2009-01-06T23:13:08Z John Baldoni Copyright 2009, John Baldoni SPHPBLOG Team of Rivals in 2005, her study President Lincoln’s bipartisan leadership during the Civil War, it seemed curiously out of step with presidential politics. That year may have been the apogee of the Bush Administration’s unilateral leadership style. Bush and his senior team, notably Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld, prided themselves on doing things their way without airing alternate views and certainly without bridging internal dissent. Soon enough mismanagement of the Hurricane Katrina cleanup and the War in Iraq prompted a second look at the Bush team’s imperious style.

Today we watch how president-elect Barack Obama assemble his own team of rivals, notably Hillary Clinton who ran against him the Democratic primary. In political discourse, the term, “team of rivals,” used as a suggestion for building consensus. With our economy in wretched shape, struggling to cope with rising commodity, oil, and even food prices, partisanship rings hollow. And so what President Lincoln practiced during the Civil War seems a more apt model of management during crisis and one from which managers at every level can learn.

Assemble rivals . It is customary to form teams of people who support you. Lincoln, in managing a war that had torn the nation apart, realized that he would need to hold to the center therefore he peopled his cabinet with political opponents. This can be risky in corporate management, but if you at least hire for difference, that is, people who think differently you have a greater chance of surfacing ideas that may bridge the middle road.

Tolerate dissent. Group think is the enemy of enlightenment. Few leaders have been as castigated as Lincoln was about his war strategy. Lincoln invited disagreement and as a result cycled through commanders in chief with regularity until he found one that stood out, Ulysses S. Grant. Likewise managers need to make it safe for people to disagree; otherwise everyone hews to the same old ways of thinking and doing.

Hold to the mission . Preservation of the Union was all that mattered to Lincoln. That, too, was the unifier of his cabinet. And so it must be for any team. While people can disagree about tactics and even strategies, everyone must submit to the mission. Otherwise, there can be no consensus, and consequently little productivity.

Trust yourself . Abraham Lincoln was a president steeled by hard times. Death was often a close neighbor and he likely suffered from depression. But he knew himself and his strengths. He did not fear the egos or the machinations of his cabinet. Lincoln was comfortable in his own skin yet no so vain as to think more. As he said, “the question was not whether God is on our side but rather that we are on His.”

The style of management practiced by President Lincoln during the Civil War proved so successful that President Franklin Roosevelt emulated it during the management of Second World War. Prior to America’s entry into the war, Roosevelt publicly spoke of keeping America out of war; off stage, Roosevelt was doing all he could to prepare the nation for war. To achieve that balancing act, as well as to hold the nation together during wartime, he needed to have both Republicans and Democrats on his side and in his cabinet.

Source:
Doris Kearns Goodwin Team of Rivals New York: Simon & Schuster 2005]]> http://www.baldoniconsulting.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090105-092042 2009-01-05T00:00:00Z 2009-01-05T00:00:00Z
The Lions have not won a title since 1957, posting losing records in most of those years and winning one playoff game. Woeful does not begin to describe Lions miseries; they have found new ways to lose. In the second game of this season, the Lions found themselves down by three touchdowns but clawed back to be up by one point, only to surrender 24 points, including three TDs in 84 seconds. In game fifteen, the New Orleans Saints scored a TD the first SEVEN times they touched the ball. Their punter never even entered the game.

Losing becomes the Lions; this year the team has yet to win a game, becoming the first team in NFL history to post a 0-15 record. How Lionsesque! So what you can you learn about leadership from studying the Lions?

Hire the unproven. Matt Millen had never managed anything prior to becoming president and general manager of the Lions. True he was a star player and a very good announcer. His people skills left much to be desired and as a result, he ran roughshod over staffers and coaches, posting the worst record of any general manager in NFL history. In his first seven seasons, his teams posted 31 wins and 81 losses, 50 games under .500. [When the person in charge is incompetent, competence is a wish. Millen was fired mid-season in 2008 but the Lions kept on losing.]

Change systems with regularity . Under Millen, coaches came and went, four in seven years. Excluding the interim coach, each brought in new offensive and defensive schemes. Consistency was further complicated with a succession of coordinator coaches, each with his own ideas about how to run plays. Just as players get a feel for the system, a new coach comes in and changes everything. Without consistency, people lose focus and direction.

Waste talent . The Lions have drafted high and have landed a few good players. One reason such players have little impact is because they are put into coaching schemes ill-suited to their talents. Good coaches put their players into positions where they can succeed. Just the opposite occurs with the Lions. More painfully, discipline is missing. Talented players have been allowed to loaf in practice (even in games), break team rules, and even get in trouble with the law with little or no consequence. When little is asked of employees, little will be delivered, or gained.

Hovering above all of these issues is the ownership . William Clay Ford, grandson of Henry, has owned the team since the early Sixties. You will not find a more genial or more loyal owner than Mr. Ford. He has invested in top-quality facilities, including a state of the art stadium in downtown Detroit. [Taxpayers were not asked to spend a dime.] The problem is that Ford is too nice; his loyalty in his staff overrides common sense. The lack of accountability within the Lions organization is tangible, and until accountability is truly instilled nothing ever will change. And that may be the ultimate leadership lesson. When an owner does not hold his people accountable, he renders his authority meaningless and how power useless.
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Finding a new job is seldom easy and it is twice as hard in hard times like now. The older you are the harder it is. The greater your experience and your skill level the tougher it can be to find the right match.

Critical to finding a new job is preparation. Sometimes personal finances will dictate that you find something ( anything ) fast. This is likely not a good idea but it is a reality. However, before you jump into the job of your dreams or the job of last resort, consider what you can do to prepare yourself. Often it is a matter of focus. While it may be one of the most used buzz words in the business lexicon, focus does matter. And here are some ways to apply it.

Focus on your purpose. Consider what motivates you. Ask yourself what you enjoy doing best and why you enjoy it. Perhaps you like working the details; or you may like operating as a big picture thinker. Consider what makes you happiest and then consider what you want to do next. It may be the same job for a different company or a totally new job in a totally new company. Developing a short purpose statement, (what want to do and how you will do it) may be helpful for you.

Focus on what you can do. Consider your skill set. Often these are your competencies, that is what you do best. Those new to the workplace will be relying on their technical skills; experienced managers want to focus on how they have leveraged their skills to lead others.

Focus on your presence . Anyone looking for a job in senior management must have presence, that is, a sense of leadership that inspires confidence in others. Doing this in a job interview is not easy, but you can work on it so that you present yourself with a strong sense of self awareness as well as a sense of optimism and confidence.

Focus on your messages . Think about how you will answer questions about yourself and your career. Develop short “elevator style” messages about what you have accomplished as well as what you have learned. Be candid when asked about failures and shortcomings. Demonstrate what you have learned from these mistakes. Be clear and concise. Writing such messages out prior to interviewing may be helpful. You don’t read them aloud, but you can rehearse and polish.

Focus on you. Consider where you want to be in six months or a year or even further out. What do you want to be doing once you get past the rough patch? Envisioning your future should stem from your purpose statement. Be specific about what you want to do. Also think about the impact that you want to have on your next organization and the people with whom you will be working.

Sharpening your focus may also be useful for exiting your current job, or reflecting on what happened during your tenure. No matter how talented you are, there are always opportunities for improvement. Consider what you did well as well as well as what you could to better. Ask yourself what you learned from the experience and how you will apply those lessons to the future.

Yup getting sacked sucks but so often, and for so many people, it can be a doorway to a new job, a new career and whole new life. Focusing on the possibilities will help you make the right decision for you.
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This is a lesson that leaders must learn in their own communications. Simplicity is good, but when you are too simple you end up sounding paternalistic, that is, speaking down to an audience. It is as if the leader does not trust the people listening to understand his own brilliance. That is a fallacy and it has cost many a leader, particularly corporate leaders the trust of their own people. So what can you do to keep things simple?

Set the hook . Every speaker wants to get people to listen to her. But how? Speechwriters call it “setting the hook,” that is, opening with something provocative that gets people to think about what you say. That provocation is intended to pique interest and get them to listen to more. For example, a leader might say something like, “Let us focus on the future and how we will get there.” Or she might turn it into a question, “Have you considered how you will help us achieve our future and what things will be like for you?” Both are appropriate starting points, but the second one involves the listener in the process. That will get people interested and encourage them to listen for more.

Provide back up . The hook can slip out, if the speaker is not careful. You need to supply information that supports your message so that people are sufficiently informed. What might this be? It’s the meat, or as marketers call it, the freight, the supporting documentation for your message. That is, if you are calling for an increase in production, you had better back that statement up with facts, figures and data that support your message. Likewise if you are asking people to support your call to action, you had better make certain tell them that following you is the right thing to do for the company. And if possible, why it is the right them for them as individuals. That can be a tough sell, but if the issue is important speakers must deliver on it.

Tell stories . One of the best ways to make your message come alive, and keep the hook firmly embedded in your listener’s consciousness, is to surround it with stories. All of us learn from stories; it is a primal form of communications. And so stories that support your message are critical. The stories may come from the pages of your newspaper or the annals of history. Often they may come from inside the doors of your own company. Talk up the desires to do something useful, the obstacles they have overcome, and the great results they have achieved.

Keeping it simple is not simplistic; it just makes good sense.
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Be present. Leaders need to be seen and heard. Leaders need to make their presence felt by walking the floor, stopping by the cubicle, and even eating in the cafeteria. Bosses I know who succeed are those that know everyone in their department, but more importantly everyone in the department knows the boss. Most often, each feels as if they could knock on the boss’s door and make their viewpoint heard.

Be open . Listen to what people say. Just listening conveys a sense of caring. It also opens the door for conversation about the workplace. Bosses do not mingle simply to schmooze; they do it with purpose, perhaps to learn more, problem-solve, or simply contribute advice. Listening is a powerful investment in the lives of your employees.

Be with us . When things get tough, be it an economic downturn or troublesome internal problem, people want to know their boss has their backside. A big complaint about Carly Fiorina’s leadership at Hewlett-Packard was the feeling that she saw herself apart from the others. To be fair, Ms. Fiorina was met with downright hostility when she pushed for the merger with Compaq and the culture of H-P resisted her new ideas. Yet even after the merger she was not perceived to be as one of the team. That sense of apartness eventually contributed to her exit from H-P.

One more point. In my experience employees rarely give two hoots about their CEO or senior leadership team unless that person connects with them in a genuine way. That point was driven home to me when I was interviewing employees of GM’s Saturn unit for a piece I was writing on the late Skip LeFauvre. The comments from white and blue collar, union and non-union, were remarkably similar; they adored him. Why? Because he was accessible to them. He went where the work was and engaged people in real conversations about the work and their lives. I know the feeling was mutual because Skip was long gone from Saturn by the time I was doing my research.

Authenticity has become sadly a buzz word co-opted by everyone from political commentators to corporate philosophers. Regardless, the sentiment remains. People want to know that their leaders are sincere and can be counted on to walk the talk, in good times and in bad.

]]> http://www.baldoniconsulting.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081201-083716 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z Question: I’m the project leader of my team. Everyone’s doing a pretty good job but there is one person who is not pulling his weight. He shows up late for meetings, does not contribute, and he never makes his deadlines. Plus, no one likes him. This has been going on for almost a year. What can I do Answer Man?

Answer man: First things first, stop covering for him. Obviously this person is not happy to be on your team but his lack of performance is a direct reflection of your management style. You’ve let this guy slide for a year? What are you thinking? That suddenly he’s going to wake up and turn into top performer. Stop kidding yourself and stop harming your team.

So here’s what you can do?

One, find out why he’s not performing. How? Ask him. Schedule a conversation to find out what he thinks about the work, your team, and your own management style. Rule out any personal issues at home that may cause him to miss deadlines. That is, does he have a sick spouse, a child with special needs, or an elderly parent who needs extra assistance.

If none of those applies to a degree that should hinder performance, then find out why he is not contributing. Often people like him have been turned off by the company in some way and so they act out their frustration by non performance. Is this stupid? Of course, but when people feel they have been mistreated they

Two, tell him that his non performance is unacceptable. Now, reach out. Ask him how he would like to contribute. Get him to make suggestions for improvement. Excuses are not acceptable; only suggestions.

Three, make it clear that you expect him to start improving or else. Define what “else” means. That is, if your team member does not come to meetings on time, contribute more work, or meet his deadlines he will be removed from the project.

Four, gain his agreement. The “else” is meaningless unless you give him a specific timeline for improvement and he agrees to it.

Five, follow up . Check back in a week to see how the person is doing. Stay vigilant. Make it clear that backsliding is not acceptable. If he shows improvement, thank him for pulling through. If he fails to live up to your agreement, then you must follow-through and remove him from your team.

As painful as it is to have a non-performer on your team, it can be more painful, not to mention disruptive, to the performers on your team. Putting up with non-performers puts more stress on others and drains your time and energy when you cover for them. Better to coach for improvement, or cut your losses than have the condition persist.

If you have a question that you’d like the Answer Man to tackle, post your question in the comment section. ]]> http://www.baldoniconsulting.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081124-130725 2008-11-24T00:00:00Z 2008-11-24T00:00:00Z
There is one advantage that Obama will have -- a solid Democratic majorities both houses of Congress. These majorities will ensure favorable reception of his proposals. But that electoral supremacy could also spell doom, if Obama is perceived to put party before people. To his credit, Obama has shown more interest in bipartisanship than one party rule. As such Obama sets an example for any corporate chieftain facing big challenges. Here are some suggestions for leading when the stakes are high.

Own the problem . The problems facing the president are wide and deep. Talking about them will not make them going away. That is what candidates do; presidents act. The president must define in clear terms what the problem is and ask for solutions as well as offer some of his own. Corporate leaders too must own up to the problems in ways that demonstrate understanding as well as responsibility.

Challenge your team. Some Congressional Democrats may be tempted to act like peacocks on parade as they widen their control of Capitol Hill. It will be up to President-elect Obama to hold them in check by challenging them to come up with solutions that benefit all of the people, not simply party partisans. Likewise, senior leaders who challenge their direct reports are those who push for robust solutions, not ready-made ones.

Leverage your confidence . Obama, in part by upbringing as well as in style, is one who is confident enough in himself to reach across the aisle to seek bipartisanship. This will be critical in finding an exit strategy in Iraq and a way forward in Afghanistan. Both are thorny issues will require the best developed solutions of both parties, not to mention our coalition partners and NATO. Likewise corporate leaders can use their position to reach out to those who disagree, first making it clear that their support is vital but also making it clear that sabotage of initiatives will not be tolerated.

And there is something else the president or any successful leader must do, especially when taking charge. Select a team of dissenters. Ego gets a leader to the top, but ego alone will not ensure results. A leader needs to build a team of individuals who will support her ideas but also provide her with plenty of disagreement. When creating a team of thinkers and doers, the leader must insist on strong and healthy debate to ensure all initiatives are thoroughly considered from different points of view. You want smart people who not afraid to speak their minds. That’s good advice for any leader to keep at the ready when building a team of people who will help lead an organization out of crisis and into better times.

Big problems create big opportunities for leaders big enough to take on the challenge.
]]> http://www.baldoniconsulting.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081117-004206 2008-11-17T00:00:00Z 2008-11-17T00:00:00Z
On the stump McCain can display a fierceness that can lurch into grumpiness. But Election Night, we glimpsed the John McCain that those who know and report on him have found his better side, the one capable of magnanimity and grace. For executives looking to close a project with style, here’s how to do it.

Congratulate the other side . This is pretty standard but McCain, co-author of so many books on history, courage and character, praised President-elect Obama for an outstanding campaign and a well-earned place in American history. Leaders do well when they show that they respect worthy challengers, even when the outcome brings personal disappointment.

Praise your followers . You must thank the people who helped you achieve. No leader accomplishes much by himself; leadership is about mobilizing others to your cause. This is especially true for managers. You will need your team to rise again to meet the next challenge. You cannot leave them wallowing in defeat. You must energize them.

Pledge unity . Campaigns are nasty enterprises; invectives fly fast and furious. But once the election is over, people need to come together. McCain urged his supporters to do the same; he said he regarded Barack Obama as “his president.” Leaders need to win over those who disagree with them. It is not always possible, but the effort must be extended. When people see their leader setting the right example, they may be inclined to follow suit.

Repeat your ideals . Talk up what you stood for and why you did what you did. Defeat is bitter, but from it can emerge lessons learned. It is vital to talk about what you did right and how you demonstrated positive outcomes. Shared goals are what bring people together.

John McCain also displayed a sense of character that David Brooks, speaking on PBS’s NewsHour, coverage, called “romantic.” The love that McCain has for his nation is palpable; after all he has served his nation since he was seventeen. His goal was to win the presidency but he was able to summon the gumption to put partisanship aside and pledge to work with the other side. His life in politics has been one of bipartisanship.

This is a lesson for anyone in corporate who feels passed over for a promotion. Your option may be to leave, but if you stay, you owe it to your company to be loyal. You must work for the greater good of the whole organization and put aside your own disappointment. Easy to say, and very hard to implement, but John McCain demonstrates that it can and should be done.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008/
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Be expert. Knowing your stuff is critical. For example in lean manufacturing, those who are schooled in its practice are referred to as senseis. To persuade someone else to adopt a new way of doing something may be one of the hardest thing any leader has to do. Before people will listen to you, you must know why your ideas are sound and how they will benefit the others. It is not enough to say, “because the boss says so.” That will get you in the door, but it will not encourage adoption.

Be open . Those who succeed influencing others pave the way for understanding by being open to the other side. They listen and they ask questions. They permit others to express their point of view. Sometimes there can be an accommodation as to resources and timelines. Even participation in the new project can be voluntary, at least until critical mass is reached when the new system must be implemented.

Be forceful . Stand up for what you believe. While you have acknowledged alternate points of view, it is necessary to move ahead. You have to make things happen. It will start small, and perhaps slowly, but it will occur. Standing along side the implementers offering encouragement, not just advice, is essential.

Influencing others to your point of view is a mark of genuine leadership. Some learn this skill as kids on the playground; others learn in competitive sports. Others learn it on the job. Watching how a leader builds a coalition, brings others to her point of view and more importantly to the point of action is critical. People who can do it with peers can readily do it with people over whom they have authority. That is, if you can lead people over whom you have no power; you can certainly lead people over whom you do have power by virtue of title and position. And so when managers are being considered for more senior positions it may be useful to see not only how they interact with peers but how they lead them.
]]> http://www.baldoniconsulting.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081103-082609 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z
John McCain spoke of how even in this audience, mostly comprised of Democrats, he sensed that some were pulling for him. Then he turned and said, “Hillary, are you here?” McCain zinged former President Clinton for his tireless campaigning for Obama though McCain respected that fact that the president was knocking off for the Jewish holidays. He also mocked himself by saying that he had fired his staff and replaced staffers with Joe the Plumber.

Barack Obama who followed McCain said that he never had the opportunity to meet Al Smith, former governor of New York and the first Catholic to run for president in 1928, Senator McCain had told him what a great guy Smith was. He also punctured himself by saying that Barack was another name for “That one” and he had not been born in a manager and obviously his middle name (Hussein) was selected by someone who never dreamed he would be running for president.

Laugh wise, I would rate McCain higher; his speech had more laughs and he seemed more at ease with the schtick than Obama. Obama to his credit seemed more at ease laughing at McCain’s jabs.

Politics wise, I found the presence of the two candidates, sharing the same stage, separated by Cardinal Edward M. Eagan, a reassurance that despite the nastiness of the campaign, there is still a place where candidates can come together, not as friends but at least not as adversaries, at least for a few hours.

Character wise, seeing the two candidates lampoon themselves and their campaigns, and do it convincingly, revealed a humanity that you don’t often seen in the stage-managed political events. Oh sure, candidates love to say how they empathize with voters and how they understand their concerns. And we have the video footage of them listening patiently to voters, often hearing stories of heartfelt sadness. Those interacts matter, but somehow they always seem contrived.

Personally I want to see a leader who can laugh, and laugh at himself. One who takes himself so seriously that he can never let up for a moment is a president who is bound to consume himself in self-importance. Jimmy Carter was one such president. Carter was certainly well intentioned, but his management style was so hands-on that his urgency blended with preachy pedagogy. It doomed his presidency.

No one would advocate that a president be our comedian in chief. But it is important that an effective leader be able to relax and enjoy a joke at his own expense. That is a sign of confidence. We need our leaders to be self-assured and comfortable in their own skins. Telling a joke on oneself, and enjoying it, is welcome sign.

Source: http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/al.smith.d ... 42562.html

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