2009 Leadership Message-Make your Heart Sing

At the end of the year it is a perfect time to take stock of where we have been and where we want to go.  I think the last year has been painful for many people, so I would like to send a message of strength for the New Year— My favorite naturalist and outdoors writer is Rick Bass.  He has written Winter: Notes from Montana, The  Nine Mile Wolves and Deer Pasture.  In many of his books he writes about the beauty and freedom of nature  and his struggle to find a place where he can make a living.  The following excerpt from Wild to the Heart, Norton 1987, a collection of essays about a journey of passion, renewal and freedom is perfect message for us all. In world that many times asks us to make false choices Rick Bass provides hope and inspiration about the power of nature and man’s ability to lead a life of purpose. Enjoy the New Year and always remain–wild at heart.  

Here is Rick’s touching and uplifting message– “ If it’s wild to your own heart, protect it. Preserve it. Love it. And fight for it, and dedicate yourself to it, whether it’s a mountain range, your wife , your husband, or (heaven forbid) your job. It doesn’t matter if it’s what makes your heart sing, if it’s what makes your days soar like a hawk in the summertime,  then focus on it. Because for sure, it’s wild, and if it’s wild,  it’ll mean you are free. No matter where you are.” 

Let’s Get The Record Straight

When the interests of business subvert the public good, courageous leaders step forward speak truthfully, clearly and concisely on behalf of the greater intergenerational politic.  This goes against the grain of today’s quarter to quarter wall street point of view.  The forces aligned against the voices who dare to speak the truth will effect change only so long as they are willing to speak up.

Obama Leadership Effect #1-Executive Presence

He seems to really have it? Do you have it? What is it? I am talking about how people are hired, promoted or identified in buiness and politics as a rising “star”. The  language used in such discussions is vague and sometimes superficial. But two words  that keep showing up are executive presence.  During the Democratic campaign Joe Biden, tried in a very clumsy way, to describe Obama’s executive presence or appeal when he said : “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean that’s a storybook, man.”

Overcoming Leader-Presenter Performance Perfectionism

At first look, perfectionism must be measured against reality and reasonable expectations given experience and skill levels. It can be a motivator for improvement but also can be an inhibitor for performance and self-concept development. Sometimes it appears when a person uses severe and negative self-talk! Usually, a presenter who lacks confidence in their ability or focuses on their short comings can be root causes for this common problem. 

Obama Leadership Effect #4: Creating Authentic and Unique Connections

People’s emotions are rarely put into words, far more often they are expressed through other non-verbal cues. The key to intuiting another’s feelings is in the ability to read nonverbal channels: tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions, eyes, and the like. Sensing what others feel, without their saying so, captures the interpersonal sensitivity needed by leaders to demonstrate empathy. The essence of high level empathy is listening to the heart of others and correctly understanding their feelings and circumstances (Covey, 1996).   Meta-communication and non-verbal communication are documented by Merhiban and his associates as the most powerful element in making a positive impact on audiences. This research by Merhiban estimates that actual content or words only have a 7% impact on an audience.

Obama Leadership Effect # 3 An Approach to Achieving Common Ground

When it comes to disagreements we tend to think in the context of winners and losers. Two opposing sides battle for victory and bragging rights, and in the end, someone inevitably comes out on top. In this past election Dems came out on top so why is Obama not slamming the  “Religious Right” who tried over the last three decades to destroy civility with their dogmatic approach to social issues. Maybe it is because he has a more developed sense of how to disagree with out being disagreeable. Remember, that he has often said in the campaign, that in order to bring the nation together on social issues that we must find ways to bring people together who don’t have a lot in common and try to find common ground.

Berrnie Madoff -How Smart Investors get Burned?

In academic circles, the theory of cognitive dissonance is one of the most extensively studied. Developed by social psychologist, Leon Festinger in 1956,  cognitive dissonance is defined as a theory of human motivation and decision making asserting that holding  contradictory ideas, attitudes or beliefs makes people uncomfortable. These unpleasant feelings of dissonance motivate people to change, justify or rationalize their position, attitudes and behavior. If they take action this could help them returm to a state of equilibrium.  Now let’s see how this theory might apply to the $ 50 billion Ponzi scheme run by Wall Street money manager Bernard L. Madoff. How did sophisticated investors and financial experts justify the returns that Madoff achieve for many years? What made them stick with the fund when rumors about returns were not consistent with other funds and market conditions?

Job Seekers- Remember the Power of First Impressions

In tough economic times job seekers must remember that positive “first impressions” boost the chances of being hired by 90%. Previous Social Psychological studies have documented the common experience that many people base their judgments of others on limited information and extremely thin slices of behavioral observations or interactions. This is known as the Power of first Impressions (PFI). When meeting people the first few seconds and minutes can work for or against you. In many situations, doctor- patient, interviewer-interviewee, and dating the first impression can be very enduring.  What causes these snap judgments? How to you overcome the downside of first impressions when looking for a job? 

Leadership Development Experience: Finding Balance in Life

It is difficult around holiday times to not feel stressed and tired. So I thought I would share a little experience from the Center for Creative Leadership. I took part in a four day Leadership Development Program (LDP). This powerful personal development and assessment workshop included 360 feedback assessment from peers, boss and employees. The 360 identify areas of strength and improvement in many leadership functions such as setting goals and objectives, ability to influence others, effectiveness in communicating and delegation, team decision making and problem solving and our impact on coaching others. The workshop was very interactive and informative. We took the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the FIRO-B interpersonal relations and behavior inventory, and the California Psychological Inventory. Information and insights from these instruments was provided to us in a one-on-one feedback session with a coach.  In addition there were opportunities to assess our interaction in small groups working on presentation,coaching and decision making and problem solving skills.  The total experience was very impactful and rewarding in my development.

Trust is…

As Congress contemplates an auto loan or bailout for the automotive industry I started pondering that at the core of this issue is trust. When we look at organizations and their employees, union and management  adversarial relationships, political candidate promises, teams that are working together to solve scientific and health problems, doctor-patient relationships, family members, and relationships in general  trust is the glue that holds them together. Without trust, listening and understanding are impossible, connecting with others difficult, and collobration to solve problems next to impossible. To be trustworty means to be dependable or that you can be counted on to do what you said you will do (DWYSYWD).

Obama Effect #2–Magic of Self-Confidence

 

“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” Eleanor Roosevelt

 

The secret to successful and effective speaking is self-confidence. It impacts our speaking performance in subtle and powerful ways. If you watch President-Elect Obama, his confidence impacts your perception of his steadiness and calm. This is a key attribute for leaders in connecting with diverse audiences.

Teaching “Old dogs new Tricks”

There is an old saying that you can’t “teach old dogs new tricks”. I disagree because the underlying philosophy of this quote forgets that the steps to learning are: 1). Focusing on the awareness and attitude of the learner (get their attention); 2). Modeling desired behavior; 3). Practice and feedback about our progress toward changing behavior; 4). Replace the old with the new through positive reinforcement using the 5:1 rule (five positive comments for every negative one).  This smart approach follows a more enlighten philosophy supported by Andrew Bandrua, a guru in social learning, who said, to change behavior you must first change a person’s thinking”.

 

Leadership and Effective Communication: Ability or Attitude

To meet the challenges of success in the work place, one skillset continues to underpin all others, the ability to effectively communicate with customers, peers, associates, bosses and board of directors. Yet many leaders believe that you either have this skill or you don’t.  This viewpoint seems to be a little bit shallow and off the mark. For example, a recent survey by The Ken Blanchard Companies identified that forty-one percentof people polled (1,400 employees from all levels of 10+ organizations) identified extreme disatisfaction with leaders ability to communicate in an open and productive way. It ranked as the number one mistake leaders make.