Leadership
Picture this. A father had three children. When his oldest child, a daughter, turned 12, he took her with him to the auto dealership. He told her, “I want you to pick out the car that you think I should buy.” Puzzled, his daughter looked at her father and asked, “Why me, Dad?” “Because, this is the car that I’ll be driving for the next four years. When you turn 16 and get your driver’s license, I’m going to hand the keys over to you.”
He repeated this offer with his other two children, and over the next 16 years drove a bright red Volkswagen Beetle, a yellow Honda Civic (for his second daughter), and a red Jeep Wrangler (for his son.)
“I have to admit,” the father said, “when my son asked for a Wrangler, I hesitated.” It was outside of my comfort zone. I had always driven cars, we’d always lived in the city, and I couldn’t see myself driving a Wrangler for the next four years. But, I had made a commitment, and couldn’t break it now.”
“What’s funny,” the father said, “is that I actually started enjoying the Wrangler. By the time my son got old enough to drive it, I found myself thinking about buying another one for myself. If my son hadn’t convinced me to change what I’d gotten used to driving all of my life, I never would have gotten out of my comfort zone.”
What this father knew intuitively serves as a model for passing on the leadership keys in the 21st century. Three themes emerge.
1. Trust. Any worthwhile transition is based on mutual trust. Future leaders need to trust the wisdom and experience of current leaders. Current leaders need to trust the potential of the next generation, their innovative approach, and the ability to handle the responsibility for the future. When there is an absence of trust, the process of a healthy and fruitful transition breaks down, and the passing on of the leadership keys stalls. Breaking down the trust barriers starts with building mutual respect and appreciation for what we each bring to the table. Here’s a short, compelling video that shows how quickly we can start to break down the barriers and build trust.
2. Teamwork. Once we establish trust for one another, we can begin to work together as a team toward the future success of our organization. The father in the example above didn’t arbitrarily decide what cars would be best for each of his children. He included them in the process and let them voice their opinions. When we include future leaders in the decision-making process, they move from obliged to empowered. That empowerment – knowing that the keys to the future are in their hands – gives them a greater sense of responsibility for making good choices to show that your trust was well placed.
3. Transition. One of the most significant lessons from car-buying father is how he adapted to the Wrangler chosen by his youngest child. Most of today’s leaders grew up in a time when decisions and influence came from the top and rippled down. But, the rapid pace of technological change is having an impact on generational influence. Research by the Center for Generational Kinetics (CGK) finds that influence is rippling up, rather than down. “The greatest predictor of older generations,” says James Dorsey, CGK’s Chief Strategy Officer in this TEDx talk, “is what the younger generations are doing today.” They influence how every other generation uses technology. Need more convincing? Think Facebook.
Are you holding onto the leadership keys with a white-knuckled grip? It may be time to shift your view about future generations. When you can break down the trust barriers, give them true ownership and responsibility, and be open to their influence, you’ll be inspired by some of the most hard-working, eager-to-learn, and motivated people in the world today.
Question: What is your view about handing over the leadership keys?
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Leadership
A few years ago, my family and I went to Cancun to celebrate my husband’s birthday. While we were there, we took a trip to Chichen Itza, one of the greatest Mayan centers of the Yucatán peninsula.
Today, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes a stepped pyramid dedicated to Kukulcan, the feathered serpent god. The pyramid is a feat of Mayan engineering and an astronomical marvel.
Each of the four sides has stairs with 91 steps. The platform at the top serves as the last step, for a total of 365 steps in all.
During the fall and spring equinoxes, the sun’s shadow forms an enormous snake’s body, which lines up with the carved stone snake head at the bottom of the pyramid. You can stand about 30 meters in front of the main face of the pyramid, clap your hands, and the sound travels up the face and bounces back out like the sound of a sacred bird worshipped by the Mayans.
When you visit Chichen Itza, you can’t help thinking about the pyramids left by other ancient civilizations around the world. The Mayan and Egyptian pyramids are best known, but pyramids can also be found in places like China, Iraq, France, and the Canary Islands.
We know that Chichen Itza’s stepped pyramid served as a temple to Kukulcan. He was the god of laws, fishing, healing, the calendar, and agriculture. We know that the Egyptian pyramids served as tombs to preserve the bodies of pharaohs and help their souls cross over to the afterworld. We also know that the pyramid archetype has been passed down for thousands of years, and is still embedded in our organizations.
Where does the power flow in your organizational pyramid? Does it flow up to the person at the top to preserve his or her legacy in perpetuity? Or, does it flow down to benefit the larger community?
In his book, On Moral Business, Max L. Stackhouse wrote that “Business leaders are increasingly the stewards of civilization.” Stackhouse argued that many of our institutions – government, families, universities and churches – are failing. What if the responsibility for future civilization depends on business leaders?
When you work as though society depends on the decisions you make as a business leader, it makes you think about which way the power is flowing in your organization. Is society better off because your organizational pyramid exists?
Question: What are you doing to test the flow of power in your organization? Do you track employee and customer satisfaction? Does your organization give time, talent or treasure to the community?
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Leadership
When it comes to leadership roles in publicly traded companies, it’s still a man’s world. That’s the not so surprising takeaway from a report released by Peterson Institute for International Economics. What is surprising is the finding that organizations with 30% female leaders could add up to 6 percentage points to their net margin.
So what’s the correlation between women leaders and profitability? According to Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire, author of The Board Game: How Smart Women Become Corporate Directors, one of the key reasons is risk aversion. “Companies with women on their boards tend to be a little more risk averse and have, on average, less debt,” Berkhemer-Credaire cites from a 2012 Credit Suisse report. The study showed that the net-debt-to-equity ratio at companies with at least one female director was 48%, compared with 50% at all male boards. Businesses with women on the board also reduced debt faster following the 2008 economic downturn.
“The Credit Suisse research,” says Berkhemer-Credaire, “shows an incontrovertible correlation between significantly better business performance and gender diversity on boards of directors.” The author finds that a convergence of seven global factors has set the stage for a significant increase in women on Fortune 500 boards:
- Regulatory requirements. The financial crises that rocked the last decade resulted in the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and Dodd-Frank Acts. Compliance with these regulations requires, among other things, that companies appoint outside, independent board members to ensure objective oversight.
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- Quotas in Europe. The simple truth is that U.S. companies lag behind in board diversity. A 40% quota for women on boards was mandated in six European countries over a decade ago. Though quotas are not likely to be legislated in the U.S., the shift toward gender balance in Europe puts substantial pressure to respond in kind.
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- Women in government. The number of female world leaders has more than doubled since 2005. According to the United Nations, there are currently 12 female heads of government and 11 elected female heads of state. Their achievements on the international stage show that women have the capability and public endorsement to lead effectively.
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- Expanded expertise. Globalization and technology trends require companies to seek a diversity of knowledge and experience. Corporate boards are actively looking for candidates with global human resources backgrounds and technology expertise.
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- Investor demand. Institutional investors increasingly push for diverse boards – ones that can bring a variety of perspectives and ideas to handle complex challenges faced by today’s leaders. In California, CalPERS and CalSTRS manage billions of dollars in retirement investments. Trustees of these funds partner with gender diversity groups to create 3D (Diverse Director DataSource) a centralized database of viable female board candidates.
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- Demographic shifts. According to Berkhemer-Credaire, “the retirement age for most corporate directors is 72- to 75-years old.” Although most companies do not impose mandatory retirement or term limits, a number of forward-thinking companies are working on succession plans to create a diverse bench of board members.
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- Advocacy efforts. Across America, organizations are supporting women who are board ready. Some, like the Corporate Board Resource, offer a database of viable candidates for members only. Others, like the one created by Women’s Forum of New York, offer the database free to nominating committees and search firms.
The bottom line is that women in leadership can improve your bottom line. If your board is looking male, pale, and stale, it may be time to consider whether it truly represents the constituencies it serves.
Question: Is your board improving your bottom line? If not, have your considered gender diversity?
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CEE News is designed to help you with the challenges you face every day by sharing infographics, white papers, best practices, and spotlighting businesses that are getting it right. I hope you’ll subscribe to CEE News and it becomes a resource that continually adds value to your walk as a leader. If I can be of assistance in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
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Leadership
“Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women’s voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives.”
That was the opening salvo in Sheryl Sandberg’s 2013 best-selling book Lean In. The book sparked debate about gender equality and urged women to expect and demand more for their careers.
But Sandberg’s book certainly wasn’t the first to challenge women to reach for greater leadership roles. In keeping with Women’s History Month, we’ve compiled the most compelling titles on the subject, and offer our top picks that are well worth the turn of the page.
1. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
What it’s about: When the Taliban took control of Pakistan’s Swat Valley, one girl fought for her right to an education. She almost paid the ultimate price when she was shot in the head at point-blank range.
Why pick it up: Malala reminds us that the change we want begins with us, and to be absolutely fearless in our pursuit.
2. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
What it’s about: The last queen of Egypt and one of the most intriguing women in the history of the world.
Why pick it up: Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. This book captures the intellect and wit of the woman who reshaped the contours of the ancient world.
3. Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution by Brené Brown
What it’s about: A profound truth: Vulnerability — the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome — is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.
Why pick it up: When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write the ending.
4. Madam Secretary: A Memoir by Madeleine Albright
What it’s about: A national bestseller since its original publication in 2003, Madam Secretary is a riveting account of the life of America’s first woman Secretary of State.
Why pick it up: It’s an account of one of the most powerful and admired women in U.S. history, including her upbringing in war-torn Europe and the balancing of career and family.
5. A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren
What it’s about: An unlikely political star tells the inspiring story of the two-decade journey that taught her how Washington really works — and really doesn’t.
Why pick it up: Warren shows why she has chosen to fight tooth and nail for the middle class — and why she has become a hero to all those who believe that America’s government can and must do better for working families.
6. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
What it’s about: A portrait of an obscure German princess who became Empress of Russia, and one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history.
Why pick it up: Never underestimate the power of a cold, calculating and unaffectionate mother to inspire ambition in her child.
7. Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Bring, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington
What it’s about: On the morning of April 6, 2007, Arianna Huffington was lying on the floor of her office in a pool of blood. She has collapsed from exhaustion and hit the corner of her desk on the way down, cutting her eye and breaking her cheekbone in the process. Thrive is the journey of her wakeup call.
Why pick it up: Don’t just go out there and climb the ladder of success. Instead, redefine success. Because the world desperately needs it.
8. Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential by Carol Dweck
What it’s about: It isn’t just our abilities and talent that bring our success – but whether we approach our goals with a fixed or growth mindset.
Why pick it up: It’s vital to seek out opportunities to stretch so that you are challenged. But as a leader, it’s vital not to regard your followers’ abilities as fixed, but rather to believe that those you lead can change, adapt and grow.
Some of these books are historical. Some are contemporary. They all remind us that when a woman honors the feminine within herself, she honors it around the world.
Question: What books have helped you along your leadership journey?
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Come to The Re:Imagine Leadership Summit 2017 – a one-day immersion in transformative leadership crafted to inspire and engage you. To learn more or register, go to: executiveexcellence.com/reimagine
Leadership
Remember the days when someone asked you, “How’s it going?” “Fine,” was your auto-response.
“Fine” was code for, “I have a lot on my plate both personally and professionally right now, but unless you have an hour to listen, I don’t think you want me to get into it.” Everything wasn’t fine. You knew it. The other person knew it. But, “fine” was the socially acceptable response.
Today, when someone asks you, “How’s it going?” the new socially acceptable answer is, “Busy.” Busy-ness has become a badge of honor. You have messages to answer, meetings to prepare for, data to review, and decisions to make. You’re connected to work 24/7. You’ve tried the latest software to unclutter. You’ve bought the newest devices to keep up, but you just can’t break the cycle of busy-ness.
In 1992, global internet traffic measured 100 GB per day. Last year, that rate exploded to 20,235 GB per second. There’s been an explosion of information to consume, but we still have a finite number of hours per day to find the valuable bits. As this rate, we’ll quickly move from busy-ness to burnout if we don’t find a way to better manage our time. Here are four ways successful leaders don’t let busy-ness get in the way of business:
1. Prioritize. Start by deciding the most important priorities in your life – both personal and professional. Stephen Covey called this the “Big Rocks” principle. If you think of your day as a bucket, and you start your day without a plan, you’ll soon get busy filling your bucket with little rocks (tasks, cat videos, whatever). Before you know it, your bucket is full, and you spent another day working on things that have little value to you either personally or professionally. Instead, watch Covey demonstrate how to prioritize your Big Rocks.
2. Centralize. Next, decide on a system where you can keep a daily list of things you need to work on. The choices people make here fall into one of two groups: the techies and the Gutenbergers. If you’re a techie, you’ll probably want to use one of the many multi-platform productivity tools like Evernote and sync it with an app like Remember the Milk to help you manage your tasks. Gutenbergers prefer to track tasks on paper. Franklin Covey is a recognized leader in this area, with lots of options to choose from. Regardless of your preference, you’ll want to centralize all of your tasks in one system. Stop writing reminders on sticky notes and in random devices. Put all of your tasks in one place – and remember to put the Big Rocks in first.
3. Categorize. You’re clear about your Big Rocks and you’ve chosen one place to keep track of your personal and professional tasks. Now what? In no particular order, make a list of your daily tasks. Next, put them in A, B, and C categories. A tasks are important, B tasks have medium importance, and C tasks have low importance. Now, number all of the A tasks in order of importance, and do the same for the B’s and C’s. If you’ve done this correctly, something that made your Big Rock list has an A beside it. Not necessarily A-1, but it’s at the top.
4. Recognize. Brace yourself for this – your task list will never be done. But, think of it this way. If you start each day with a plan in place, and if you only manage to get one thing on your list done, it will be the most important thing you had to do that day. Over time, you’ll see that some of your B’s and C’s could be delegated so that you’re focusing on the most important priorities in your personal and professional life.
You can continue wearing the busy-ness badge, or get real about your priorities and work on the most important things first. The choice is yours.
Question: Do you know someone who uses a time management system? What impact do you think it has on them personally and professionally?
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Leadership
If you’re still trying to shake off the political hangover from last year, you may want to turn to leadership books that offer fresh inspiration in 2017.
Here are 5 books being published this year to keep on your radar. Among them, you’ll find uplifting lessons from history, and titles that will help you re-ground yourself through the year.
1. Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace, by Christine Porath, PhD
What it’s about: From the leading authority on workplace incivility, Christine Porath, shows why it pays to be civil, and reveals just how to enhance effectiveness in the workplace and beyond by mastering civility.
Why pick it up: Incivility is silently chipping away at people, organizations, and our economy. Slights, insensitivities, and rude behaviors can cut deeply and hijack focus. Even if people want to perform well, they can’t. Ultimately incivility cuts the bottom line.
2. Radical Candor, by Kim Scott
What it’s about: A former Google executive and faculty member at Apple University, Kim Scott believes that “workplaces are too nice — really ‘fake nice’ — and that we’d all be better off with unvarnished honesty, especially when it comes to evaluating performance.
Why pick it up: “Radical candor,” according to the book’s synopsis, sits at the “sweet spot between managers who are obnoxiously aggressive on one side and ruinously empathetic on the other.”
3. Captain Class: The Driving Force Behind the World’s Greatest Teams, by Sam Walker
What it’s about: The former global sports editor of The Wall Street Journal profiles the greatest teams in history and identifies the counterintuitive leadership qualities of the unconventional men and women who drove them to succeed.
Why pick it up: If you’re a sports fan and a leader who reads, you’ll enjoy Walker’s list of the 16 most dominant teams in sports, and the traits that led their captains to lead them to sustained, historic periods of greatness.
4. Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
What it’s about: Following the sudden death of her husband, Silicon Valley executive Dave Goldberg, Sandberg described widowhood at a young age as “a club that no one wants to belong to.” Co-authored with Wharton professor Adam Grant, the book is focused on recovering from adversity.
Why pick it up: Though not strictly a business book, it includes stories of people who recovered from a variety of hardships, it includes lessons for leaders who want to build their own resilience, too.
5. The Push: A Climber’s Journey of Endurance, Risk, and Going Beyond Limits, by Tommy Caldwell
What it’s about: In 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson made the first free ascent on El Capitan’s Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park. Caldwell documented the hardships he faced and what he learned in the process.
Why pick it up: It’s a memoir that will inspire you to conquer your own Dawn Wall, climb to new heights, and push past your own limits.
Part of a leader’s job is to steer a team through uncertainty. But, doing so can leave you feeling drained. Refuel yourself in the pages of some of our favorites picks coming out this year.
Question: Which of these five titles do you find most compelling?
Create a culture that transforms at the speed of change. Come to a one-day immersion in transformative leadership crafted to inspire and engage you. Learn more or register here. Have questions? Email me directly at daguas@executiveexcellence.com
Interested in getting more content like this? Subscribe to CEE News!
CEE News is designed to help you with the challenges you face every day by sharing infographics, white papers, best practices, and spotlighting businesses that are getting it right. I hope you’ll subscribe to CEE News and it becomes a resource that continually adds value to your walk as a leader. If I can be of assistance in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
