leadership 101

Hi all,

Last week, I mentioned that I considered 'train or motivate' as the basic job description for anyone in a managerial role. This is based around a simple idea- when someone cannot do a job, it is because they either cannot do the job or they do not feel like doing the job. The appropriate response in these situations is to either train or to motivate, respectively.

What else do I consider as important for anyone in a managerial role? Or to put it another way, since all of these roles differ in some way, what are the general rules of thumb that apply to anyone in a leadership position?

That is what I cover in today's post. The post is a basic outline of my manager playbook, a document of mine I referenced in another post. The contents of that playbook are a fusion of my ideas, job experiences, and reading.

On the topic of my reading, the books with direct influence on the playbook and post below include High Output Management by Andy Grove, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, Rework by Jason Fried, The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, and My Years With General Motors by Alfred P. Sloan. I'm sure I've forgotten one or two. Plenty of other reading has influenced the playbook as well, particularly books focusing on developing emotional intelligence. It is hard to lead without the capacity to emphasize and understand.

This will be my last post here for at least one month. When I accumulate enough writing to start posting again, I'll post a two-week warning over on my True On Average blog (with perhaps a preview post!) and we'll resume season two (Season Two?) of The Business Bro with a run of at least six new posts.

Until then, take care, everyone. Thanks for reading. Hope to see you back with us when we resume posting in a few weeks.

Signed,

The Business Bro

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Leadership 101

A leader is anyone who identifies potential in people or process.

The minimum requirement is character. This means integrity, maturity, and the abundance mentality. Integrity is high value on oneself and is best expressed through loyalty to those not present. Maturity is the balance of courage and consideration, the capacity to express oneself while simultaneously considering others. Abundance recognizes that there is enough for all and encourages thinking in absolute instead of relative quantities.

Leading means using information to make decisions. Thus, gathering information is vital. The single biggest tool is time management. Those unable to organize their time gather less information than those who organize time effectively.

Information is powerful. Those with power must become custodians of it. They do not cut with the sword. They point with it.

A good leader adjusts to credible information. They never chase the snake. Chasing the snake only allows poison to spread in the system. Leaders constantly ask themselves 'what is the best way to contribute now' and adjust accordingly.

Leaders do not hoard information. They act once a decision is made. To delay risks leaks and forces people to wonder about what other information is being withheld.

A good leader is skeptical of new information. They always question the relevance of a given metric. They worry about efficiency only in times of scarcity and measure inventories only when shortages are frequent.

The highest leverage activity in organization increases the capacity of that organization to get excellent work done. Thus, a leader trains or motivates.

A leader identifies strengths, uses existing energy, and removes barriers to natural progress. A leader recognizes empowered as the natural condition for all persons. No one can be empowered by another. At best, a leader can reverse prior acts of disempowerment.

A leader accepts that people forget what is said or done. People do remember how others make them feel. Leaders explain, instruct, and share in ways that make the recipient feel wonderful.

Informal direction is not leadership. Leaders create resources that others can leverage later to answer frequent questions or resolve common issues. They create cultures of fire safety, not firefighting.

Shame is not a leadership tool. A leader recognizes that shame has seeped into the culture when blame, name-calling, or gossip is prevalent. If people hesitate to ask for help when they cannot complete a given job, leaders take immediate action to rectify the culture of shame.

Leadership is consistent action that exemplifies a desired culture. A culture of performance means rewarding excellent performance and nothing else. Advancement separate from performance defines politics.

Leadership requires principles, not micromanagement. Leaders trust because trust is the highest form of motivation. Instead of seeking to prevent failure, they minimize the consequences for errors and make people feel safe to share and to learn from each other's successes and failures.

Leaders recognize that good organizations are structured to allow decisions to be made at the lowest possible level of the hierarchy. Leaders always push their organizations towards this ideal. They do so by fostering the growth of the people and process around them.

Finally, a good leader is a student. They understand the patterns of people and teams in order to avoid common pitfalls and make the best use of natural capabilities. They learn from all aspects of their experience and their consistency inspires others to do the same. They are humble to accept guidance from any source because they recognize the value inherent in all.