Hot Air and Management: Is There a Connection?

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.

-          Peter Drucker

A story is told of a man flying in a hot air balloon who realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon and shouts, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?”

The man below says, “Yes, you are in a hot air balloon hovering about thirty feet from this field.”  “You must work in information technology,” says the balloonist. “I do,” replies the man, “How did you know?”

“Well,” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but it is of no use to anyone.”

 The man below says, “You must work in management.” “I do,” replies the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well, says the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going, but you expect me to be able to help you. You are in the same position you were before we met, but now it’s my fault.”

For a business to run effectively it must have good management. It also must have strong leadership. Not every manager will be a good leader but every strong leader can be a good manager. And while some managers are full of hot air, a skillful leader will take his or her people to a higher level.

While it is true management often time gets a bad rap, allow me to rise in defense of the many great managers out there who wisely blend their management and leadership skills to create a positive work environment. How do they do it and what can we learn from them? Here are three observations worth consideration.

A great manager is a student of leadership. He or she is smart enough to understand that management skills can only take you so far. A manager may possess enough business smarts for the day-to-day operations, but a student of leadership understands it is just half the battle.

A manager at the next level is there because he learned the value of relationships, the wisdom of collaborative teamwork, and leadership by example. He placed the needs and interests of others ahead of his own, and learned that servant leadership will take him further than brow-beating ever could. Are you a student of leadership?

A great manager is a good listener. I saw a bumper sticker recently that read, “Bark less, wag more,” and this, I thought, was a great leadership concept. Yes, there are some managers who enjoy barking because it is all they know. But those who bark and growl are not great. They are just loud.

A great leader will invest time listening to the ideas, concerns, and dreams of those around her. A manager can create the climate in which the business works, but only a leader can create the culture by which the people work. The difference being, in one setting it is about the task, in the other it is about the purpose. When the team has the ear of the leader the leader will have the heart of the team. Are you a manager that listens?

A great manager adds value to others. John Maxwell says, “Successful people find their own strength zones. Successful leaders find the strength zones of the people they lead.” And this is the point of separation between managers and leaders. A great leader wants what is best for everyone in the organization. He wants everyone to succeed and will go to great lengths to make it happen.

Finding the strength zones of those you lead is about positioning the right people in the right place where they can shine and be successful. Insecurity will prevent a manager from doing this but a great manager finds great satisfaction in seeing team members excel. Billy Hornsby said, “It’s okay to let those you lead outshine you, for if they shine brightly enough, they reflect positively on you.”Are you adding value to those you lead?

A great manager is a student of leadership, a good listener, and adds value to others. While not an exhaustive list by any stretch, it is a starting point from which to transition from being a manager to a leader.

Are you full of hot air or are you taking your people to a higher level?

© 2011 Doug Dickerson

What's Your Next Move?

When I hear somebody sigh that life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, compared to what?
- Sydney Harris

What are the top challenges you face as a leader in your business or organization? In a list generated by Sheryl Nance-Nash at dailyfinance.com she provides the Top 10 Challenges for CEO’s in 2011.

The top concerns are: eking out growth in an uncertain economy, preparing for and reducing employee flight, acknowledging the customer is boss, surrendering to social media, keeping pace with regulation, protecting against increased risks, going global, watching your reputation, keeping up with technology, and staying ahead of the competition.

Take this list and couple it with any and all other interruptions, distractions, and unexpected issues that cross your desk each day it is wise to heed the advice of John Maxwell who said, “It is lonely at the top so you better know why you are there.”

So how do you take on all of the challenges of being a leader? Perhaps the advice of an old woodsman about catching a porcupine will help. He says, “Watch for the slapping tail as you dash in and drop a large washtub over him. The washtub will give you something to sit on while you ponder your next move.” That you will face prickly situations is a given – how you face them will set you apart. Here are three suggestions to help you face your challenges and make the most of them.

Embrace your reality. Just as it is important to cast vision for your organization it is equally essential to live in the now. As you understand conditions on the ground, listen to your people in the trenches, you will best know what action to take and how to lead forward.

C. S. Lewis said, “The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.” And this is a philosophy of leadership that will take you far. Embrace the moment you are in, don’t wait for favorable conditions, press forward now. Have you embraced your reality?

Engage your team. Essential to the how well you address the challenges of leadership rest in how close you keep your team. Whether you are trying to prevent employee flight, engage social media or keep pace with customer needs, the level of success you enjoy can be traced to a well engaged team.

Consider the environment of your organization. Are team members brought in for discussions that directly impact their area of work? As you engage your team and work together you will build with continuity a team that is prepared for all of the challenges you face.

Expect the best. Keeping up with the demands of your business or organization can be daunting. Every business faces its own unique set of challenges. But the expectations and hopes you bring into the mix will create the attitude by which they are addressed. Your team will only move in the direction of your expectations.

Sam Walton said, “High expectations are the key to everything.” The expectations you bring to your business or organization creates the culture that will dominate. It will be the topic of conversation from the water cooler to the board room. If as a leader you are not pleased with the direction your organization is headed then consider your expectations. What are you communicating? What you believe you speak, what people hear they act upon, and the results are self-fulfilling prophecies.

As a leader you are faced with many challenges and great opportunities. As you face reality, engage your team, and expect the best, you will position your business for great success. The next move is yours so make it count.



© 2011 Doug Dickerson

What Brings Your Team Back on Monday?

On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are created jerks.
- H. Allen Smith

In The 360° Leader, John Maxwell shares a humorous story about a turkey chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well,” replied the bull, “why don’t you nibble on some of me droppings? They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. But he was promptly spotted by a hunter, who shot him down out of the tree. The moral of the story: BS might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

Monday morning can either be a day of dread or one filled with expectation for what lies ahead. And yes, you may have to contend with those whose path is full of droppings or with those who BS their way to the top. But as a leader, what motivation do you want your team to bring to the office on Monday? What do you believe truly motivates your team to come back? Here are three qualities that will endear you to your team and them proud to be by your side.

A leader with a servant’s heart. A leader with a servant’s heart is not absorbed in centering the organization on his or her needs, but in being a facilitator in order to make those around him successful. The mentality is not, “what can you do for me?” but rather, “what can I do for you?”

When you engage your team with a servant’s heart you will help them see and understand that you are about the big picture; not being the big person. Authentic servant leadership will have the team back on Monday; are you living it?

A leader with an open mind. Martha Stewart said, “Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.” And this is at the heart of what makes your workplace enjoyable. When leadership is open-minded to new ideas, thinking outside the margins, and vesting trust in the team, great things are within reach.

What brings your team back on Monday is an environment in which ideas are welcomed and wanted. Strong morale is built upon a foundation of mutual respect and appreciation for the talent and gifts each person has invested. The leader with an open mind is smart enough to surround himself with the best and brightest and humble enough not to care who gets the credit. Keep an open mind and you will keep your team close. How open minded are you?

A leader with a clear vision. Monday is the least of your worries if your team members do not have their hearts and minds wrapped around the vision and mission of what they are doing and why. A clear vision and mission are the two key ingredients that give your team a sense of purpose and direction.

Warren G. Bennis said, “Leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality.” And this is the responsibility of your leadership; to map out the vision in clear terms that your team can embrace. When the team knows where they are going, why they are going there, and what the rewards will be, it is then they will buy-in and go there with you.

What brings your team back on Monday is a leader with a servant’s heart; it is not about you. What brings your team back on Monday is a leader with an open mind; don’t BS them. What brings your team back on Monday is a leader with a vision; share it.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of your team. Would you come back?

© 2011 Doug Dickerson

Three Leadership Lessons from Derek Jeter

I want to give him a big hug. It’s an absolute wonderful accomplishment.
- Yankees great Yogi Berra

In case you missed it, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees reached a milestone this past weekend by becoming only the 28th player in Major League Baseball to have 3,000 hits. He is the first player in a Yankee uniform to do it. The 3,000th hit came in grand fashion as Jeter took a pitch from Tampa Bay’s ace David Price deep for a homerun.

Jeter is not just a great player but a true baseball ambassador. His hard work, love of the game, and fan following has endeared him not only to Yankee fans, but to baseball fans regardless of team loyalty. And when Jeter got the historic 3,000th hit, many of the Tampa Bay players walked out of the dugout to cheer. In a rare gesture of respect toward Jeter, the fan who recovered the prized baseball, with an estimated value as high as $250,000, returned it.

While Jeter’s 3,000th hit was a great personal accomplishment, it was also good for America’s favorite pastime. On Little League ball fields around the country and overseas, aspiring players have an authentic hero to look up to and emulate. Jeter’s heroics on the field provide lessons for the young and old alike who love the game and what it stands for. As a leader, Jeter’s milestone teaches us three timeless but valuable lessons.

Keep swinging. One thing is certain; Jeter would not have reached 3,000 hits had he not been in the batter’s box. Year after year and game after game, Jeter inched closer to 3,000 hits the old fashioned way, one hit at a time. While it may not have been a specific career goal to reach that milestone, it was a by-product of his overall success.

As a leader, the success you earn and the goals you reach come much the same way as Jeter’s –by swinging. If you have a bad day, you keep swinging. In a down economy, you keep swinging. During winning seasons or losing ones, you step up and swing because you know that one day it is all going to pay off.

Stay true. One of the most impressive accolades regarding his 3,000th hit is that he is the first to do it in a Yankee uniform. Jeter has spent his entire baseball career with the New York Yankees. In this modern era of sports this is rare. Shania Twain sings a song, “Dance with the one that brought you”, and this is what Jeter has done. Jeter has shown in his single-team career that loyalty given is loyalty rewarded.

Leaders who rise to the top of their game like Jeter are ones who understand the value of being a team player. And in an era when loyalty is farmed out to the highest bidder, it is refreshing to see someone of Jeter’s caliber exemplify s single-minded purpose to be the best in his profession. As you remain true to your purpose, give it your all, and dance with the one who brought you, great things can happen.

Dream big. I think every Little League player dreams of the day he can play for his favorite Major League team. It has been reported that growing up Jeter was no different. He wanted to play for the New York Yankees. From the Little Leagues to the Big Leagues, Jeter reached his goal and so much more.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, “I’ve seen him since the Fall League when I think he was 19 years old. He’s still the same kid. A little different haircut, but always plays the game right. He always treats people right and he tries to beat your brains out. That’s a good way to go about things.” A big dream coupled with a determination to win is what propelled him to stardom.

As a leader, the level of success you attain no one will ever know until you first dare to dream a big dream. Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” As for Jeter; congratulations, thank you for allowing us to witness your remarkable career, Cooperstown awaits you.

What dream are you pursuing?

Lighten Up: Leading is Half the Fun

Have you not learned great lessons from those who rejected you, and braced themselves against you, or disputed the passage with you?
-Walt Whitman

A story is told of a boy who asks his father to explain the difference among irritation, aggravation, and frustration. The dad picked up the phone and dialed a number at random. When the phone rang he asks, “Can I speak to Alf, please?” To which the person on the other end of the line said, “No! There is no one called Alf here.” Then, they hung up. “That’s irritation,” said the Dad.

Then he picked up the phone again and dialed the same number; once again asking for Alf a second time. This time the irate answerer replied, “No, there is not anyone here called Alf. Go away; if you call again I will call the police.” “That’s aggravation,” commented the Dad.

“Then what is frustration?” asked the son. The father picked up the phone and dialed the same number a third time: “Hello, this is Alf. Have I received any phone calls?”

While there are many rewards to leading, the story reminds us that irritation, aggravation, and frustrations do come our way. Your challenges may not come in the form of a prank call as illustrated in the story, but if you hang around long enough you will experience those wide range of emotions that will confront you as a leader.

Will Rogers said, “Do the best you can, and don’t take life too serious.” While the demands of leadership are many and much is riding on the decisions you make; it is important to be reminded to lighten up. Here are three observations about leaders who are wound too tight. Are you one of them?

A leader wound too tight is not flexible. I have met leaders over the years that were wound so tight that the least amount of resistance would overwhelm them. Tony Robbins said, “Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” This is practical wisdom that can save you a lot of aggravation.

A leader’s ability to be flexible is reflective of one who understands that conditions change, the unexpected happens, and that you can take it in stride. As you demonstrate flexibility to changing conditions it will send the message throughout your organization that you can roll with the flow and it is possible to bend. If things do not go according to plan today; lighten up, tomorrow is a new day.

A leader wound too tight can’t grow. If a leader can’t adapt to his or her circumstances it will be hard for those around him as well. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” A leader wound too tight is restricted in many ways least of which is his ability to think clearly, include others, and provide the emotional strength needed in times of testing.

As a leader you need an outlet that will give you balance in your daily life. This should include a healthy diet and exercise, a network of friends who can give you perspective, and a faith that will give you courage to put your frustrations into more capable hands. As you lighten up you can go up.

A leader wound too tight will eventually snap. Let’s face it; at one time or another we've all reached the snapping point. You may be there now. The Greek philosopher Democritus said, “The person who can laugh with life has developed deep roots with confidence and faith-faith in oneself, in people and in the world, as contrasted to negative ideas with distrust and discouragement.” What about you? Have you learned to laugh?

Irritation, aggravation, and frustration is part of leadership; a part of life. But as you go through these times it is important to understand this one thing – you go through them. What you go through is not always a choice, but how you go through it is – lighten up.

Are you wound too tight?

© 2011 Doug Dickerson