#1 Job - set the example

As leaders we have many jobs: motivate our followers; update our own leaders; understand the overall organization's mission; communicate it to our followers; etc., etc., etc. But one job is, and continues to be, at all times and specially in these difficult times, the number one job: set the example.

Our people watch us and follow our example. If we are excited about the vision, they are excited. If we are down on it, they are down on it. If we are positive, they are positive. If we are down on the job, they are down.

This was brought home to me recently with our new Boy Scout District Chair, a volunteer position. After we had told him of all the problems and issues he said: "Great. Thanks for sharing. Now we have to forget about that and figure out how to accomplish our goals. We set the example and we must be positive. Our goal is to win the district quality award and to do that we'll have to compensate for whatever issues there may be in other areas."

Wake up! Whining time is over. Time for us as leaders to take the challenge, turn it into an opportunity, and lead our team via our example! We can do it with Scouts and we can do it in our jobs and any other situations when we are the leader.

Happy holidays to all and the best for 2010!

Why do projects take so long?

A key piece of my company's business (Solera Associates LLC - see http://www.pmlead.com) capability is its ability to help others accelerate their projects. How do we do it?
While we like Agile and Agile-like methods, such as Commitment-Based Project Management -- CBPM -- (see our LinkedIn Group at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1944064&trk=hb_side_g for various discussions on this approach developed at Intel Corporation) instead of the more traditional, process-intensive approaches, we also find that leadership plays a major role.
Processes can help you lead a project. Processes well executed will allow a team to succeed. By applying leadership we can be even more effective at getting the team to excel. As leaders we need to set the vision (leader's intent), communicate it, and enable our teams to execute within that intent. Processes take time. Leadership can shorten this time.
Traditionally project managers have controlled the details of the project, from the planning to the actual execution. CBPM encourages the owners and customers of the deliverables to execute more independently from the project manager and hold each other accountable. This process, coupled with leadership that not only encourages but expects and empowers this behavior, allows teams using CBPM to excel in their performance.
To answer the question in the title: projects take too long for a number of reasons but one of them is lack of the appropriate leadership needed to enable the team to succeed and reduce the time. Other reasons why projects take to long include lack of scope, requirements, plan, and execution clarity, among others. Leadership addresses all of these. CBPM addresses plan and execution clarity. For more details see our LinkedIn group mentioned above and my PM blog at http://www.pmlead.org.

Networking Help

While leaders tend to be very much people-focused, some, like me, are so focused on the mission (task) at hand that I ignore interacting with people in situations not directly related to the effort. For example, the art of networking is something that I used to not pay much attention too. Since it did not address the task at hand, I didn't do it. Well, that's a problem! You need a strong network to succeed as a leader, whether at work, searching for a new job (it is said that up to 85% of the jobs are found through networking), or any number of other leadership situations.

But you have to build a network before you need it, so that when you need it, it is there. How do you do it? You do it by reaching out, connecting, offering help, acting as a "maven" and go-between, not expecting much in return.

But it's hard. When I left my last corporate job I realized I needed help in this area. While some of my family can work a room as well as the best politicians anywhere, I'm a bit more shy (yes, whether you believe it or not. Saying hi to a stranger and starting a conversation is one of those things that can stop me. Yet I'll stand in front of a group of total strangers and deliver a day-long workshop at the drop of a hat. But going up to someone and saying "hi, I'm Jose Solera and I came to better understand what this group (whatever event I'm at) is doing. How about you?" can be very hard.) I have improved but got much more to go.

Well, at that point, I had the luck of running into Liz Lynch's Smart Networking book. Liz was like me. She struggled connecting with people. She described her challenges and has been so successful that she has made a business out of it. So, if networking is something you would like some helpful hints on, you can do no better than checking out her book.

Learning Leadership from Extreme Situations

Recently I finished reading COL Tom Kolditz's In Extremis Leadership: Leading as if Your Life Depended on It. Using his experience both in combat as well as a sky diver and Officer in Charge of West Point's skydiving team, COL Kolditz discusses how extreme situations, what he calls "in extremis" teach individuals how to lead.

In extreme circumstances, when significant matters are at risk, such as lives, the leader focuses the leader on what is important. It also focuses the followers on what is important.

While most of us in the business world will rarely face an extreme situation, we can all benefit from these lessons. Learning from the experience of others is a time-honored way to learn and, who knows, we may be the one called to make the tough decision that saves or sinks the organization (and the impact it can have on others).

Project Management ... should it be Project Leadership?

The more I work on project management roles, the more I think it should really be project leadership. While the management aspects of PM are significant, the results most of the times depend on the leadership skills of the PM much more than on the management aspects.

Why? Well, team members have a lot to do. Many times they are in multiple teams or roles. While a Gantt chart, to do list, or some other tool you may use as a PM may tell people what they need to do when, it's those items that people know how they fit in the overall scheme of things, those that the leader expects them to deliver on, that are done.

It is critical that team members understand how their piece of the project fits in the overall effort and why it is important. This understanding provides additional motivation that will ensure they continue delivering even if the PM is not monitoring them.

But other considerations come into play too. Recently I've been asked to lead a couple of non-profit volunteer efforts. I've found myself having to regularly work to keep the teams discussions focused, as they tend to ramble otherwise. It is not that the team members don't care, they do. It is not that they don't understand how their piece fits into the effort, they do. But they also want to share a lot of information, some of it relevant to the subject. As PM/PL (project leader, probably a better term) I need to drive the conversation while not being dictatorial so that we get the goal accomplished in the time available.

So, PMs, keep your management skills sharp but work on those leadership skills to ensure success.

Social Media and Leadership -- what's the impact?

Recently I've been spending a lot of time learning and investigating social media. Don't get me wrong. I've been in LinkedIn for a few years, in Facebook for the last two, and in Twitter for about a year. Recently I joined XeeSM, a social network site aggregator that allows me to have my sites in one place (more is planned for the site, so keep an eye on them). Needless to say, Social Media is here. Take a look at this YouTube video if you have doubts.

What does that mean for us leaders? It's hard enough being a leader face-to-face. Harder when using the phone and email to communicate with team members. But, now we have to deal with social media and its impact on our efforts? What kind of leadership presence can we project through these sites? Until now, most of these sites have been personal (that is, focused on one person) although many organizations have Facebook pages. How can we use Facebook and similar sites to help our efforts?

I see these sites as being able to allow leaders to build their personal, relational, and contextual leadership by sharing information about themselves, connecting with others, and explaining the context within which the team does its work. Properly done they may even be helpful in the inspirational aspects of leadership.

But, does that mean we "friend" everyone in our team to our Facebook page? Do we create a page just for the team? How about issues of external vs. internal access? If our team is internal to the organization, how to we set up such social networks? If both inside and outside, a Facebook or similar page may be better.

With no current project to use as context, my preference would be to set up a site for the team. Similar in a way to what organizations do currently with file sharing services (e.g., Sharepoint) but with more ability for people to post personal information. But that may not be the best approach. This is a new set of technologies. What do you think?

A very good leadership model

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a leadership workshop at Duke University. Led by Sim Sitkin and Allan Lind, two Fuqua Business Schools professors at Duke, psychologists by training, it taught leadership from what I would consider one of the most complete leadership models I've seen (an overview and article are available at Delta Leadership's site).

The model uses a pyramid with six leadership domains to describe the behaviors a leader must exhibit and the impact such behaviors can have.

At the base of the pyramid are the foundation of all good leaders: personal, relational, and contextual leadership.

Personal Leadership addresses the leader's personality, which must be real. It includes expertise, and creativity and innovation among other. It leads to Credibility of the leader by his/her subordinates.

Relational Leadership addresses how leaders relate to their followers, peers, and superiors. It leads to Trust.

Contextual Leadership addresses how leaders simplify and explain to subordinates the situation and mission. It leads to a sense of Community.

On level up on the pyramid are Inspirational and Supportive Leadership. They build on the leadership domains below. If the domains below are not strong, these domains can be impacted.

Inspirational Leadership addresses the behaviors of the leaders that inspire his/her subordinates and leads to high Aspirations by the followers.

Supportive Leadership provides the support that subordinates need to take the Initiative.

At the apex of the pyramid is Responsible Leadership. This domain addresses the ethics, governance, and other ares of responsibility of all leaders and it leads to Stewardship. Like Inspirational and Supportive Leadership, it depends on the domains below it.

This is but a very brief description of the model to provide an idea. Please refer to the article available at Delta Leadership for details. A book is still "in the works" which would provide a more complete description than an article is able to provide. If you have the time and the resources, I strongly recommend the six-day workshop. It includes personal coaching using a 360-degree assessment based on the model as well as the development of action plans to improve your leadership. Delta Leadership does provide customized, shorter training. Contact Carol Land for details.

Decisive Leadership -- a Story

I've been asked to be involved in the leadership development task force for a major business school, so I'm diving back into leadership development materials. An interesting book I just ran into is Decisive Leadership: The Vision to See Beyond by Anthony Jackson.

Like a number of other leadership books, it communicates its message through a story based, partially, we presume, on the author's experience. A small firm is struggling after years of success. Revenues are down and profits are down even more. The CEO is frustrated and doesn't know what to do. The COO seems to be undermining the CEO, even though they've worked together for over 10 years, since the founding of the company. What to do?

The CEO happens to have read a book by a leadership coach and reaches out to him. The coach comes in, faces the typical rejection by the troops, etc. You get the picture.

While somewhat predictive, this is an excellent book to communicate the value of clear decision making. How to make those decisions? It's a question of balance in one's life. This is a quick read (an afternoon) but highly entertaining and informative.

"Radical" Reding

In support of one of my clients I'm digging back into my leadership readings and recently re-read a couple of excellent books that, using an allegory, provide an interesting perspective on leadership.

Steve Farber's The Radical Leap and The Radical Edge tell stories of how, Steve, in a fictional situation based on his prior consulting experiences, helped a couple of organizations improve their leadership while at the same time learning a lot in the process. The focus of these two books is on the power of personal commitment and support of followers.

These books provide a different approach than the traditional command-and-control leadership styles that, unfortunately, continues to be prevalent in many organizations. A key part of this approach is the ability to eliminate fear while at the same time committing yourself and your organization to some audacious moves.

If you want to learn how to develop outstanding organizations, these are good books to read. While quick reads, they provide a lot of value.

Lessons from Leadership Schools

As a West Point graduate I feel I received one of the best leadership trainings available to any college-age student. And it is not just leadership that is valuable in the military. It is leadership that is valuable in every day life.

But West Point is not available to everyone for numerous reasons. Yet there's another, some times maligned, leadership school that does an outstanding job: the scouting organizations, in the US the Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA. Both my children went through their programs, one becoming an Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts) and one receiving the Gold Award (Girl Scouts). I did a couple of years in the Dominican Republic Scouts (could not continue due to relocation) and have been actively involved as an adult with both organizations although the majority of the time has been with the Boy Scouts.

I've seen boys grow from ackward, clumsy youth to people who others notice when they walk in; people who take initiative and lead when needed. A great book about what Eagle Scouts have accomplished is Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. Alvin Townley, the author, set out to travel the USA meeting with Eagle Scouts and getting their stories.

There is a lot we can learn from this great leadership schools. While some of us may be too old to be scouts, we can still join as adults to help (they have training for adults too!) develop young people. And if you don't have time to do that, consider grabbing this book at the library or at your local bookstore or at the link above take a read. It is an outstanding book.

Back to leadership

After some time away from leadership topics, doing mostly project and program management activities, I've come back to leadership. Not that I was totally absent from the leadership world: I taught some leadership classes at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management over the last two years and have emphasized the importance of leadership in my PM blog http://www.pmlead.org and in my site http://www.pmlead.com.

So, why am I back here? Well, one of my current clients asked for some guidance on how to improve the performance of his team. I quickly came back to the leadership discipline, recommending to him that he read It's Your Ship, a book previously discussed here. I also gave him 25 guidelines on how to lead, which I'll discuss here later on.

But another story triggered the return. The May 25, 2009 issue of Business Week has an article on "Selling by Storytelling". The story, while marketing-focused, describes how Jeff Gomez has been successful at creating stories for companies such as Mattel and Disney. This story triggered a thought about a book I read in the last year of so about the importance of using storytelling to sell your ideas: The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations by Stephen Denning. The book relates the struggle that Mr. Denning had at the Wrold Bank, where he worked, in selling the concept of knowledge management and knowledge sharing. While he presented it as a business proposal, no one listened to him. He then ran into some situations where through stories people had been able to accomplish major successes and he started pulling stories into his effort, which turned it around. So, if you want to light a fire under the initiatives you are leading, consider what story you can tell to sell it. Get this book as a good primer.