“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” ~ The Wizard of Oz
Sometimes leading means you’re not the point man. Sometimes leading means you’re on the sideline.
One commonly believed myth is you have to be in a position of authority in order to lead. It’s not true. In fact, I would argue that by the time most people are promoted to a position of authority, they’ve already been leading for a while.
The newly appointed elders of a church have already been leading the home congregation.
The highly decorated general had already been leading long before he began to work his way up the ranks.
Sometimes leading means you’re behind the curtain for a while. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re still leading. In fact, if you’re ever going to get the title, you need to be leading now – from behind the curtain.
It’s Saturday and I don’t know about you, but my week has been eventful – in a positive way. Some real, measurable action seems to be taking hold. That’s about all I can say for now. I’m actually looking forward to Monday (no, I’m not sick).
Since it is Saturday, let’s keep it light. I leave you with some great quotes from a wide variety of people. These are some I have read, heard, or thought about throughout the past week in relation to what I’ve been working on. Everyone have a great weekend.
Quotables
“Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. This scarcity makes leadership valuable. If everyone tries to lead all the time, not much happens. It’s discomfort that creates the leverage that makes leadership worthwhile.” ~ Seth Godin in Tribes
“If you’re not making mistakes you’re probably not doing something worth your time.” ~ Ben Young
“The first rule the music business failed to understand is that, at least at first, the new thing is rarely as good as the old thing was. If you need the alternative to be better than the status quo from the very start, you’ll never begin.” ~ Seth Godin in Tribes
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” ~ Sir Ken Robinson
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” ~ Peter F. Drucker
The other day at work I said in an email, “I think we’re barking up the wrong tree.” I hate that I said it too. Are you managing by cliche? I have three words for you if you are; Don’t do it.
Some Truth
The best leaders don’t lead by cliches and catchy slogans. The best leaders lead with ideas and action.
Some Examples
“Don’t shoot the messenger.” – Take responsibility. You’re the manager. You’re the one we look to for leadership and some direction. Maybe you are just the messenger, but using this just tries to pass off blame and solves nothing.
“It is what it is.” – I’ve talked about how I hate this one before. I’ll say it again. I hate it. It’s an excuse to solve nothing. It’s an excuse to stick with the status quo. Don’t use it. Even when it is what it is.
“No pain, no gain.” - Maybe, but using this doesn’t even pretend to show you care about the pain someone else may be saying they’re going through. It doesn’t inspire. It irritates.
“We need to hit the ground running.” – We do? Then why are we having so many meetings?
“Think outside the box.” – I’ve used this one here on my blog and in other situations. I really don’t have much of an issue with it, unless you don’t understand what it means. Don’t use the term if what you really mean is, “I want someone who thinks like the rest of us.” Otherwise you’ll be upset when the thinking starts straying outside the box.
“It’s not rocket science.” – Maybe it’s not to you and maybe it’s not at all, but using this insults your team’s intelligence. If you want to build a team who look to you for leadership, insulting their intelligence won’t work.
“At the end of the day.” – Just make it stop. At the end of the day go home and live your life.
Are you managing by cliche? Don’t do it.
Have you any others to add? I would like to hear them. The office is filled with these it seems, so don’t hold back. Now is your chance to vent.
You’ve just received a promotion. You’re leading a new team. Expectations are high, but the job you’ve been promoted to is poorly defined. No one, including yourself, really knows what is truly expected. What now?
A poorly defined position of authority usually turns out to be a poorly managed position of authority. No direction is given, so you tend to move in no direction at all. No clear goals are established, so no real, meaningful goals are ever accomplished. No real authority is handed out, so when you make a decision in your poorly defined position it’s a toss-up on whether it’s going to be the right call. You and your team are in a state of controlled chaos.
It’s not a fun position to be in. You’re tossed one direction, then another. You’re told to get one thing accomplished, but before it can be completed you’re told there’s another emergency to solve. It’s kind of like being forced into SMTP mode, always appearing to move, but never really going anywhere.
The sad thing about this situation is if you don’t act quickly and define your role, you end up taking much of the blame once things crumble. Is there anything you can do to change your fortune? I believe there is, but first, this A.D.D. Moment is brought to you by Dilbert.
So what can you do?
Take the initiative. Move.
Don’t wait for direction. Blaze your path.
Build the trust of your team. You’re going to need them as much as they need you.
Take it as an opportunity to define your position and set a clear direction for your team.
Have a clear vision beyond simple, short-term goals for your team and share it with them.
Avoid typical management jargon like, “It is what it is,” or important sounding words that lack real substance when describing your vision like, “excellence,” or “quality.”
Be direct, on topic, and reveal a vision your team will believe in.
Lead your team steadily. Despite the chaos being tossed your way on a daily basis.
Be consistent. Even when your boss is not.
Don’t be afraid to make decisions. You already know no one else will make them.
Take responsibility for your decisions and be prepared to make a clear, concise case for them.
Prepare for resistance from the status quo.
Lead the way for all. Make you and your team one that others can look to for some real direction within the company.
In short, overcome your poorly defined position by blazing a trail of your own that others will follow.
The Photo: It’s a snowball fight in Times Square. What else?
MoreNegative Buzz for Buzz: As if Google Buzz hadn’t garnered enough negative chatter. Marsha Collier discovered and then shared with the rest of us in her post that disabling Google Buzz will disable your Google profile. For many who use their Google profile page as an About Me page and way to easily connect with others, this is a huge problem. As one of my friends said to me in my only conversation on Google Buzz, “This is not the Google I have come to know and be paranoid about.”
Quotable: “Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource – the minds of our children.” ~ Walt Disney
New Be-Attitudes for Social Media in a New Millennium: In what was probably my favorite post I read last week, Trey Pennington introduces us to a new set of Be-Attitudes for social media. It is direct, simple, and brilliant. If you’re using social media in any way, print these off and keep them nearby.
Most Innovative Companies: Fast Company has listed The World’s Most Innovative Companies 2010. Facebook gets the number one billing. If you’re interested, check out who makes up the rest of the 50 most innovative companies in the world.
Side B
For this week’s musical portion of Mix Tape Monday, I want to highlight another Take Away Show. This time we have the beautiful harmony of Fleet Foxes to get this Monday started right. If you don’t take the time to watch the whole clip, at least take a moment to enjoy the a capella singing in the beginning. Everyone have a great start to the week! If the video does not show up, you can view it here.
Totally Free Tip: You can now view every single Foto Finish Friday since it’s onset in late 2007. Should you want to spend some time enjoying a few of the photos that have made the weekly series over the years, you can find them here.
*Each Friday an interesting photo is selected to end the week on.
My apologies if you receive this twice in your reader or email. The original post was somehow deleted shortly after it was posted last night.
Does it seem life always has a way of holding you back?
Consider the following people:
Benjamin Franklin was born to a poor candlestick maker. He was child number 15 of 17. He had one year of formal schooling and went on to educate himself. He became knowledgeable in science, finance, politics, and was a published writer. He also taught himself four languages and became a famous inventor.
J.K. Rowling was struggling to get by as a single mother in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was fired from her job when she was caught using the company computer to write stories. You now know her as the author of the hugely successful Harry Potter series.
Katie Couric was banned from reading the news on air by the President of CNN because he thought she had an irritating voice. She now is host of the CBS Evening News and was once a star of NBC’s Today Show.
Alexander Graham Bell had a difficult time selling potential investors on his new invention, the telephone. Even Mark Twain, who was known to throw his money at inventors of all kinds, turned him away. Then President Rutherford B. Hayes even said of the telephone, “That’s an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?”
Frank Lloyd Wright never even attended high school and then went on to become the most influential architect of the 20th century.
Ulysses S. Grant was a failed farmer, real estate agent, and store clerk before he became a general in command of the Union Army and then President of the United States .
The Beatles were rejected by Decca Records and told, “We don’t like their sound. Besides, groups playing guitars are on the way out anyway.” I think you know what The Beatles went on to become.
Rush Limbaugh dropped out of college after flunking most of his classes and decided to try and make career in radio as a disc jockey. He also worked for the Kansas City Royals as a director in promotions. No matter your political affiliation you have to admit he has become the most successful radio talk show host in the United States.
Willie Nelson was once a vacuum cleaner and encyclopedia salesman. He also dabbled in pig farming before becoming a successful musician.
Helen Keller was blind, mute, and deaf. She became one of the most inspiring and and famous women in the world.
What one thing do all these people have in common? Obstacles. They were rejected. They weren’t born into the best of circumstances. They were told they couldn’t. They were handicapped. They were held back. They were overlooked. They were shrugged off. They weren’t taken seriously. They were fired. Their talent was ignored. They overcame.
There’s two more who face similar obstacles in their lives. You and me. Overcome your obstacles.
If you’re not familiar with the SMTP method, I invite you to read my post where I go into detail about what it is.
When your manager(s) begins to deploy the SMTP method (Shuffle this. Move that. Talk change. Proclaim success.), some interesting things begin to happen. The crisis or problem that was supposed to have been solved by SMTP is still there. In fact it’s likely other issues have crept up and are now festering. Morale dips more. Even worse, confidence in management to solve very real issues is lost. It becomes clear leadership is eroding to everyone (even if they won’t tell management because of the trust lost) and easy answers are hard to find or possibly non-existent.
The Emperor cares only for his appearance. A SMTP manager cares more about appearance than real solutions that repair very real problems – “Don’t make me look bad,” or “We want to look good here.” become familiar phrases.
The Emperor proudly wears his new, albeit invisible clothes that only those who are “hopelessly stupid” cannot see. A SMTP manager has only shuffled things around and claims to have changed things for the better. Those who think otherwise are “troublemakers” or “don’t get it.”
The Emperor marches in procession through his subjects wearing his new clothes. Confident that only the foolish will not see his new clothing. A SMTP manager must make the final step of SMTP which is to proclaim success. Confident that only the troublemakers won’t believe in SMTP. Change has come. Things are better. Never mind those previous issues.
The Emperor marches along and everyone pretends to see his new clothing made of invisible thread. A child in the crowd then says what no one else was willing to say (as they often do) and shouts out that he’s really just naked. Then the subjects begin to laugh and make fun of the Emperor. A SMTP manager who has just enacted the method will have those who will go along with the ruse and pretend things have changed. Then one day someone will have the guts to state the obvious and everyone will finally stand up and agree.
How about you? Are you a manager? Are you really solving the problems within your company? Or are you simply enacting SMTP and just prancing about like a manager in new clothing?
On The Subject of Public Education:Ryan Cantrell’s (a teacher) recent post on the subject of education and in particular students who drop out of high school or do not finish college caught my attention this past Saturday. In Paradigm Shift, he makes the case that the standard is shifting and more teachers need to be open to the fact that there are other opportunities out there besides the traditional way of getting an education. Ryan’s post is from the point of view of a teacher working within the current system. It reminded me quite a bit of a post from Matt Cheuvront (a college dropout and current self-educated student) called I’ll Never Go Back To School. Matt comes to his conclusions about the apparent paradigm shift from a student’s point of view.
Quotable: “We are all failures – at least, all the best of us are.” ~ James Barrie
Confession: I was once in the same place as the Jonas Brothers. The event resulted in my man card being revoked by a number of friends (rightfully so). The encounter wasn’t on purpose, but it’s still an offense that requires repentance.
Tip:What deux yeux have teux deux teuxday? If you want a solid, yet simple site to help you keep a to do list I recommend TeuxDeux. I like it’s simplicity more than anything. They haven’t come out with a mobile app yet, but once they do I will be using the site for even more than I do now.
Just a Job:Seth Godin hits the nail on the head with his post over the weekend called Phoning It In. The post in short: Life’s too short to phone it in. Collecting a paycheck is nice, but having a job you can really be proud of is better.
Side B
La Blogotheque has been doing these Take Away Shows for a few years now. They’re a delight to watch not just because of the good, acoustic music but because of the reactions from the people who happen upon the bands as they wander around the streets of various cities. In this video, Phoenix performs the songs Lisztomania and One Time Too Many in a double decker bus in Paris. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a great start to the work week!
