Encouragement for Leaders

In one of my seminars last year, we did an opening ice-breaker on the topic of, “What
interesting or extraordinary person have you met?” I was expecting answers
like, “I stood next to Robin Williams at a bike shop … ,” or something along
those lines. To my surprise, we spent the next hour-and-a-half listening to
some remarkable stories.

One of the very first people to speak set the tone.

She didn’t talk about anyone who was rich, or famous, or had celebrity, but instead,
she spoke from her heart about a person she knew who had made a huge impact on
her.  And from then on, everyone thought a bit more deeply about the real people they admire. Emotion began to come out, as we heard stories about friends, spouses, autistic children, acquaintances, and coworkers.

These were ordinary people who had an extraordinary impact. But how?

Since this is the first article in this years’ series on the “High Points of
Leadership,” we’re looking at the Top-10 things that managers most want to know
about leadership. The study revealed their most common question was about
motivation and inspiration. “How can I get employees engaged and excited about
their jobs? What really motivates? How do I inspire them when morale is so
low?”

So let’s go back to the seminar for a moment.

It seems to me there were two common denominators in these stories that morning.

First, people inspired others by the way they approached their lives. Oftentimes, it
was in how they faced difficulties. They were the ones who stayed positive, overcame
obstacles, and met life’s challenges with amazing grace. They were persistent,
and met adversity head-on. Problems didn’t slow them down or get in their way,
because they had things to get done. They knew their purpose in life.

These people showed a certain “inner strength.” Or “resilience.”

Secondly, their impact came from doing things for others, not for themselves. They showed great compassion and caring for people, and went out of their way to do
something tangible. Oftentimes, these weren’t great individual achievements,
but the outcome of many small, meaningful acts repeated on a regular basis, which
became big.

My thought is this. Your ability to motivate and inspire comes directly from
inside you. Who you are, and what you’re doing. It’s a measurement of your
willingness to serve others, and how well you extend an invitation to join you
in doing something significant.

This is not the rah-rah approach.

You can Google “improving employee morale,” if you just want some little tips, and
techniques. There are some good ideas, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re
interested in the real stuff – invest your effort in the long-term process of becoming
a person of substance – someone worthy of admiration. Be humble. Be good.

Then you won’t have to try to inspire anyone – you just will.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit www.JerryStrom.com. New subscribers receive notice
of new articles automatically (see the ‘Register’ link in the right hand
column).

*‘The High Points Survey: What Managers Most Want to Know about
Leadership,’ copyright 2012, by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Download the
White Paper at: http://www.jerrystrom.com/js_high-points.html

A hard winter freeze in Arizona of all places has left my lemon tree with dead, dry, brown leaves. When I first saw what had happened to this formerly prolific bearer of good fruit, I wondered if it could, or would, come back to life?

Was this the end of the line or did it need a severe pruning? Fertilizer? Water and sun? Or, would the only solution to its ‘deadness’ be its removal and replacement?

How could something that had been so bountiful, simply lose its usefulness?

It makes me consider how easily it is for workers to lose their fruitfulness through an unwise act of their manager, or leader. A Bureau of Prisons employee once told me of the tears in his co-worker’s eyes, when the new warden decided to ‘clean up the entrance’ to the prison by having its row of trees cut down, and burned. “I planted that tree,” he said, in great pain and sadness. Years before, a tree planting initiative had been a morale builder in that workplace … now, it had become a morale buster for that employee. The warden either didn’t know, or worse yet, didn’t care.

The result was a worker who became broken, and bitter. A hard freeze set in.

This happens way too often as employees experience decisions, self-serving motivations, or just plain poor methods by their leaders. Once healthy relationships between worker and workplace are strained – possibly damaged beyond repair.

In 1964, Trini Lopez sang a hit song entitled ‘Lemon Tree’ – a story of loss, bitterness, and disappointment. It chronicles how fragile relationships are, and how easily things can be harmed.

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to promote growth … not only to the bottom-line or the results on which you are measured … but to the people you need to produce those outcomes. Try to be aware of them, how they feel, if they’ve gone cold, or what their response is to their work environment. Some warmth toward them, understanding and a sincere recognition of their conditions, will help keep them from losing their productivity.

“Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet. (lyrics)”

I’m beginning to see some new growth.

– Jerry
For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit www.JerryStrom.com. Subscribers receive notice of new articles automatically (see the ‘Register’ link in the right hand column).

In an encounter with an Iraq veteran, the soldier mentioned his tent was located right beneath the “big voice.” I took this to mean a loudspeaker, because he said the frequency of announcements made it extremely hard to get a restful sleep. Night and day it blared its messages, broadcasting them far and wide.

No trouble finding the voice in that camp.

The upside – constant communication kept people awake, aware, and informed … probably safer as well. The downside – people don’t work well if they can’t get some sleep. Keeping a balance of enough information, with enough time to let it sink in, would be a reasonable goal. This place seemed to have too much of a good thing.

I guess it shows it’s possible to over-communicate, but that seems to be an exception, not the rule. All of the employee surveys I’ve ever read say that people want more information, not less. Even where leaders have focused on increasing the frequency and depth of their messages, workers regularly report they’re not getting enough information.

There is a widespread hunger to be in-the-know.

Where this intersects with leadership is that it’s your responsibility to measure the ‘informed-ness’ of your employees. Not only the quantity of information they’re getting, but the quality, as well. The only way they can truly follow is when the path forward is well laid out, described in detail, and put out there. Please don’t confuse long speeches with saying something. Learn how to communicate directly, without the superfluous.

For some people, especially those more introverted, or shy, communication is difficult. Finding their voice may be a bit more challenging … but not impossible. People respond when you speak from the heart, with the intention to inform them, not impress them. You don’t need eloquent phrases … you need eloquent clarity. I saw a recent survey suggesting that high performing, proactive teams may actually be better served by introverted leaders. Would that mean that lower performing, less proactive teams may need a leader that’s a little more ‘out there’ in terms of his/her presence? Can’t say for sure, but it’s important to develop your ‘big voice,’ not in terms of volume, but in terms of the confidence you have in what you say, and the number of channels in which you project it.

Captain Michael Abrashoff, in taking command of the U.S.S. Benfold, developed a ‘big voice’ by making constant, off-the-cuff announcements to his crew about something he just learned (most times from a crewmember) and that from now on that’s how things will be done. He took the time to meet and interview every member of the crew (over 300 men and women). He regularly spent time on the crew decks during meals too meet and connect with them. He often brought high-profile, senior leaders into contact with his crew. He gave the crew’s spokesman a seat-at-the-table during the formal leadership meetings. The ‘big voice’ in this situation was not only the words he used, but the regular interactions he facilitated. He gave relatively inexperienced sailors big responsibilities … and backed them up when they made mistakes. He trained, and trained, and trained them. Credibility was an outcome. So was performance. The U.S.S. Benfold became the “best darn ship in the Navy.” (‘It’s Your Ship,’ book authored by Captain Michael Abrashoff).

So speak with the intent to connect. It’s not just information. It’s a relationship.

It will take some work, but your voice can grow. Give up control. Gain command. Go big.

–  Jerry

For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit www.JerryStrom.com. Subscribers receive notice of new articles automatically (see the ‘Register’ link in the right hand column).

I went to see the movie recently (True Grit) … and I came out pleasantly surprised. The one in theaters today is a rather nice adaptation of the old John Wayne classic. In my opinion, under most circumstances, you can count on the Coen Brothers to create a compelling story. It was. They did. Nice show.

What has caught my attention, beyond Oscar nominations, red carpet reviews, and the remarkable acting performance of 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, is the use of the word “stubborn” to describe her mindset in the movie. (In case you haven’t seen the show, it’s about, “A tough U.S. Marshal helping a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer.”)

Stubborn, to me, doesn’t accurately describe her. I’d rather them communicate the idea of “stick-to-it-ive-ness.” That’s a positive leadership attribute. In my book, it’s having unique clarity of what is important, not getting distracted, or talked out of it, or discouraged. It probably also means taking a measure of risk. There’s a leadership premium to be earned by your ability to overcome obstacles, and reach the result you imagined. Hailee’s character, Mattie Ross, accomplished that in the movie, and in the process helped her partners raise themselves up a bit, as well.

It’s a type of persistence that others admire.

Stubbornness just doesn’t have that same cache. A stubborn leader is one who doesn’t learn. Doesn’t care. Doesn’t impress anyone but themselves. It’s a shame that many of us feel that we only encounter inspiration in fictional tales – seldom in the actions of our leaders.  We may believe we more often experience stubbornness than we do persistence.

Maybe a fine line separates the two. But the distinction between them is vast.  True grit in the character of the leader makes for a great story.

—  Jerry

For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit www.JerryStrom.com.  Subscribers receive notice of new articles automatically (see the ‘Register’ link in the right hand column).

So here we go. A construction project to begin offering a free leadership training resource to all who are interested in growing in their ability to effectively lead others. Articles will be posted, and your comments will be solicited … so all who participate can be both learner and teacher. It’s a collaborative effort. Soon (debut by summer 2011).

www.JerryStrom.com