Focal Leadership

Leadership

Values lived not just spoken or written

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Value

I cannot think of many organizations who do not aspire to the notion of values lived and not just spoken or written. In times of stress and economic pressure, the consistency of practicing organizational values is under severe pressure. Predominantly because leaders have to make choices, and this can result in taking decisions which at face value do not align with the organization’s values. Or decisions are taken which do not actually contradict the organization’s values, but the way they are implemented does.

Why do organizations have values statements? There may be many reasons. Perhaps the one that seems most obvious is the wish to characterize the culture and behavior that they aspire to. For some, organizational values can be part of the corporate wallpaper, i.e. organizations have them for decoration with little function other than to appear once a year as a reminder during the performance review cycle. Some organizations do make efforts to embed them in practices such as talent reviews and leadership selection. The differentiating question is, “do these values characterize every decision and mean more than tenure, influence, expertise, or financial return?” Application sometimes contradicts sentiment.

Just recently I heard a CEO describe how decisions had been made with the well-being of employees being paramount, knowing that this in itself would spin off into corporate value. But this is not universally the case. There are also leaders who make decisions based on financial, strategic, or geographical factors, with less concern about any adverse impact these decisions have on people. Even though regret is expressed, values get lost in action.

It is not just leadership teams who have conflict around values. Many individual leaders are also challenged in this respect. They know about the values statements, and they are proponents of them for measuring performance and managing talent. But bringing them to life with real application and demonstration is sometimes not as evident. Role modelling and holding themselves accountable for living the values is sometimes overlooked because it is not seen as having more importance than other performance measures.

So, what is to be done? Living values means holding a constant plumb line to decisions that are made and practices that are implemented. As well as having a Return On Investment (ROI) measure, organizations should also have a Return On Values (ROV) measure. As part of the review process for critical decisions which impact the organization and employees, an ROV step should measure not only whether the decision is consistent with the organization’s values, but also whether the implementation of this decision will embody these values. For example, performance review processes need to be designed, implemented, and communicated consistent with an organization’s values. Managing the day-to-day performance of these employees also needs to be consistent with these values.

Assessing leaders for fit and potential is a massive industry. There are some assessment tools that explore the values that a leader holds, and many others focus on competencies or behavioral traits. The greatest source of leadership impact and effectiveness over time is character. The Cambridge Dictionary defines character as the particular combination of qualities in a person that makes them different from others. This distinctiveness is often associated with moral values and not just personality traits or experiential prowess. The need for organizations and leaders to embrace moral values that champion the best of human behavior is much needed in an increasingly stressful world.

It is the choice of every leader to live by the highest values, not just to acknowledge them as written or spoken aspirations, but to apply them in practice every time.

Emotional Leadership

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Leader_resize

Emotional leadership probably triggers many different images in your mind. Enthusiastic? Unhinged? Tears? Mood swings? Passionate? Oppressive? Authentic?

Reflecting on leaders in the public eye, there are many different emotional styles of leadership. There are leaders who do not display much emotion, those who are known for demonstrating a lot of emotion, and those who control the emotional content and style of their leadership.

Why consider emotional leadership as a topic in the broader consideration of leadership? There is already a lot of commentary on emotional intelligence, executive presence, and leadership impact.  Leaders with high or low emotional content in their leadership have an impact on others with varying degrees of significance. Emotions in leaders are critical as they are a major influence on the emotional response of those they lead.  And the importance of emotions is well noted – in addition to impacting mental health (commitment, stability, feelings), emotions also have a profound impact on the immune system. Scientists have found that negative emotions reduce antibody levels and lower the ability of the immune system to ward-off sickness and disease. Hence, poor leadership that invokes a negative emotional response results in lower engagement and lower employee well-being.

A leader who exhibits a lot of emotion as part of their leadership, either arising from their personality or convictions, should expect different reactions. Some people may be inspired, energized, and motivated. Others may be switched off, unimpressed, or unconvinced. But is there anything wrong with showing emotions as part of being an authentic leader? No! In an increasingly virtual world, connecting on an emotional level has never been more important. Engaging hearts as well as minds is so important. Having to lead through a laptop screen instead of in-person, is stretching leaders more than ever. People need to feel valued, inspired, and connected. When the laptop screen reverts back to an email or document following an interaction with a leader, what are employees meant to feel? If they are not self-motivated, they need regular emotional sustenance from their leaders to connect them with the wider world and infuse them with energy and purpose. Now more than ever leaders need to discover the power of emotions in leadership.

Building and maintaining positive emotions is like a drug for many – a supply needs to keep on coming. Leaders are in the floodlit zone of providing emotional sustenance. A leader who just turns up without consciously or sub-consciously doing a self-inventory of personal motivation and emotional health, needs to reflect on the impact they are having. Being indifferent to the emotional legacy a leader delivers is poor leadership. Turning up with a positive mindset, a buoyant attitude, and credit in your own emotional bank account will leave a positive legacy.

What about controlled emotional leadership? In my opinion, this can go two ways. First, a leader who knows how to control their emotions, how to accentuate them, and how to suppress them appropriately, is a skilled leader. A skilled leader knows how to use emotions to motivate, communicate, and liberate others. They know how to keep disappointment or frustration in check – sharing if it is appropriate, and with a sensitivity for how it might impact others. But leaders who control their emotions so much that they come across as void of feeling, empathy, or authenticity, need to understand the lack-luster impact they are having.

Emotional leadership does not mean over-the-top exhibition of random emotions. It is the appropriate demonstration of emotions as part of communicating, connecting, and changing. Emotional leadership is above all the mark of character in a leader – appreciating that people need an emotional connection as well as cognitive. It is an aspect of leadership that has never been more critical.

Decision-making – is timing everything?

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decision-making

Timing of decision-making and leadership are often wrapped up together. Right now, there are so many arguments raging about the timing of leadership decisions. Re-open the economy, deem services as ‘essential’, return to the office, reduce costs, go virtual, and so on. All of these topics require timely decisions. It seems as though more and more people see timing as right or wrong … predominantly when they are personally affected.

As a leader decision-making is something that comes naturally. Afterall, leadership is a responsibility invariably accepted by those who are comfortable with making decisions that impact other people. There are a minority of leaders who find decision-making onerous or who reluctantly don the mantle of responsibility – a topic for another article. But leaders who make decisions often have to accept that the timing and impact of these decisions will be seen subjectively by others.

How do you know whether a decision is right or wrong?

Some former Presidents of the United States of America had some interesting techniques:

Benjamin Franklin: wrote lists of pros and cons on a piece of paper; struck out items on both sides that seemed to have similar weights (or combined them to make weightings equal); waited a few days; the longest list determined the best decision.

Abraham Lincoln: surrounded himself with great people (often his enemies) who were not afraid to table the best information; considered all points of view and then decided.

Theodore Roosevelt: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

There are some leaders who consider decision-making to be their responsibility and those who will be impacted by their decisions are just waiting for them to decide. They have ultimate wisdom, insight, and authority. Consultation is not considered because it could come across as a weakness or lack of leadership. In my opinion, this type of leader is missing some of the fundamentals of leadership; humility, empathy, and listening.

Of course, a leader who does not make decisions and prevaricates, vacillates, and hesitates, is not someone who is easily followed. People are looking for leaders who have courage, foresight, and good judgment. Making decisions with these three qualities is characteristic of a confident leader.

The best leaders are those who know how to make the best decisions at the best time in the best way. By definition, this means that decision-making has different guises. Decisions that are urgent often require leadership experience, instinct, and courage. Decisions that impact many people, if not critically urgent, often benefit from consultation, considering options and outcomes, and more careful communication.

So, when is the time right for a decision? If I knew the answer to this question every time, I would be as wise as King Solomon. But there are conditions leaders can consider that influence the timeliness of decision-making. These include implications, risk, urgency, impact, and cost. A single person does not often hold absolute wisdom to be able to make the best decisions every time. That is why great leaders are those who know how to lean on great people. What I might think to be a good decision, may indeed prove to be right. But then again, it may not be the best decision. Being able to consider different points of view, weigh up outcomes, be mindful of all affected parties, and take external forces into account, often requires a collective view rather than a singular opinion.

The timing of decision-making may or may not be critical, but the carefulness and precision in which a decision is crafted can often make or break a leader.

Leading Change in Yourself

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Leading Change is a hot topic. Given the present pandemic, change is not an option. One of the biggest challenges is leading change in yourself. The pandemic has thrown so many curve balls that require us to change, but how about the changes that require personal leadership and not just a response?

What do I mean by this? Some people are pre-disposed to adapting and flexing without any discomfort. Others struggle. Some people are ok being led through change and others enjoy the challenge of leading others. But a lot of stress is caused when people feel that they are constantly reacting to the circumstances around them. Being able to lead yourself through change is a disposition that many are experiencing, yearning for, or simply bereft of. Anticipating that change is a constant, developing chameleon-like behaviors, and retaining serene mindfulness, are adaptive ways of leading change in yourself.

When I first learned to drive, I remember being told by a policeman friend of mine, “steer into the apex of the bend and accelerate out of it”. This driving technique seems to make sense to me. In the same way, if you can intentionally anticipate the upcoming changes of direction, position yourself appropriately, and purposefully invest your energy in the new direction, this seems to be a great way of leading change in yourself. Let us take these one at a time:

Anticipate the upcoming changes of direction

Anticipation can be a quick reflex, or it can be a deliberate plan. Leading yourself requires more of the latter and less of the former. If we are always playing catch up, then we are being led by change rather than leading ourselves through it. If, however, we reflect, research, and resolve to meet the upcoming changes with a positive mindset, we get ahead of the need to just react. Anticipation is an acceptance of the inevitable differences to the status quo. Getting prepared, planning for new solutions, and learning adaptive behaviors, will help you anticipate change. You have heard the phrase “being able to see round corners” … well how about “being the change that lies around the corner”.

Position yourself appropriately

If you do not position your car on the outside of your lane before you steer into the curve, then the curve will be much more difficult to steer around … and you will have to slow down much more. But if you anticipate what is ahead of you, your efficiency and trajectory will be much better. So, positioning yourself for the changes that life, business, and society hold in this current environment will determine how effectively you lead yourself through change. Positioning yourself appropriately implies a change. Communicate differently, work differently, and ideate differently, are all essential to lead through change. You must shift your alignment to the change – be its master, be in control, be ready for it.

Purposefully invest your energy in the new direction

Some people have a victim complex. They are the afflicted ones. Whereas those who lead change in themselves are the opportunists and optimists. Around the corner of our current predicament is a different life. It is hard to imagine that this is the last pandemic we will ever face – and I am trying not to be a doomsday prophet. New opportunities are presenting themselves, the seedbed for innovation has never been more fertile, and the future beckons. When you emerge from the apex of the curve, a new horizon presents itself. Clear vision is restored. We will get through the current pandemic crisis, and there will no doubt be many that have suffered along the way. There will also be those who feel a sense of excitement. Not only of old things returning to normal, but of new vistas. History teaches us that disasters are painful, and they are also accelerants for change. Leading change in yourself will allow you to reflect on the hardships we are all experiencing and also to be authentic in hope.

As we all journey through this time of immense challenge and turmoil, leading change in yourself is an opportunity to build strength, succor, and sustainability to our world.

5 Silver Linings

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Silver Lining

A silver lining is defined as a consoling or hopeful prospect by Meriam-Webster. It is unsurprising that people are looking for silver linings with the COVID-19 pandemic where there are so many stories of heartbreak and tragedy. Lost jobs, deaths, bankruptcies, depression – to name but a few. But the human spirit has a depth of resilience and determination that often only appears at times of crisis. So, what might some of the silver linings be?

Regeneration

Stay-at-home orders, shelter-in-place, and lockdowns are not words/phrases that were expected to be commonplace for the year ahead when 2020 dawned. Working from home has added stresses to some, but there are also many who have been laid off and who now have no job. After a period of grief and maybe anger, people face a new reality. Some people jump straight up and start looking, while others take time to adjust. Of course, the job market is not the healthiest during a pandemic and circumstances test the job seeker like never before.

Being laid off can have a silver lining, although I would not bring this up too soon when speaking to someone who has just lost their job. I was laid off in my early thirties and was absolutely devastated. But tapping into a network, being open minded, focused, and tenacious, led me into a new career. Times like this can be incredibly uplifting as people have to dedicate time to consider and build their brand, learn how to market themselves, and seek out new opportunities.

Reflection

As well as the many who have lost their jobs, there are also many who have been furloughed by their employers. And even those who have kept their jobs, are often faced with new realities and challenging ways of working. Times like these cause a lot of people to reflect. Is this the career I really want anymore? Should I take a risk and do something different? Should I re-balance my life? Should we move to a different part of the country? Should we start a family later than planned? I could go on. Importantly though, reflection and deep consideration of priorities often happens during a crisis.

Reflection is not something that happens too often when everything is running as normal and work/life is at full pace. So, expect many people to make life-altering decisions during this pandemic. This is not a bad thing, as people get more in touch with their values and sense of purpose.

Talent

For many employers, the pandemic has been devastating. Laying off employees, losing revenue, and even closure. Millions of unemployed people and perhaps millions more furloughed from their jobs. The reality of economic, social, family, and personal crisis could not be starker. Yet even in the midst of this, there is a silver lining for talent.

Employers have to make tough decisions to stay in business. This means deciding which of their talented employees are essential to keep them in business and can best help them emerge from the crisis. Sometimes this is a numbers game, but it is also a time to assess the talent bench. Strangely, it is also a time for employers to be aware that some great talent is now in the job market or furloughed and considering other options. Similar to speculating on equities in a bear market, some employers are thinking about attracting others to join them as the economy emerges from the doldrums.

Innovation

Most people have had to innovate in the pandemic fall-out. Whether it is just working out a new daily routine, making masks or learning how to operate Zoom calls. There are of course some who choose to escape or simply bury their heads in the sand. They will be left behind, or they may simply be content in their own corner of the planet. Businesses are having to operate differently, customers shop differently, families communicate differently, and habits are changing rapidly.

Stress and crises are great catalysts for change. A walk back through history teaches us that lesson. Now is the time for entrepreneurs, innovators, and dreamers to step forward like never before. We can adapt, we can demonstrate agility, and we can hasten invention at this time.

Time

The daily commute, business travel, and nowhere to go. All of these have invaded our lives. For many parents, children have also filled their daily lives like never before. The dynamics of how we have used time and how we need to adjust, has meant a recalibration of daily routines. For some, this has meant less time to spend on their own, for some it has meant more time with the family, and for others it has meant way less social interaction. Regardless of which camp people fall into, the use of time has changed.

Maybe the crisis will cause us to value time more. To realize that there are more important things than striving to earn more money, or that we need to invest in relationships more, or simply that we have had a few things out of balance. A silver lining to the pandemic may be that people value time in a new way.