Spaghetti Leadership - Part 4
Where others voluntarily follow you.
Taking the bullet
An unfortunate euphemism in today’s world, but one that is very appropriate to clearly characterizing great leaders.
We first learn about this characteristic of leadership from the annals of history, specifically in the conflicts of war.
Patton insisting on leading from the front of his men and not behind them in the safety of rear bunkers, like many of today’s nations’ leaders.
Marines will rally to their leadership when officers move to the front of their formations, usually at great risk to themselves, and drive their Marines into the breach.
Again, in most all cases, where do you find the real leader? Out front, willing to take the bullet.
Accountability of reports
Holding others accountable for and to their responsibilities seems to have suffered an unusual demise in the 21st Century. Along with it, we have seen a dramatic reduction of global corporate leadership talent, so say the HR departments who continually lament their concerns with me over morning coffees.
The pride of a job well done is a phenomenal motivator, however, if those doing the job are not holding themselves accountable, the job itself potentially suffers irreparable damage.
Being called on the carpet for failure is as important as acknowledging a job well done.
I ran into this while my daughter was playing softball for the State of Arizona.
After a miserable defeat in the semi-finals, their coach tried a modern-day approach; “it’s okay, you tried your best; it’s only a game” while giving each a “participant” trophy. Then proceeded to take them all out for pizza.
Watching them at Pizza Hut and seeing she and the rest of her team were still visibly miserable, I asked them to tell me how they were really feeling about the game.
They readily admitted they had not played their best, made too many errors and that it was much more than just a game, it was the pride of Arizona for which they were playing, and they collectively agreed that they had let down their community.
This was a position 180 degrees polar opposite to what the coach was trying to use to make them “feel better”.
So, I put on my coach’s hat, told the team exactly what they had done well and also specifically where they had goofed and how to fix it, with a promise of additional coaching in the new season.
They all visibly brightened up and became their regular effervescent 17-18 year old selves for the rest of the dinner.
Not accepting defeat for what it is, is equally as bad as not acknowledging success.
A good leader holds their reports accountable for getting their jobs done and done well. When they fail, they are censured and given the opportunity to repair any damage done, but at a minimum, given the opportunity to regain or correct a skill gone awry.
Remember, those that goof know more than anyone else that they goofed. Don’t offend them by pretending it didn’t happen.
A leader pretending it’s okay, when they (the one who goofed) know it’s not, is a guaranteed way to have a team lose faith and trust in their leader.
No one likes nor respects a liar, or pretender. Truth is always the best medicine especially when you expect it reciprocated from those on your team.
Remember, what you do as a leader represents the behavior you’re teaching your team to enact on their reports.
Don’t kill your people with misplaced kindness at the expense of honesty.
And it is here, while you correct, adding charm, wit, humility, with a gentle and kind hand works wonders.
Accountability of self
We’ve spoken much here about leaders holding their reports accountable.
Equally as important, leaders too must be held accountable for the performance of their reports.
Vince Lambardi once said “Great coaches use their expertise not to control but to inspire and empower their team to greatness”.
However, if this greatness is not achieved, then who did not inspire and empower them to greatness? The other side of that coin.
Nothing brought this home more than when speaking with a tenured professor for a University in the midwest.
When asked why some students get bad grades, he answered; “I’m there to impart information from my research. It’s up to the student to listen and absorb. But as the saying goes, You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”.
Needless to say we got into a bit of a tiff when I pointed out that at his university, parents were spending upwards of 1/4 million $ to have their children educated. What would the difference be if one of his students just read his research and paid $25 for the book?
In the training and coaching business, as with professional sports, the coach is “always” held responsible for the performance of their teams.
When one is training a student on giving presentations or negotiating a $1Billion international business developement plan, if they go back to the job and give a boring presentation or are incapable of negotiating a deal better than they were, we are cleary held responsible by not being invited back.
I pointed this out to the professor stressing that in our teaching business, the motto has to be; “you lead a horse to water and make it look so enticing they want to drink”, for seldom do we get students who volunteered for the training. Most were sent to the training by their bosses many of whom, by their attitudes, make this abundantly clear in the first hour.
In a nutshell, leaders who holds themselves accountable (responsible) for ensuring the performance of their reports, is a leader whose value is incalculable.
Others before yourself
There are selfish leaders whom others follow with grudging admiration, until a better opportunity comes around.
There are selfless leaders whom others voluntarily follow with pleasure and rebuke the headhunters knocking on their door.
We commonly see the latter leader demonstrates an uncanny disregard for their own self-preservation, remembering they would have no such moniker (that of a leader) were it not for those they are leading. You can’t lead an empty office.
You will find these leaders walking the halls trying to understand issues being faced by their people and devising ideas and plans focused on helping make them go away. Equally, they are first to acknowledge excellence of performance.
Patton is known to have seen that 1,000’s of his men were reporting trench foot caused in no small part by wet socks. His order: Every man was to have a change of socks every three days, this from a General who you’d think had more to worry about than socks. (Ref: Patton – The Pursuit of Destiny by Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin)
Owning up
This is by far the most important characteristic of heralded leaders.
Simply put – when they screw up, they admit it.
President Reagan, following the Iran-Contra scandal, saw his approval rating plummet from 67% to 46%. Instead of blaming the person most responsible, a junior National Security Council aide, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, he immediately appointed a non-partisan presidential commission composed of people of unquestioned integrity and charged them to find out what had gone wrong.
Most importantly, he then went on national television to take “full responsibility” for the commission’s findings and immediately set about implementing its proposals.
Some 4,000 people who attended his funeral is proof positive, despite his foibles and missteps, of how revered he was as a leader of the American people.
The last word
Lead from the front. Do not push people to perform that which you yourself would not.
Understand clearly what you as a leader expect of your reports.
Make these expectations clearly known while holding reports accountable for performing against them.
Equally, acknowledge those who get their job done and especially those who go above and beyond expectations. These are your next leaders.
Underexpose your presence. Make your contact limited – but make each encounter memorable.
Most importantly, put the interests of your reports ahead of your own, remembering that with leadership comes the responsibility of being accountable for those you lead. Their performance reflects your leadership.
