Like many of you I am a creature of habit. The patterns that permeate my thinking and influence my actions run silently in the background like the operating system controlling the keystrokes on my laptop computer while I prepare this blog for posting. My life is well served by these deeply engrained thought habits in most cases because they help me to sort through the clutter and chaos of my world and provide efficient ways to get things done.
For example, how I get dressed in the morning is the result of a thought pattern that has been tested and refined over the years. Whether my socks go on before my pants may not seem like a big deal but all of us have found resourceful ways to master the mundane tasks associated with getting dressed – patterns that work for us and that we do without much thought. These patterns are present in dozens of our activities at home and work. Without a pre-determined approach to the routine tasks of life we would lose precious time and likely face frustration as we go about our work.
Leaders sometimes fail to understand the impact that thought patterns have on their organizations, especially when faced with the need to change a process or deal with a pressing issue. It is difficult for most of us to embrace new ways of looking at old problems or to challenge the assumptions that drive our behaviors. Rather than dig deeply to find innovative ideas we often gravitate toward the solutions that seem familiar or require less risk. How many truly breakthrough concepts have never made it to market because we stopped searching when our thinking was pushed beyond our comfort zone?
Innovative thinking requires more than just a creative approach to problem solving. Many times the changes we seek never happen because our assessment of the problem is limited or focused on a symptom of a bigger issue. In our rush to relieve anxiety the real concern remains buried in the shadows of quick fixes and familiar patterns of thinking. It is hard to admit that the ridiculous, the silly, or the outrageous may harbor the next great idea. Vetting these takes more time and energy than most of us want to expend.
So we settle. Settle for less than stellar performance, productivity, ingenuity, and creativity. We embrace our familiar patterns of thought and behavior because it is easier, cheaper, and comfortable. Our organizations, processes, products, and services remain good but not excellent. The people we serve are forced to lower their expectations or find another vendor willing to offer something that is truly different.
On a trip to Atlanta this week, I watched a familiar pattern of thinking control the process for loading an airplane. Dozens of passengers, many with carry-on bags so they don’t need to pay extra fees, were boarded based on first-class versus coach, preferred mileage versus the rest, and by zones versus from back to front of the plane. Each time I experience this same stale and inefficient method for handling people I wonder why only Southwest Airlines has been willing to transform the boarding experience. Pattern thinking is the likely answer.
If you are looking for competitive advantages in a down economy you can resort to pattern thinking by laying off workers, closing production facilities, and trimming budgets. Or you can break those patterns by thinking differently through engaging in a search for innovative ideas and transformative processes. Leadership is more than managing efficiently; it is also about leading effectively. Being willing to think in new and different ways is one opportunity to do this. Maybe it’s time to put your socks on last, or not wear any at all.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Case for Not-for-Profit Leadership
Some of my clients and many of my business colleagues are part of the world we refer to as not-for-profit. There is no doubt our communities and nation are stronger because of the work these organizations perform on behalf of those persons in our society who lack a voice. Countless volunteers also benefit from their relationship with the not-for-profit community, which serves as an outlet for the deep passion many of them feel for the issues and problems facing our world.
In recent months I have also been confronted with the lack of leadership that permeates many of these enterprises – from executive directors that have violated the trust of their stakeholders to boards whose apathy toward the work they are charged to do is astounding. While many not-for-profits have strong and vibrant leadership there is growing evidence that some of our best advocates in the community are facing a real dearth of leadership. If this trend continues there will be a backlash from the donor community and some of the challenges facing the vulnerable in our towns and cities will go unmet.
One way not-for-profits can proactively address the looming leadership vacuum is to spend more time in recruiting, training, and evaluating board members. This might seem like stating the obvious but my observations indicate many institutions are woefully deficient in crafting and implementing board development programs. Few boards evaluate their own performance annually and many make no attempt to address poor behavior by individual members. Orientation processes for new or prospective members don’t exist or are poorly executed. Training programs to build board member skills are available in many areas but often attended only be the persons who already take their board role seriously.
In recent years many chambers of commerce have initiated community leadership programs to specifically prepare participants for potential participation on a not-for-profit board or local government committee. While these offerings have addressed the need for board volunteers, the programs don’t always equip these leaders with the skills needed to effectively serve in their new roles. Without strong proficiencies in collaboration, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, creative thinking, problem solving, ethics, diversity, fundraising, and behavioral styles the impact of a new crop of committed and energetic leaders will be largely muted.
Not-for-profits exist to impact their community – to serve as advocates for public policy, to address the unmet needs of society’s most vulnerable populations, and to change perceptions about how things get done. Government at every level has proven its inability to tackle many of our most persistent social issues so we need strong not-for-profits even more. Its time for every grassroots and national organization dedicated to making our world a better place to look in the mirror. Are you being transparent with your stakeholders? Is your board well trained and highly engaged? Do your executive director and staff have a reputation beyond reproach?
Working or volunteering in a not-for-profit is more than a calling; it is a sacred trust and responsibility. There is no room for arrogance and ego. If your organization isn’t monitoring itself and cultivating a strong culture of accountability with its staff and board maybe its time to admit you have a problem. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I rest my case.
In recent months I have also been confronted with the lack of leadership that permeates many of these enterprises – from executive directors that have violated the trust of their stakeholders to boards whose apathy toward the work they are charged to do is astounding. While many not-for-profits have strong and vibrant leadership there is growing evidence that some of our best advocates in the community are facing a real dearth of leadership. If this trend continues there will be a backlash from the donor community and some of the challenges facing the vulnerable in our towns and cities will go unmet.
One way not-for-profits can proactively address the looming leadership vacuum is to spend more time in recruiting, training, and evaluating board members. This might seem like stating the obvious but my observations indicate many institutions are woefully deficient in crafting and implementing board development programs. Few boards evaluate their own performance annually and many make no attempt to address poor behavior by individual members. Orientation processes for new or prospective members don’t exist or are poorly executed. Training programs to build board member skills are available in many areas but often attended only be the persons who already take their board role seriously.
In recent years many chambers of commerce have initiated community leadership programs to specifically prepare participants for potential participation on a not-for-profit board or local government committee. While these offerings have addressed the need for board volunteers, the programs don’t always equip these leaders with the skills needed to effectively serve in their new roles. Without strong proficiencies in collaboration, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, creative thinking, problem solving, ethics, diversity, fundraising, and behavioral styles the impact of a new crop of committed and energetic leaders will be largely muted.
Not-for-profits exist to impact their community – to serve as advocates for public policy, to address the unmet needs of society’s most vulnerable populations, and to change perceptions about how things get done. Government at every level has proven its inability to tackle many of our most persistent social issues so we need strong not-for-profits even more. Its time for every grassroots and national organization dedicated to making our world a better place to look in the mirror. Are you being transparent with your stakeholders? Is your board well trained and highly engaged? Do your executive director and staff have a reputation beyond reproach?
Working or volunteering in a not-for-profit is more than a calling; it is a sacred trust and responsibility. There is no room for arrogance and ego. If your organization isn’t monitoring itself and cultivating a strong culture of accountability with its staff and board maybe its time to admit you have a problem. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I rest my case.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Crisis Leadership
I missed last week’s posting because my wife and I were celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary. The two weeks since I last shared my thoughts about leadership have seen a tremendous upheaval in global financial markets, including a precipitous decline in the U.S. stock market that has many Americans living in fear about their retirement futures. Coupled with the current housing slump, a slowdown in our economy, and the presidential election cycle there is more uncertainty in our country than many of us have ever experienced.
A crisis begs for strong leadership but what does that really mean or look like? It might be easier to identify what crisis leadership is not. Leading in a crisis is not about affixing blame. While it is always easier to abdicate responsibility by pointing fingers at others, a crisis needs leaders to simply speak the truth, as they currently know it. Even if an answer isn’t apparent, or the pain is difficult to bear, a leader can acknowledge these facts in an empathetic way to begin calming fears. Blaming others only diverts emotional energy and does little to change behaviors.
Leading in a crisis is not about fixing things. Certainly we want our leaders to have answers to the problems we face but no leader has enough intelligence, creativity, or skills to make complex problems disappear. Instead, leaders need to elicit our trust by not over-promising and then under-delivering. When leaders approach a crisis as though they are the only ones who can rescue us from the challenges, then a wealth of ingenuity, innovation, and shared responsibility lodged in the minds and hearts of the people is lost. Employees and citizens must be part of the solution, not viewed as sideline observers.
Crisis leadership has nothing to do with taking credit for a proposed solution, especially if it is successful. Most problems are far too complex to solve by oneself. A leader who collaborates by bringing together experts that know more than he or she does stands a better chance of achieving a sustainable resolution to the issue being addressed. If you must always be recognized for finding the right answer those around you will stop offering their opinions.
What has been missing in this most recent crisis in our nation’s economy is real leadership. The partisan politics, lack of accountability, unwillingness to tell the truth, and inability to gain the trust of our citizens should be a wake up call. Where are the leaders who will sacrifice personal gain for the public good? Who has enough will and moral character to admit they don’t know all the answers? Which of our current presidential candidates has the emotional capital to rally our nation to solve these pressing problems? Is there any leadership at a national, state, or local level who is offering us hope?
I don’t pretend to know the best way to deal with every crisis, especially the financial one we are facing as a nation. Yet I also know that the sky is not falling and the world is not ending. If only our leaders would be braver and smarter than “Chicken Little.” Maybe they should read the story of the “Little Red Hen.”
A crisis begs for strong leadership but what does that really mean or look like? It might be easier to identify what crisis leadership is not. Leading in a crisis is not about affixing blame. While it is always easier to abdicate responsibility by pointing fingers at others, a crisis needs leaders to simply speak the truth, as they currently know it. Even if an answer isn’t apparent, or the pain is difficult to bear, a leader can acknowledge these facts in an empathetic way to begin calming fears. Blaming others only diverts emotional energy and does little to change behaviors.
Leading in a crisis is not about fixing things. Certainly we want our leaders to have answers to the problems we face but no leader has enough intelligence, creativity, or skills to make complex problems disappear. Instead, leaders need to elicit our trust by not over-promising and then under-delivering. When leaders approach a crisis as though they are the only ones who can rescue us from the challenges, then a wealth of ingenuity, innovation, and shared responsibility lodged in the minds and hearts of the people is lost. Employees and citizens must be part of the solution, not viewed as sideline observers.
Crisis leadership has nothing to do with taking credit for a proposed solution, especially if it is successful. Most problems are far too complex to solve by oneself. A leader who collaborates by bringing together experts that know more than he or she does stands a better chance of achieving a sustainable resolution to the issue being addressed. If you must always be recognized for finding the right answer those around you will stop offering their opinions.
What has been missing in this most recent crisis in our nation’s economy is real leadership. The partisan politics, lack of accountability, unwillingness to tell the truth, and inability to gain the trust of our citizens should be a wake up call. Where are the leaders who will sacrifice personal gain for the public good? Who has enough will and moral character to admit they don’t know all the answers? Which of our current presidential candidates has the emotional capital to rally our nation to solve these pressing problems? Is there any leadership at a national, state, or local level who is offering us hope?
I don’t pretend to know the best way to deal with every crisis, especially the financial one we are facing as a nation. Yet I also know that the sky is not falling and the world is not ending. If only our leaders would be braver and smarter than “Chicken Little.” Maybe they should read the story of the “Little Red Hen.”
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