the problem is with people using "feedback" as a code word for "tearing someone a new one in a politically correct manner". Shouldn't feedback be about correcting or reinforcing particular behavior?

Maybe that is why so many people are afraid of getting feedback and why so many new managers are very uncomfortable with giving good and useful feedback. Maybe they have forgotten that feedback should be about catching people doing good more so than catching people doing wrong.

At least in the places that I have worked, I see that most "managers" are too "busy" to actually do much managing. It's kind of ironic. Managers are too busy doing their subordinates work (micromanaging) and don't give good feedback for fear of being "micro-managers".

The One Minute Reprimand (in a nutshell)
  • Immediate - Give the reprimand immediately. Don't you hate those, "Remember two weeks when you were doing that thing... yeah that wasn't really good." Why couldn't the manager tell me this two weeks ago so that I could have fixed it immediately and not have wasted my time and effort on something she didn't like?
  • Specific - Be specific about what the offending behavior is so that the person receiving the reprimand will know what to fix.
  • Share your feelings - Let them know how you feel about the offending behavior. Let them know the reason why it is wrong... not just that what they did was "bad" in some vague way.
  • Reaffirm - Even after using the first three rules, people still won't be happy with any reprimand, so take a second to reaffirm to them that you value their contribution to the team and that they are better than the offending behavior.
You don't have to leave these rules at the work place. Try them at home... your friends and family will thank me for it.

Until next time,
-Jason

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Making Your Team Happy

I just read this great post at The Happiness Project. It's titled "How employers can boost the happiness of their employees". She gives a number of common sense (but not commonly practiced) tips of how employers can help make their employees happy. Here are some highlights, see the entire post here.

  • People need control over their lives to feel happy - It's always much better to have a say in what YOU are doing than to have to do something just because your boss says you "have to"
  • Reduce time commuting - I commute over an hour each way everyday. In the past year I have put almost 25,000 miles onto my car. As much as I like driving... I know this is definitely a stressor for me.
  • Don't waste people's time - You know when you got that thing that you "have to" do by the end of the day, but then you pulled into hours of pointless meetings. Yeah... more stress. (Potential solution - see post on Running Meetings Like Google)
  • Allow people to participate in social interaction - ummm... you know that guy whose office was moved into the supply closet.... yeah that's why he looks pissed all of the time
  • Take Care of People's Health - healthy team members are happy team members
  • Everyone Loves Surprises - OK, not all surprises, but little things to break the monotony of the workday can work wonders to improve morale. Maybe thats why college was so much fun. There was always something wild and crazy going on just down the hall / on campus / downtown.
So I'm thinking at least someone out there is thinking, "But all I need out of my people is for them to get the work done. If I'm efficient and effective, everything will be fine."

Not exactly... Human beings are incredibly emotional creatures. We are dramatically swayed by our moods and feelings. Think about it. Can you remember a time when you were extremely motivated. Can you feel the emotion and energy that pulsed through your body? You were going a mile a minute and loving it!

Now think about another time when you were stressed, maybe a little bit upset, or angry. Did you really feel like doing anything that you "had" to do? Most likely not.

In the end this is something like the carrot and the stick. All too often people just reach for the stick to "make" people do what they want. Sometimes this is necessary, but I think we'd all be better if we could reach for more carrots.

Please let me know what you think. As always comments are requested and appreciated.

Until next time,
-Jason

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Seagull Managers

So I've been reading Ken Blanchard's new book Leading at a Higher Level. I've actually finished it, but am a little behind on writing posts on what I have learned. But anyway...

"Seagull Management" is a term that Blanchard uses in the book to describe a type of management behavior. Whenever there is a problem, seagull managers, swoop in, make lots of noise, dump on everyone, and then fly away. As you can tell this isn't the the best way to take care of your team. It doesn't do anything to help the team members to succeed, it just succeeds in destroying morale.

We've all seen people do this. A mistake is made. And it makes an impact that is immediately "felt by the leadership". (We already know there will be problems if upper 'leadership' insulates themselves with endless layers of middle management). Then all of a sudden your boss's boss calls your team into his office. He's mad as hell and he wants the head of the person responsible. The poor schmuck raises his hand and he gets railed at. The rest of the team then gets chewed out for allowing him to make such a costly mistake. Meanwhile, no one has learned anything from this. Then, everyone marches out of the office and lays low for the rest of the day. On the bright side this whole incident will make great water cooler conversation for weeks.

"Teach me how to get an A, don't just mark my paper with a B." Maybe if management had thought about putting in stricter controls and checks, the problem could have been avoided. Maybe if the team wasn't over-worked and over-stressed the mistake wouldn't have happened. Maybe, someone should have gotten the proper training before being expected to do the job perfectly.

This all falls back to Blanchard's theory of situational leadership. Leaders need to figure out where their team members are at in terms of development, and take the appropriate action. If the team member who made the mistake was a brand new hire with no experience, he would have needed exact instructions in how to figure out his task. However, if he was already trained in the field, but not in this particular application, it may be helpful for the manager to remind him of the proper procedures and coach him to perform successfully. Though, if he had already been successful a few times, the manager could have taken a more supporting role, in reinforcing this success.

Only when the team member is already a "self reliant achiever" can the manager completely delegate the responsibility. However, the seagull manager just delegates, and apparently hopes for the best. You just can't do that and expect to be competitive anymore.

Anyway, as always comments are welcome and appreciated.

Until next time,
-Jason

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The Members Project

Hi Everyone! This is going to be a quick post, but I just wanted to let you know about The Members Project, from American Express. Essentially, it is a project where American Express will donate $1 for every cardholder who joins and donate it to a charitable project that all of the members vote on. Check it out and spread the word!
-Jason

Sunday, May 13, 2007

We Don't Need Another Hero

(OK, first an aside. I read an article in the Harvard Business Review titled the same as this post by Joseph Badaracco, though I only have a few notes from it in my notebook. So I would say this post is inspired by that article but probably doesn't have much to do with it.)

We live in an overly dramatized world. Blame it on the media, blame it on ourselves, but gosh darn-it this over dramatization of life has done a lot to do precisely the opposite... create apathy.

Think about it... I would have to say that we have become a country of whiners. Since when did "running out of non-fat, non-dairy, non-sugar creamer at Starbucks" become an earth shattering crisis? I've seen people flip out over such trifles. I would sum this trend up as "If there aren't explosions going off, blaring sirens, or gratuitous nudity... we're not going to pay attention." And as such people have used exaggeration and hyperbole and every sort of explosions, sirens, and nudity to get others to pay attention to them. (Marketers seem to be the best at this).

We've become desensitized to the point that of becoming passionless. We seem to be saving up our efforts and energy for some sort of Grand Mission, like "solving poverty", "curing AIDS", or "becoming a millionaire"... But we don't bother to get our asses off of the couch and exercise, or turn off the TV and read a book, or even take the 1 hour out of our lives every year to get out and VOTE.

I agree with the Joe Badaracco, that we "don't need another hero". Instead we need the everyday people who get up in the morning and give it their all despite all of the obstacles, whatever the season. We need people who will work within the system that we are in and bend the rules in order to get things done, but don't break them outright unless we are truly ready to change them (not just when it's convenient). We need people who will take up a mission and stick with it until it has been completed.

So have a think about it. Sure, the firebrands screaming out "Revolution NOW" may be popular, but when times get tough they will fizzle out quickly. As Thomas Paine famously said, "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it Now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph."

And as always comments are welcomed and appreciated.
-Jason

Monday, May 07, 2007

Charisma and Leadership

I originally wanted to title this post "Charisma versus Leadership" but... on second thought, I don't believe the relationship between charisma and leadership to be adversarial... though often times people confuse one with the other.

For example, I will use the archetypal example of Hitler being someone with great charisma, but I would argue that he was not a "leader" but merely a demagogue. He gave rousing speeches that played off of the base emotions and prejudices of a downtrodden German public. However, he never really thought about what the people really wanted. He was selfish and thought about what he wanted (to be the "emperor" of a 1000 year German empire).

But wait, you might ask, "But didn't he say things like wanting to bring prosperity to the country?" To that I would answer, "Yes, of course he said those things." But did he really bring about what he promised? Wouldn't the logical thing for a leader during those times be to encourage the people to continue along a path to revitalization, even though the road ahead may look tough and the rewards far away? I would think so.

Today we can see similar things in our everyday lives. We might point to the CEO's and CFO's of the Enron's, the Worldcom's, Tyco's, and the Global Crossing's of the world, who broke the rules to "make more money for investors", but in the end were grabbing as much cash as they could to line their own pockets. The more political among us may even point to our current administration and the war in Iraq as another example of demagogues taking on the guise of leadership.

OK, so before you go off screaming "Ahhhh! charisma is bad!" hold on for one minute. First of all I never said that. Secondly, charisma is actually a very good and useful tool in leadership. This is because people are by nature social and emotional creatures. (See MySpace and Facebook as examples of humanity's thirst for social interaction). We like to see what our friends / peers / acquaintances are doing... and more often than not monkey see monkey do. Our emotions also play a big part of our lives. Have you ever tried to convince someone about an emotionally charged topic, oh I dunno like stem cell research, using pure logic? It's not gonna happen. But if you for example used a story about about a child stricken by some terrible disease that could possibly be cured through stem cell research... I'd expect you to be at least some-what more successful.

This is charisma, that ability to connect with people and eventually to influence and persuade them to take up your vision and follow your plan. Leadership, though would use charisma to influence people stick to the team's plan to make the vision happen.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

The Power of Appreciation

So this is advice that your mother probably gave you when you went over to your best friend's house way back in kindergarten "Remember your pleases and thank-yous". Unfortunately too few people follow this advice after they've "grown up" and become an adult.

Now I don't mean the gratuitous, "Hey Bob, please do this for me, OK? Thanks," and walk away routine. This is a terrible habit that many people have gotten into. Now a days, people will play passive aggressive games by adding a "thanks" to the end of any request. This totally defeats the spirit of appreciation.

Now let's start from the beginning. One of the most basic of all human needs is the need to be appreciated. You know it and I know it. We all want to feel as though we are valued, and that our efforts have been worthwhile.

Just the past weekend, I went back up to school, just expecting to enjoy a performance by NBC's Last Comic Standing, Dat Phan. However, during the introductions there was a brief awards ceremony where I received an award for my work with the Asian Pacific American Caucus in helping make Introduction to Asian American Studies a permanent course. I was really touched by the gesture and didn't really know what to say. I had done this simply because it was something that I believed in. I didn't "need" to receive the award, but now I feel much more motivated to continue doing more of the same things. (I'm not a psychology major, but I think this all has to do with something like rewards and punishments... and it works).

On the other hand, I have all too often felt under-appreciated by those who call themselves "leaders". How many times have you had something "dumped" on you like the situation above? (These also usually include impossible deadlines, such as "yesterday"). How do you think you would feel if you had other work to do, plans for the evening, a throbbing headache, and your boss comes to your cube asking, "How long will it take for you to do this?" You respond, "Two hours". To which he or she responds, "I need it for my meeting in half an hour... please get it done... oh yeah and I'll try to remember to finish your performance review by sometime next week... thanks." Yeah, not such a great feeling.

How about if instead of that, your boss came to your cube and asked "Hi, how are you doing?" You respond, "Not too bad, just pretty busy finishing up this analysis for the big project we're working on." He or she asks, "So hey, I was wondering if you could do me a big favor. How long do you think it would take for you to do this... I need it for my meeting in half an hour?" You think for a moment and say, "Gee boss, I don't think I could get all of that done by then... it might take me an hour and a half... maybe an hour if I really rush."
"Oh, really... hmmm... well how about if I try to get you these numbers and we don't worry about making these graphs..." you boss offers. Encouraged, you say, "Yeah, I think we can get this done, I'll ask Sally to help me this one part and I think we can get it all figured out." "Thanks Bob, you're a real lifesaver! I'll be sure to add an extra positive note in your performance review for next week!"

So let me break this down for you. In the end, maybe this boils down to Habit #5 "Seek first to understand then to be understood." In the first situation, the boss did not try to understand Bob's abilities or the other situational factors, he didn't seem to care. However, in the second situation, the boss made the effort to understand everything, and had the flexibility to make it happen.

So, I want to thank all of you for reading, and please leave me any feedback in the comments section. I hope you all come back soon!

-Jason

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Empowerment

Empowerment

Yes, this is another one of those words that has been pretty thoroughly lampooned in the pages of Dilbert comics, however it truly is a powerful concept of leadership.

In Leading at a Higher Level, empowerment is defined as "The creation of an organizational climate that releases the knowledge, experience and motivation that resides in people."

This sounds good right? And it makes sense, because if you try to lead by just telling people exactly what to do what do you think they will do? Obviously they will only do exactly as they are told, because you have disempowered them, treated them as if they were merely an automaton (see Genius with a Thousand Helpers).

However, when you treat your team members to demonstrate self leadership you get something totally different. They own their part of the vision. In a school environment, they will ask "What do I want to learn?" instead of "What are they going to teach me?". In a work environment they will ask "What do I need to do to make my company successful?" instead of "What does my boss want me to do?"

Creating an empowered team is a one of the goals that every leader should aspire to, and Leading at a Higher Level gives 3 keys in order to do so.
  1. Share Information with Everyone - How many of you have been on a team where the "leader" kept all of the information to himself/herself? This "leader" would then make all of the decisions without consulting the rest of the team, with the excuse that "You guys don't have all the information that I do, so you wouldn't understand," when these decisions were undoubtedly unpopular. What did having this type of leader to do team morale? It hurt morale.
    Exactly the converse is also true. Full disclosure of relevant information helps team members understand decisions, and possibly help determine the best options to choose. Furthermore, this feeling of ownership does wonders for morale.
  2. Create autonomy through boundaries - What is the old saying... "Good fences to good neighbors make" Not exactly the same idea, but when you define what your team member's responsibilities are it helps prevent the awkward "I thought it was his job..." conversations after a mishap. These boundaries give people a sense of "This is mine, so I ought to take care of it". An important sidenote is that these boundaries are should NOT be exclusive. Just because something is not within your scope of responsibilities does not mean you cannot do it, and conversely it doesn't mean that someone else should not be allowed to help you with it.
  3. Replace the old hierarchy with self directed individuals and teams - This one is more long term. But if you can build your organization to be flatter, with more people being on an "equal" rank, obviously we can sidestep the paralysis of only doing "What my boss tells me to do" or even worse having to deal with different layers of management having differing ideas of you you have to do.
Hopefully "empowerment" is no longer a dirty word, and as always comments or questions are requested and appreciated.

-Jason

Goals (II)

So we've talked about setting "SMART" goals in a previous post. And this is a very important concept, in order to set goals that you can and will actually achieve. However, another think to keep in mind is the why we set these goals.

What I'm getting at is somewhat related to my previous post You Can't "Motivate" Anyone and also an idea that I read about in Good to Great. In Good to Great, Jim Collins puts forth the idea that great organizations view their (current) products or services to be merely a vehicle for the growth and development of the organization. He goes on to describe how some companies have done the opposite, holding on to their traditional products, while their market fills with more efficient competitors and profit margins wither away.

They weren't remembering their mission. For example, Mickey Mouse cartoons used to be one of the big money makers for Disney, but how many of you have ever even seen a Mickey Mouse cartoon. I don't think I have. Instead, Disney has stuck to their mission to "Make people happy", and this can be achieved through all sorts of different avenues.

Now, I believe everyone should spend the time to write for themselves a personal mission statement (though this post would be for another time). Using your personal mission statement as a guide you will be able to answer the why of your own personal goal setting.
What I'm getting at, is that I look around, and I see many people are unhappy. Specifically many people are unhappy with what they do, their jobs.

I think much of the reason for this is that people have a similar notion that the failed organizations that were mentioned in Good to Great had. Like how those organizations feel that had to keep their traditional products, many people feel that they have to stay in a job because of their major, or because of they need the money, or just because "responsible people have 9-to-5 jobs".

Now, I'm not saying that you should run out and quit you job right away. But I think, first of all you need to start thinking of your job, or whatever your occupation, as a vehicle to promote you and your goals and also aligning with your personal mission statement.

You don't need to stay in a job "just because" it was your major field of study. There's a whole world of opportunities that you can take, and for the most part, it matters more that you are a fast learner, team player, and/or have strong people skills than if you had studied something in school.

You don't need to stay in a job "just because" you need the money. OK, lets face, it we all need some money to live. But I believe the reason for money is to allow us to live and pursue the our dreams. The reason for life definitely is not money. Furthermore, if you're spending all of your time minding the pennies, you'll probably let the dollars pass you by (bigger and better opportunities).

Lastly you don't need to stay in a jog "just because" thats what responsible people do. There are plenty of opportunities outside the normal 9-to-5 work world. As long as those opportunities align with your personal mission, you will be happier and more successful, following your dreams.

As always comments are requested and appreciated.

-Jason

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Malcolm X

OK, I have to admit that I'm no expert on Malcolm X. But a few months ago I watched the movie Malcolm X and agree or disagree with his politics, you have to admit that Malcolm X was a great leader. Actually, after watching the movie I had something of a paradigm shift. In all of my history classes in school, Malcolm X was always mentioned merely as a radical counterpoint to the more "reasonable" Martin Luther King. This is beside the point, and I couldn't nearly give his legacy justice in just one blog article. So please visit The Official Web Site of Malcolm X for more information about the man.

Again, stripping aside all politics, we can learn much from Malcolm X's leadership.

First of all, he kept to a solid set of core values. He was a converted Muslim and stuck to a strict moral code. He had integrity. In the movie FBI agents monitoring Malcolm's hotel room made the off the cuff remark that he was like a monk compared to Martin Luther King (referencing King's extra-marital affairs vs. Malcolm's late nights spent reading).

He also had a significant purpose and clear picture of a future that he wanted. He turned ideas into a compelling vision that, combined with his personal charisma, attracted many people to his (and the Nation of Islam's) cause.

Malcolm X epitomized the servant leader. He surely was controversial in his ideas, but he worked first to educate his followers on why he felt his vision was the right one. He worked to give his followers what they needed (self knowledge, self respect, independence...) And he did this all without trying to line his pockets with the money of his followers, like other "leaders" in the Nation of Islam were.

It's just a shame that Malcolm's life was cut short, soon after he had changed his thoughts about racial integration. We will never know what his passion, integrity, and unyielding energy and commitment could have done for the benefit of race relations in America. We can only hope to take a small part of what we have learned from him and to use it to do our part to improve the world we live in.

Please, reserve comments on Malcolm X's politics for another forum, but all comments on leadership as always are welcome and appreciated.

Until Next Time,
-Jason


Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Secret

OK, so Oprah might have beat me to the punch with this one. And so maybe I'm usually not a big fan of anything Oprah.... but she didn't do half bad with recommending The Secret (well sort of).

So "What is the secret???" Well.... first of all don't believe the hype. There is no "secret". Essentially, the main idea behind this DVD (and accompanying book, audiobook, and etc...) is "The Law of Attraction" or "thoughts become things". Throw in a whole bunch of New Age magic:
  1. Desire - Wish for what you want hard enough
  2. Deliver - The universe will provide
  3. Align - Align yourself with the universe and all your wishes come true.
And don't worry about working for your goals, because the Universe will provide. Ehhhh... no. I don't really agree with their idea of the Universe being your genie (and don't even get me started with how they are totally off with the original story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp).

What this DVD does is bring together is a bunch of sound bites, a lot of hype, but then... for the discerning viewer a few gems of truth. Here's a few that I found.
  1. Understand and respect the power of the mind. This reminds me a lot of the Tony Robbins that I have been listening to. The first part "desire" (or whatever they call it) is simple and universal. You need to know what you want before you can get it. And furthermore, if you concentrate on the things you don't want, you'll probably get those too (kind of a "keep your eyes on the road, not on the wall" type of deal).
  2. (Related to the above). Visualize reaching your goal and live your goal - before you reach it. This brings to mind anecdotes of patients who had "terminal cancer" and were able to cure themselves with the power of visualization and the strength of their own mind. But this about this on a day-to-day life basis. What do they always tell you at your job? No, not "No Internet for personal use", but "To get promoted to a higher position, you need to start taking on the responsibilities of that position.
  3. Be thankful and show gratitude for everything good in your life. This is another important concept. You will be much happier if you are thankful for what you have. Also, I believe you can't grow beyond your current situation until you appreciate where you are now, as the foundation for where you want to go or become.
  4. You need to align yourself properly in order to receive the "gifts from the Universe". OK, let me explain this one. They mostly glossed over it, and I think that is a shame. But think about it. Suppose you want something. Suppose you want to become a better leader. You know deep down in yourself and you are constantly thinking about it, but you don't "align yourself with the Universe". Nothing happens. However, if you were "aligned correctly with the Universe" you would realize that there is a world of teachers, books, and experiences out there for you to learn from. Then you would be able to make use of those opportunities and make progress towards your goal.
Overall, it's an entertaining video. A little bit wonky, and probably not for beginners to personal development / self help.

Anyway, so if you've watched this DVD or the other associated profit making stuff. Let me know what you think about it in the comments. Thanks!

Until next time,
-Jason

Friday, March 16, 2007

Move Away from the "Genius with a Thousand Helpers" Mentality

Alright, so this one might be a little bit similar to the last post, but it is something that needs to be reiterated.

Actually the term "Genius with a Thousand Helpers" is a Termed that I found to be particularly telling from Good To Great. I've also briefly touched on this subject before, but lets get a little more in depth with it.

What is a "Genius with a Thousand Helpers"? Well... lets see... how about we think of someone like Steve Jobs, the famed founder and current CEO of Apple Computers. He definitely is a technological, marketing, and business genius. He envisioned the golden age of personal computers, turned a shiny white little box into the IT-gadget of the past decade, and turned a small computer company that should have been blown out of the water years ago, into a money making machine.

OK, so now you might be asking... "Why is this bad... it all ended up well?"

I would answer, that it's not as simple as this. Jobs has also been labeled as one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs by Fortune magazine, and it was probably this "genius bordering on insanity" that got him fired from Apple computer in the mid 1990's.

Sure, you can be domineering, bark orders, and not take any advice from others... but how long do you think that will last? How long do you think people will follow you no matter how much money you try to coerce them with?

Jobs lasted about 15 years before he was fired from the company that he founded. It seems almost luck that he has been able to come back to the company as it's CEO. But think how limited the company is. It can only grow as far as Job's vision, because he will not tolerate differing ideas. (Arguments from critics are often quickly dismissed as "bullshit"). Also, I'm generalizing here, but to him, the other senior management in the company, are merely "helpers". People who "make the company work" but do not determine the grand strategies of the company.

The most obvious problem with this is that, treating employees as "peons" doesn't do much to keep them happy, motivated, and productive. Secondly, not allowing team members to make decisions on their own, stunts their own development as leaders. Who will be able to take over the company if this "genius" leaves/retires/dies? No one will have the proper skills to properly take the reigns. Finally, two heads are better than one --> a whole team of heads is definitely better than one (that is if everyone is communicating in an effective and respectful manner).

To me, I think these "Genius's with a Thousand Helpers" or "Rockstar Leaders" just like feeding their egos. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by people who always acquiesce to your "superior intellect / leadership abilities / whatever". But for me, I think I would rather be surrounded by people who were smarter and better than I am, so that I can maybe learn something from them.

What do you think? As always comments are appreciated.

-Jason

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Leaders Don't Go It Alone

Have you ever seen one of those motivational posters? You know, the ones with something like a rainbow or a lion and a nice one liner of sage advice. Yes I know you've seen them, at work, at school, or heck even at the doctor's office.

Anyway, a little while ago I saw one of these posters that had an eagle and said something like "Leaders Go It Alone". I can't disagree with this sentiment more. Granted, sometimes leaders need to make the tough decisions which may be unpopular, or sometimes the leader will have to "remove someone from the team". However, leaders never go it alone!

Lets think about it. Assuming that a leader has to make a tough decision, that she knows will not go over well with the rest of the team. What should she do?
  1. Well the first thing I would do is to do what leaders do best, use your influence to explain to the team why this is the right thing to do.
  2. Next, listen! The team will probably have some very good reasons for doing things a different way. Maybe they have thought of things that you hadn't realized. Maybe, it would be best after all to do things their way.
  3. Discuss both sides of the argument. Make sure everyone understands all of the costs and benefits.
OK, so lets say our leader has done her best to convince us and we (the team) have done our best to convince her but to no avail. Should she now storm out of the room, say "Damn it all, I am the boss, we'll do what I say, and I don't care what you think!"

Probably not the best idea right? Right. I would say a good leader should check her ego at the door and go with the team. I think it is such a problem these days that we glorify those people who act like loose canon's not caring about anybody else but themselves. While the selfish part of ourselves might want to run off, do things our way, and hope that everything works out in our favor just to come back and say "I told you so!"... most likely, if you have built a competent team they will be the ones who will be right.

So what do you think? No, I don't want to hear stories about "the one time I went it alone and was right". What these stories inevitably leave out is how this act strained the relationship between team and leader. But still, comments are much appreciated!

-Jason

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Leadership and Politics

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying the warmer weather on this lazy Sunday afternoon. (Did you all remember to set your clocks forward today for Daylight Savings Time?)

Anyway, I just wanted to make a quick post about Leadership and Politics. Like them or not, in the United States, our elected politicians are our leaders. By default that makes each and every one of us their followers. But we have the choice to vote for and elect our own leaders! And that is why as responsible citizens and followers, we must take the time to understand these people who we are electing to be our leaders.

So I know the next Presidential election is over a year away, but if you've seen anything on the news, you've probably heard about the race thats ramping up already. Therefore, all I can say is GET INFORMED AND GET INVOLVED!

A friend of mine has created a website VoteIssues08, and he promises to help organize the promises / platforms of all of the candidates, as well as to let people "vote" (American Idol style) for their favorite candidates and on issues important to them. So check it out!

-Jason

Sunday, March 04, 2007

The Greatest Salesman in the World

Good Morning everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this lazy Sunday afternoon. Drumroll please.... time for my first post in quite a while. ^_^

Anyway, lets get down to business. I recently finished this book called The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. It's not exactly a book about leadership, but then again I wouldn't say it is merely a book for sales people. Essentially, the book is a parable (with an overt Christian theme) which tells the story of a young boy, who is given the knowledge of 10 ancient scrolls. These scrolls contain the secret to becoming the Greatest Salesman in the world. I'll go over the main points of each scroll.
  1. Today I am a new person and can make the choice to succeed. I will read these scrolls religiously, over and over again, everyday.
  2. I will greet each day with love in my heart. - Love and respect others (your customers / your followers). You'll get ten times the love and respect back.
  3. I will persist until I succeed. - Life is tough out there. Being a leader is also tough. But if you persist you can win!
  4. I am nature's greatest miracle. - You are unique. Make the most out of your uniqueness, live everyday and your life to the fullest.
  5. I will live this day as if it is my last. - Don't get caught up with guilt, the "I should haves, I could have, and I would haves." Also, don't get caught up with worrying about the future. JUST DO IT!
  6. Today I will be master of my emotions. - Tony Robbins took this idea and ran with it. If you can master yourself, changing your state and looking at the positive, you can do anything.
  7. I will laugh at the world. - Smile! Even if you are at the very bottom, things can only go up.
  8. Today I will multiply my value one hundred fold. - The human mind is an amazing thing. A mountain of sand touched with human genius can become a super computer. Aim high, believe in yourself, and you will create wonders!
  9. My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action. - Just do it! (and Nike please don't sue me).
  10. Only for guidance I will pray, that I may be shown the way to acquire these things (gold, love, good health, fame success, happiness) and my prayers will always be answered. - Now, Og Mandino isn't specifically saying to pray to God (the Judeo-Christian god) but instead recognizing that people sometimes need something else. Something beyond just themselves and the visible world. No matter what this higher force might be, ask for guidance. This can very well be likened to "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." If we are caught up in the thoughts of "I want this!" we might never put our minds to "How can I get this?".
For such a small book, this is some heavy stuff. So let it sink in. Think about it. Actually, that is how this book works. It is an affirmation. Reading it over and over again. Saying the words out loud every day, will make an impact down in your subconscious.

This book has been out since the 60's. You can probably pick up a used copy for pretty cheap. (I bought a copy on Amazon for a penny - plus shipping). Check it out!!

Until next time,
-Jason


Sunday, February 25, 2007

Template Working Again

OK so I've "fixed" the template for all you IE users. (Well ok I didn't fix it, I just imported a new template and then customized it to look more or less like how it was before). Now I only have to make the text column a little bit wider....

I'll save that for another time.

Best,
-Jason

No I am not Dead

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for being away for so long. I've been quite busy with work and everything else. Though I have started getting involved with the Philadelphia chapter of NAAAP (The National Association of Asian American Professionals). They seem like a really cool bunch, and the organization is probably bursting with opportunities for leadership, so we'll see how this goes!

In other news, I found out that Accenture (the company that I work for) has an entire mini-website dedicated to leadership. Long story short, it had quite a few reprinted articles from the Harvard Business Review which I spent a good chunk of the past few weeks (and at least 5-6 hours on this lazy freezing cold Sunday) to read.

So depending on how everything else goes we'll see if I can't get a few posts in by the end of today. If not, within the next few days.

So please stay tuned!!

-Jason

Monday, February 12, 2007

Mission Statements (II)

OK so I've been reading Ken Blanchard's (One Minute Manager) new book Leading at a Higher Level (He sent me an autographed copy so I had better read it cover to cover ^_^).

The book is actually broken up into essays / chapters that are written by a number of different people on his research team. But anyway, one section on writing mission statements is slightly different from what I wrote about before though more or less analogous.

Again it is broken up into three parts:
  • Significant purpose - The why of the mission statement
  • Picture of the future - The what of the mission statement
  • Clear Values - Clear and ranked values direct the day to day running of your team
I would have to agree.... though I feel there still might be a place for the how that I mentioned in the previous post about mission statements... though how's might be related more to objectives than to mission statements. Any ideas on this matter as always are well appreciated in the comments section!

However, the WHY is something I totally agree with. Sometimes this can get muddled in with the what, but other times, especially with long lived organizations, you need a stronger why. (If your mission was to land a man on the moon, and you have already achieved this, why else should your organization exist?)

Anyway, much more reading to get through. Until next time!
-Jason



Internet Explorer Issues

Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to apologize for the blog not working for IE users.... (switch to Firefox) . But as you can see from Firefox, I've changed the template a little bit... and it broke in IE. I'll be trying to fix things back up, but in the mean time please be patient, Thank You!!! ^_^
-Jason

Saturday, February 03, 2007

"Scientific" Analysis of Leadership = Boring

-_-' alright, I'll probably get hate mail for this. But maybe someone can help straighten me out, and help me find this more useful. So a while ago I read through three or four books that explained some "scientific" studies on leadership.

Going through my notes, I'll pick on the "Multiple Linkage Model". I'll make this as brief as possible. A leader's effectiveness is driven by the leader's behavior, however there are many situational variables, such as corporate culture, that will influence the effectiveness of a leader's behavior. (Yelling and swearing at subordinates might work in the military, but will probably get you fired at your job). Similarly, intervening variables, such as subordinate's level of ability, available resources, natural disasters... can also influence results and effectiveness.

OK, my response to this "Duh!". Ok maybe I have a prejudice against this because it took the better part of a book to explain this in its original form (I see in my notebook where I drifted off to sleep with my handwriting becoming unrecognizable). I also just completed a Computer Based Training course on leadership where I sat through almost three hours of early 90's computer graphics that described four or five more theories of leadership.

I can't help but think, "How does this make me a better Young Leader?" Does anyone have any opinions about this? Is it better to think of leadership in the scientific (almost psychological) manner that you might read about in musty books? Or is it more reasonable to think about leadership from the basis of a few very basic principles and build up from there?

I would think that people are so incredible complex that it would be more effective to think about leadership from the ground up. Comments welcome and appreciated! Thank You!!

-Jason

You Can't "Motivate" Anyone

Some of you might be reading this and think to yourself.... "WTF! isn't that the point of leadership?" To this I must say "Yes and No". Let's step back a minute and I will explain.

I've talked about Good to Great a few times already. But I think it's worth mentioning "The Three Circles". Essentially, in order to find what you (and your organization) can be truly "Great" at you need to find the intersection of "What you can be the best at; What drives your economic engine; and What you are deeply passionate about". This makes sense. Suppose you are the best at doing something, but you don't really care for it... it wouldn't make sense for you to pursue this, because your heart would not be in it (no matter how much everyone else in your life may try to cajole or guilt you into doing it). Similarly, if you know doing something will make you filthy rich (lets say playing professional basketball), but you're like me and can't make a layup if your life depended on it... this again probably shouldn't be one of your goals.

Now I've also been listening to Tony Robbins in the car on my otherwise long and boring commutes to and from work everyday. I went through his "goal setting workshop" in which he focused much less on the actual goals (you could set whatever goals you wanted) and much more on asking "What your reasons that you absolutely must achieve these goals?" He went to explain how critical the Why's were for you to avoid "setting and forgetting" them.

Now going back to the beginning. Why can't you motivate anyone? The simple reason is that if these people don't have any passion to share your goals or they can't think good reasons for them to follow you, they won't. No matter how much yelling and screaming (Steve Balmer) you make, you can't "motivate" people. But the converse is also true. If people have the passion to share your goals and have lots of good reasons to follow you, they will. Even if you are low keep and mild mannered!

So you have to learn that you can't "motivate" anyone, only discover their passions, and give them good enough reasons that show how these match up with your goals. Then they will motivate themselves.

Think about this one, it's tough to get your head around, but well worth it! Until next time.

-Jason

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Ice Breakers (II)

This is going to be a quick post. Here is another pretty fun ice breaker that I have recently used. It's called Hi's and Lo's.

Essentially, if you have a group where everyone might not have been introduced to each other, you can play this (well you probably can modify it and play even with people who know each other).

Going around the table each person starts by introducing themselves. They then tell the group the low point of their day, e.g., "The copier jammed on me" and then because we always want to end on a high note, the high point of their day, e.g., "My boss gave me a One-Minute Praising about my work on the XYZ project".

It's that simple! So try it out at your next meeting! Until next time.

-Jason

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Followership

So why am I writing an article on followership? Aren't we all supposed to be Young Leaders here? Well yes, but the one thing that is often forgotten in discussions about leadership is the importance of good folllowership.

Lets face it, 80% of the time when you are in a group setting, at work or maybe in your community organizations, you will not be "THE leader". Of course you will have a manager or supervisor who you report to at work. In your outside organizations, you simply can't have the time or the interest to head up every single project. So if you're not "THE leader", you're a follower, but this is NOT a bad thing!

If there is anything that I can impart on you it is this: A Young Leader can demonstrate just as much leadership while being a follower as while being "THE Leader". This is because you can demonstrate leadership by working towards the shared vision and goals.

How to be a good follower:
  • Be proactive - Don't wait for your boss to tell you to do something, if you see something that needs to be fixed, go fix it!
  • Be a fact finder - If you don't know how to do something, try to figure it out. Expand your sphere of influence by learning more.
  • Be an advice seeker - Be a mentee. There will always be people who have more knowledge or experience than you do. Seek out their advice.
  • Be persuasive - Even if you don't have formal authority, you can still weild considerable influence.
  • Be courageous - Do the right thing and convince others to as well.
  • Be a collective follower, or plan well to stand on your own - Sometimes you have to put your own goals behind the goals of the team as a whole. However, when the time comes up that you need to go it on your own, keep things are good terms. It doesn't help anyone to storm away from a disagreement in a huff.
All leaders, especially Young Leaders, will have to take the roll as a follower. But learning to demonstrate leadership as a follower can be one of the most powerful lessons in being a true leader.

-Jason

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Good to Great (II)

Last time we talked about what Collins calls Level 5 Leadership in his book Good to Great. This time I wanted to spend a little more time in disucssion about another important key to transforming an organization from Good to Great: Confronting the Brutal Facts.

Have you ever known someone who couldn't take any bad news? Whenever you had to tell them some "bad news" they would immediately just say "Oh, just don't tell me about it," or worse yet cover their ears and pretend to ignore you? What do you think about these kinds of people? You would think they were acting childish, right? Because, mature adults realize that the only way to fix a situation or to improve yourself is to realize where things are going wrong / where your shortcomings are.

This same rule goes for organizations, but it seems that many organizations today are acting "childish". You can't really blame the individuals in the organization though. Who really wants to go up to the boss and say, "Boss, you know this project that my team and I are working on? It really sucks. Not only don't we have the skillset to complete it, but also the project itself won't help us become more competitive."

Yeah, I didn't think so... So what can a Young Leader do to help his/her organization "Confront the Brutal Facts"? Well, it all comes down to creating an environment which has the goal of continuous organic improvement.
  • Have "blameless autopsies" - After the fact, we need to find out "What went wrong" not "Who screwed up". If we develop a culture that focuses only on the facts and what we can do to improve, people will come out and tell you the truth. They will give genuine feedback about how they feel to YOU not just under their breath at the water cooler.
  • Lead with questions - Until we get to this point where people will openly discuss the organization's and their own faults, you will have to lead with questions. I can't tell you exactly what to ask, but "What if..." questions are probably the best. "What if we did this... how would productivity improve? What if we did that... would people find it easier to do their work?"
  • Have open debate and dialogue - This is one of those "obvious" things that nobody does. However, one thing to keep in mind is that a very powerful and charismatic personality can actually impede this. Think about it... people who are good at convincing might just convince the rest of the team that everything is fine, when they aren't.
  • Create "red flag" mechanisms - These are a good start to getting towards the ultimate goal of culture of continuous improvement. You need to create a set of benchmarks... efficiency standards, quality standards, measures of morale, etc... and if any of these dip below a certain point you push the big red button and "Stop the presses!!" This is the important part. You need to find benchmarks that are critical enough that you will be committed to meet them or else have to spend the energy to ask the right questions, confront the brutal facts, and fix the problems.
Confronting the brutal facts can be tough. As Jack Nicholson said "You can't handle the truth!" For many people they can't. But hopefully all you Young Leaders out there will learn to be able to. Until next time.

-Jason