Can your leader save you?

Leadership Risk Analysis
The flagging economy may have soul mates on your company’s executive board. According to “Leaders Without Sea Legs: Threats to Staying Afloat During Tough Times,” a new white paper from Development Dimensions International (DDI), your company’s leaders also may be its worst enemies. Here are key findings from the report, which analyzed information about the performance of 3,623 executives who participated in DDI assessment centers around the world, and some tips to take away:

• Nearly three of 10 executives (29 percent) are deficient in their ability to drive execution. In addition, two in 10 (20 percent) are strong or moderately strong candidates for derailing due to a lack of discipline. Combining the assessment and personality data (and eliminating overlaps), 43 percent of the executives are at risk of being “hit-or-miss” leaders. Thus, the report states, “there is a high threat to the organization from executives who fail to take full operational control.”

• Assessors rated only a few leaders (8 percent) in serious need of an effective executive bearing. However, another 19 percent are at a high or moderately high risk for being emotionally unpredictable under pressure.

• Some 26 percent of executives are at high or moderately high risk of derailing by remaining detached from others. There also is a moderate risk that leaders will be too downbeat to inspire a sense of optimism about the organization’s future.

• More than one-third of the sample (34 percent) have a development need in the competency of empowerment. Exacerbating this lack of skill are tendencies to micromanage (20 percent at high or moderately high risk of derailing) or poor interpersonal relations (14 percent at high or moderately high risk of derailing).

Companies can do the following to keep these undesirable leadership profiles from emerging:

• Explain and discuss the impact of derailing personality patterns on key business drivers. For example, if your business needs to identify cost controls or innovative ways to generate sales, consider the impact of a leader with an arrogant derailing tendency. If the leader acts like a know-it-all in meetings, dominates the discussion, and prevents others’ good ideas from surfacing, he or she becomes a barrier to generating effective solutions.

• Ensure leaders have a 100-day action plan that identifies their derailers and specifies the actions needed to manage those behaviors. The plan should be reinforced with processes such as time frames, required support (e.g., coaches), and measures to indicate improvement.

• Heighten self-awareness and sustain improvement in managing derailers by creating an open environment and ensuring leaders have feedback skills. “A leadership team that understands each others’ derailment tendencies and the skills and receptivity to provide feedback,” the report notes, “will be more successful avoiding situations that trigger potentially destructive behaviors and their associated business execution flaws.”

In other words, the best way to make sure that your leaders are ready and capable to navigate the current business challenges, is to provide them with a community and practice field to discuss and support ongoing leadership development. Russell Martin & Associates has successfully built these programs for many companies. Talk with Margie Brown mbrown@russellmartin.com to build one for your organization before it is too late or visit

Leaders and Recession

In times of trouble, the leader makes the difference between a company that survives and those that do not. In boom times, the same is true. In both cases, leaders must set a clear vision in the chaos, and have a smart and measurable strategy broken into clear projects. Although he or she may feel as confused and stressed as everyone else, the leader brings the team back to task in a positive and meaningful way, just in time to save the day. Here are the Top 5 Leadership Characteristics for Recessionary Times:

1. Indifference

Leaders step out of the chaos by remembering the Jesuits' practice of indifference. In change research, this is also referred to as possibility thinking. It's possible that my staff is going to stay stressed and ineffective forever, and it's possible that it will be over today. Either way, as a leader I know what I am going to do to help right now.

2. Focus on the Survivors

Leaders can get so fixated on the difficult conversations with the staff that are being laid off, that they can completely neglect the teams that have stayed. Communication is the key to helping a team move through the guilt and loss of a layoff.

3. Focus on the Goal

Whatever your organization does, your staff makes a unique contribution to it. Keep them focused on exactly what that contribution is, how it is measured and why their work really matters.

4. Communicate, communicate, communicate

As leader, you may be stressed and worried as well, but keep it to yourself. Instead, be present for people. Ask good What? and How? questions. Let them talk and you listen. "Sell" them on the benefits of the future.

5. Give yourself time to chill

Make sure you are taking care of the most critical person to your team - YOU. Exercise, sleep, eat well... you know the drill. Cherish yourself as an important asset.

For more tips for leaders in change, check out my books IT Leadership Alchemy and Leadership Training, as well as our new mini-book Leadership Learning Nuggets available at the store at

Continue to strengthen the hands of the strong! Lou Russell lou@russellmartin.com

Bad News Early is Good News

For 2009, how about a goal of telling the truth? If you're project is in trouble, it did not get there suddenly... it happened 1 day at a time. If you tell the truth, you can get the help when you need it in time to avoid big disasters. If you protect your stakeholders from the truth, but are forced to admit it down the road, it will be very costly.

Check out the article "The Liars Club" by John Sterman.

Flexible Structure!

Lou

IT Leadership and Recession

Most IT staff have been cut but the project load has stayed the same. IT leaders live in the world of difficult conversations. Each project is already in trouble. How can you do more with less?

Well, you know you are being a leader when it is hard. IT Leaders have to seek clarity in the ROI of each project so they can help the BUSINESS say NO to work that is not critical. There are far too many 'nice to have' projects out there churning up labor hours.

Here's a truth: If a project is out of money and out of time there are only TWO CHOICES:

1. Do the project really crappy
2. Do a smaller part of the project well

Great IT Leaders know how to communicate this to the business.

Why Leaders Risk It All

From Time 3/24: In the 1990s, Israeli researchers identified what they thought of as a risk gene, making it easier for some people to respond to stress or anxiety. That only accounts for 10% of risk taking behaviors. Between presidential candidates stretching the truth, governors and other politicians risking it all with shady behavior, how can these people be so different in the personal life than in their public persona? Another study from the University of Dayton suggests that serotonin may play a role - with low levels you may take more risks (less inhibition). Other scientists blame high testosterone levels which may be tied to evolution. Cave men took big risks to hunt big game, which might explain why men seem more likely to take risks than women. Another opinion from the University of Delaware's Marvin Zuckerman - high sensation seekers tend to underestimate the risk.

Here's a scary thought - humans get used to thrills, which means needing more and more to get the same buzz, similar to addiction to drugs and alcohol. SO... you can get addicted to taking your leadership to edgy places over time?

This is scary to me, because leadership is about PEOPLE - other people. The minute leadership becomes about ME, the edgier it gets.

For more about our leadership retreats and consulting, check out www.russellmartin.com or check out my books IT Leadership Alchemy, Leadership Training and Leadership Development.

Lou Russell

How to get more time as a leader

Wow, this is a powerful list from a great blog Slow Leadership. Ouch.

Lack of trust is probably the single greatest cause of overwork amongst leaders at every level. Because they don’t trust others:
They can’t delegate anything other than the most mundane jobs.
They have to attend pointless meetings, in case something is said or decided behind their backs.
They have to be on every circulation list for the same reason.
They have to re-do, vet, double check and edit their subordinates’ work, because they don’t trust them to do it properly.
They have to devote time to regular boot-licking, because they suspect no one trusts them either.

I have a question. There is a fine line between THIS and holding people accountable, and/or hiring new people, getting rid of people who aren't helping, etc. What do you think?

Lou

Also true for Leaders - CONFIDENCE

I pulled this from an INC article on success in selling but it struck me that these were also true for great leaders. Check out www.itleadershipalchemy.com to find out more about my book and see if you see the parallels with this bit about salespeople and how to build confidence -

Here, then, are key areas to improve your team's confidence and esteem:
Knowing you: Sales people who want to improve their mediocre performance must begin by understanding themselves. What takes them up, what takes them down, and more importantly, what do they want most in life?
Knowing the company: And by knowing the company, they must know the people. One of the key areas of team building is knowing and embracing the people around them everyday. When you have people you know and depend on, you sell better. In part because they know they can depend on you so they work harder for you. All of this equals more sales.
Knowing the customer: Author and businessman, Harvey McKay, wrote a list of 64 things you should know about your client to really be effective. Many sales reps only know very basic things about the client. The more you know, the more confident you are, and the more you sell.
Knowing the product: Become an expert on your product. If you are lacking in this area, here is the key. Learn one product at a time. When you become "expert" at one product, you condition yourself to learn other products at the same level of effectiveness.
Set your vision: Set a vision of where you want to go. When anyone has a burning vision of what they want out of life, small set backs remain small. The end result is that very few things get in your way. You don't see the small stuff and your eyes stay attached to where you want to be.

Lou Russell

10 Competencies of a great IT Leader #1

I will share a bit about each competency one at a time over the next 10 weeks. For a complete list, check out my book IT Leadership Alchemy at www.russellmartin.com or email us at info@russellmartin.com to get a paper assessment of the competencies.

Competency #1 Self Understanding

A great leader must start here and:
* Develop clarity of personal value, purpose and vision
* Develop and execute a personal strategy (goals)
* Demonstrate authenticity through behavioral alignment with values and vision (leverage your strengths)
* Take accountability for personal and leadership choices.

Lou Russell
Fun, Fast, Flexible and Measurable Learning