The Ten Pillars of Leadership and Business Development
Leadership is any influence relationship that brings about
change…this can be a teacher/student relationship, a
parent/child relationship, a politician/citizen relationship, a
business owner/employee relationship, a community
leader/volunteer relationship and peer/peer relationship. These
ten guiding principles can support leaders in becoming trusted
by their followers and for withstanding the challenges of
today’s ever-changing world.
(1) Leaders must be willing to be highly visible during crisis.
Enron, WorldCom and Martha Stewart…Their greed and fraud have
further eroded trust in people around the world, and as a
result, corporations and business owners are now operating with
a brand new set of rules. Building trust requires a special
effort on behalf of the CEO or Business Owner to communicate
openly, honestly, and often…especially during crisis or tough
times. During a crisis, the stakeholders want to hear from their
leader…they don’t want to hear from his or her spokesperson.
They not only want to hear from the person at they top…they want
to engage in open communication that involves the sharing of
information and ideas, and they want to know that their voice
has been heard. During turbulent times, it is important to take
advantage of all types of opportunities for communication,
including open forums, task forces, breakfast meetings, the
media, one on one meetings, and stakeholder surveys. More formal
forms of communication strategies include the 360 degree
feedback assessment or a full communications audit (which may
take 2-6 months to complete.) The goal is to communicate openly
and often and to continue assessing your communications program
every day to insure that a culture of trust is being maintained.
(2) Leaders must be willing to take a stand- based on their
vision and their values.
This does not happen in a vacuum…leaders must be willing to
admit that they need strong support from an executive coach or a
strong mentor who can guide them to doing the tough internal
work required to shift their thinking and to get off the ego
trip that many leaders live . They must be willing to carefully
explore their values and how they can move their companies in
the direction of a vision that is unwavering. This takes
boldness, and a leader’s stand must be nailed into the ground
and secured with cement…the stand must be so strong that the
leader does not become “wishy-washy” during tough times and in
the face of controversy. Consistency is key, and the leader must
know and believe in his or her stand on a very deep level…from
the heart…not because the public relations director or Chief
of Staff told him or her what to do or say. This is a genuine
stand that is driven by the leader’s authentic value system that
never changes.
(3) Leaders must be willing to be fully engaged with the four
focus areas of their being: physically, emotionally, mentally
and spiritually.
These areas of being must also be congruent with the leader’s
environment. Leaders of today must be willing to be fully
engaged…physically fit, emotionally balanced, mentally tough,
and spiritually centered. Leading a strong life is a quest that
many leaders run from, because it can be tough, but it is
crucial if he/she wants to engage followers in a way that is
trusting. I cannot help but think about Tiger Woods when I think
about leaders being fully engaged. He is an example of a world
leader who is a model of what I am describing. His body is fit,
his mind is sharp, his emotions are solid, and his spiritual
presence is inspiring. He is being followed by young men from
all corners of the world and viewed as an inspiring model and
mentor in the world of golf.
In addition to strengthening the four areas of being, leaders
must be willing to create a strong environment…one that is
congruent with leading a strong life. The environment must be
clean, clutter-free and optimized for speed, efficiency, and
effectivness. The people and network surrounding the leader must
be moving forward and fundamentally strong, and the activities
leaders choose must point to a life that is built for change and
is rock solid. If the environment is not congruent with the
goals a leader seeks, her resources, energy, and effectiveness
will become drained over time, and people will no longer be
willing and loyal followers. They will seek a stronger leader to
turn to for direction and hope.
(4) Leaders must be willing to build deep pockets of social
capital by designing a network based on diversity.
In the book “Achieving Success through Social Capital”, author
Wayne Baker advocates the building of networks based on
diversity, In chapter 2, he states: “Diversity provides the
benefits of multiple perspectives on problems, protection
against groupthink, and enhanced ability to collect, process,
and digest information. Management teams with members from
diverse functional background, for example, perform better than
homongenous management teams.” Building a diverse network is a
crucial step in leaders being able to build a strong business
and personal life. It is not uncommon to see leaders develop
homongenous networks…known commonly as cliques. This is a
dangerous approach, because the network does not develop the
arms and legs it needs to reach the four corners of the globe,
to get the resources and knowledge it needs, and it can actually
cave in on itself, pulling the company down with it. By reaching
into different cultures, ages, geographical locations,
educational backrounds, and belief systems, leaders can build
networks that will yield the biggest results and that will be
sustainable over time.
(5) Leaders must be willing to overcome the growing tide of
cynicism in the business world and define an upbeat style of
leadership.
In the article “A Prescription for Leading in Cynical Times”
authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of the Leadership
Challenge discuss this in detail. Cynics are evident in every
company in the world. They usually believe that human conduct is
motivated by self- interest, and they have a disbelief about the
integrity of others. They have high expectations of the world,
and they are continually disappointed when the people in their
lives don’t meet those expectations. To begin working with this
challenge, leaders must be willing to drop their own cynical
“The World Stinks” attitude and develop the qualities that
others say are important to leadership such as integrity,
competency, the ability to relate, visioning, inspiration and
the drive the build a thriving and cohesive team.
(6) Leaders must be willing to push the edges of innovation.
I want to begin by talking about the difference between
innovation and creativity. William Coyne, senior vice president
for R&D at 3M once described the difference: “Creativity is
thinking of new and appropriate ideas whereas innovation is the
successful implementation of those ideas within an organization.
In other words creativity is the concept and innovation is the
process.” Innovation always involves treading into uncertain
waters, and entering a new territory can be challenging, even
for the most creative of thinkers. Yet falling behind can be a
great deal worse than taking the risk to stretch and grow into
new markets with new ventures. If companies are to move into the
future, leaders must be willing to push the edges of innovation
each and every day. Executing an experimental venture requires
planning, and it requires revisiting ideas that your company may
have put on the shelf years ago, and whose time has now come. It
is about zeroing in on the best possible strategy, discovering
what systems are needed and what processes will be required to
get the job done and to come out on the profit side of the
venture. Your new offering should meet the demands of your
customers and should be an improvement over the way things are
currently being done. As Nike says “Just Do It.” Start today to
begin the process of innovation, and see what comes about for
the future of your company…you may just be surprised!
(7) Leaders must be willing to show their employees that they
love and care for them.
There is one truth in life that I firmly believe: With the
showing of love and concern, people begin to feel wonderful and
more worthy, and their productivity will triple in an
environment that is loving. The book “Love is the Killer App” by
Tim Sanders focuses on what it takes to create a true “Love Biz”
by the giving and showing of compassion, resources, and
knowledge without the expectation of anything in return. People
will do business with people they like, and this “Love Cat” way
of doing business often strikes an uncomfortable chord with
leaders who are insecure about their own abilities or who view a
show of love, empathy, and compassion as a sign of weakness.
People have to know on a very deep level that their leaders care
about them, their future, and their growth. With this loving
approach to leading, the talent in organizations will grow, and
a sense of self confidence and commitment will inspire
individuals at every level of the company.
(8) Leaders must be willing to listen to the grapevine and then
build a sense of community based on what he/she hears in the
grapevine.
One of my favorite leaders in my local community is Dan Landis,
the Director of Sales and Marketing for St. Joseph of the Pines,
a life care community in North Carolina. He is one leader who I
see as truly being bold…he actively places himself every day in
the middle of the firing line. He spends much of his day talking
to residents, sitting down and eating lunch with them, and
stopping them in the hall to simply ask “How are you…What can I
do for you today? What are the problems you are having? How can
I help? ” He does not stop with the residents. He goes on to
exercise this same approach with employees of St. Joseph of the
Pines. Dan is a leader who is developing a very deep
understanding of the collective issues and desires of the
customers of St. Joseph of the Pines…both the employees and the
residents. He is building a sense of community based on shared
values, and he is taking people to places they have never been
before. Not only does he listen…he acts, bringing quick
solutions to the problems he hears and the desires he knows are
in the hearts of the people he leads.
Every company has a grapevine, and it is not uncommon for
companies to have a grapevine that spreads negative messages,
complaints, and rumors. These messages and rumors can seriously
undermine the morale of any company. Leaders must be willing to
do as Dan Landis does…listen to the grapevine, and use it as a
feedback mechanism to highlight key issues that customers and
employees consider relevant enough to whisper about at the water
fountain and in the community. Leaders can also use the
grapevine to monitor which employees and customers are more
likely to pass information along, so that the impact of the
grapevine can be reduced.
(9) Leaders must be devoted to continuous improvement.
Leadership development is mandatory for CEOs and Executive Team,
but it is also a necessary part of training for every person in
the organization. So many business leaders of today see
leadership development as “fluff” and “soft” but the truth of
the matter is that leadership development can improve bottom
line profits and productivity. By listening to an employee who
is on the front line, and acknowledging her value, a leader can
create loyal internal customers and can bring innovative ideas
to the table which can grow a company by leaps and bounds. By
strengthening team communication, a leader can create a sense of
purpose, loyalty, and long-term commitment to the organization.
One thing to know about leadership development is this: Leaders
must not ask her followers to do what she is not willing to do.
. Many leaders will hire training for their company and will
then refuse to attend the training because they “don’t need it
or think they are beyond it.” This is, in my opinion, completely
out of integrity. The leader must first be a model of what is
expected in the area of training, development, and improvement,
and must be willing to fully participate in a training that the
front line is asked to attend. The leader must develop a culture
that sends the message that leadership development is not
another undesirable task but a new and fresh way to go about
work.
(10) Leaders must have a plan.
The late Christopher Reeve once said “If you don’t have a
vision, nothing happens.” Strategic planning is about the future
impact of decisions made today, and leaders must have a plan
that examines the necessities of today and tomorrow in light of
the organization’s vision, mission, values and goals. It is not
uncommon to find organizations that either don’t have a strong
strategic plan, or they have a plan that is sitting on a shelf
collecting dust. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Leaders
must realize that to fully implement change, to satisfy
customers, and to promote teamwork from the top to the bottom of
the organization, strategic changes must be made that are driven
by a clearly articulated vision, mission, and purpose. Once the
strategic plan is written, leaders can then take the steps
necessary to insure that all stakeholders are in alignment with
the strategic plan and that they are moving cohesively in the
direction of fulfilling the vision and mission of the company.
Many organizations will buy a “canned strategic plan” written by
an expensive consulting company, and they will try to fit their
round peg in the square hole of the canned plan. This is a BIG
MISTAKE! Leaders need to understand that the strategic plan is a
collaborative process implemented by key stakeholders in the
company, and the CEO or Business Owner must be involved in this
process. With a strong commitment and an experienced strategic
planning coach or facilitator, a company can create a solid plan
which meets the needs and demands of all stakeholders.