Successful Business Leadership

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By David G. Rohlander

The CEO’s Coach

The business world today is more dynamic than it has ever been. New technologies will continue to emerge bringing new products, new competitors and more change. Businesses large and small need to seek productivity improvements, new customers, and develop competitive advantages. As you progress in your career, you will increasingly be expected to lead people, projects and functions. Each of us, though, is a unique individual with our own strengths, abilities and experiences that shape us as a person. The purpose of this article is to share proven, fundamental strategies for effective leadership in any business environment by developing your skills, attitudes, and behaviors in four critical areas:

1. Communications

2. Team building

3. Establishing and achieving goals

4. Creating a positive environment

First, check out some ideas on leadership from Colin Powell in a short video.

Communications

Effective communication requires more than talent. It involves trust, respect, understanding, empathy and resolution. It is an art. True, you need to develop your talent at writing, speaking and listening. Effective communications with people, however, depends on your relationship with them. Trust, respect, understanding, empathy and resolution are the characteristics of truly effective communications. So how do you develop these characteristics in the workplace? Learn to ask questions and give or receive feedback.

The Art of Asking Questions Obviously we ask questions to acquire information. The person asking questions, however, does more including to control a discussion. This control can be used gracefully to learn, lead and direct people to a successful outcome or it can be abused.

There is a difference between efficient and effective communication. Any quality relationship will take time and frequency of interaction. Frequent short contacts and encounters will build stronger relationships and provide the opportunity to ask better questions. If you are new in business, a good way to develop this habit is using a checklist. First list all the people you are expected to have contact with. Then make a list of all the ways you can make contact: phone, e-mail, fax, letter, lunch, appointment, racquetball, golf…the list is endless. The goal is to graciously ask questions during these encounters. Art comes into play in the manner that you ask the questions. No one likes to feel like they are in a deposition. Start with simple easy to answer questions and then gradually the intensity and depth of the questions will escalate. Remember, you are striving to build long term quality relationships. When you share information about yourself, be sincere and a bit vulnerable.

It is important to distinguish between people’s needs as opposed to their wants. Wants relate to emotion. Everybody does everything they do for a reason, either to gain a benefit or avoid a loss. Questions are the keys to unlock the vaults of information, needs, wants and emotions. As you master the art of asking questions you will gracefully control the discussions with people and gain integrity.

Those individuals who have integrity achieve the highest levels of success. When required they are able to survive life’s worst traumas. Integrity must be an integral part of a person’s career and personal life. A person with integrity has confidence in three basic areas:

• They clearly know what they believe and have defined their beliefs and values, ideally in writing.

• They are able to clearly and concisely communicate these beliefs to others.

• Their behavior is consistent with these communicated beliefs.

There are at least three groups of people who are critical to your professional development. They are co-workers, centers of influence, and customers.

A few years ago I was walking out to lunch with the president of a very profitable technology company. As we passed the receptionist, a co-worker, I asked him what her name was. He shrugged it off and didn’t care that he didn’t know her name. He had just bought a new car and wanted to show it to me. A month earlier he had reduced his work force. Guess what? In time the company was liquidated. If you don’t have time to show your co-workers that you care about them, in time they will show you that they don’t care about you either. The best way to show interest and concern is to ask them questions. What’s your name? How was your son’s little league game? What’s working well for you right now?

The depth and quality of the question you are comfortable asking a co-worker will be a reflection of the quality of your mutual relationship. As you become astute at listening, you realize how much you can tell about someone by the type of questions they ask. Peter Drucker spent a major part of his time during lectures teaching students the value of “asking the right question.” The depth of the question shows the depth of understanding a person is attempting to learn. You need to ask questions that make people think deeper.

Typical question	Quality question
What age do you plan to retire?	Why do you want to retire? How will that change your family life? Why is that important to you?
How did your jury duty go last week?	Was the judge fair? If you had been the judge, what would you have done?

When a person answers quality questions you have an opportunity to learn more about their values and beliefs. This information will help you to best serve them.

Centers of influence are people who respect you and whose position or experiences enable them to help you in your responsibilities. When you ask questions it is an opportunity to show your interest and concern for them. Lots of techniques have been used over the years to try and relate to centers of influence. Often time’s people send newspaper articles, birthday cards, or gifts to centers of influence. These may be sincere gestures; however, none are as sincere as a well thought out question and your undivided attention as you genuinely listen to the answer.

The third group is customers. As a professional speaker I have learned a new appreciation for silence. It is not effective to talk nonstop and at a fast pace. People need time to process information. After you have said something significant or asked a good question, be silent, and let them process the thought. When dealing with people you must mentally control your impulse to fill long pregnant pauses of silence with your own voice. Silence is a beautiful thing. Embrace it. Let people think. Give them time. Get to the deepest levels of emotion and meaning. Be gentle.

There are many types of questions. Open ended versus closed, leading questions, hypothetical and the list goes on. Then there are the levels of questions. Initially people talk about things. Then they advance to talk about people. Finally, they get comfortable and discuss ideas. However, if you want to pursue the art of asking questions, you need to go one step further. You need to get to a person’s emotions and prejudices. Most decisions are made from a combination of information and past experiences built on an emotional frame of reference. Emotions are the trigger in the decision making process. Emotions and feelings are not right or wrong. Everybody has feelings. Feelings are based on past experiences. The good news is that feelings can change when a person goes through new experiences.

The way you use questions is more important than the actual questions. What are your intentions with asking the questions? Do you have personal integrity? Can you be trusted? How well do you understand and read people? How well do you listen? Your ability to put all these elements together will determine if you are an artist. Always ask for permission to ask questions. Here are some sample questions in key situations:

• Rapport in a business environment - How are you doing? Did you see the game last night? How long have you had that car? Got any plans for vacation?

• Needs assessment - How do you manage your responsibilities? What have you done in the past that’s been most successful? Any mistakes you’d like to avoid in the future? What are you looking for in a supplier? What are you looking for in an employee?

• Wants assessment - How do you feel about this current market? Are you comfortable with your current plans? (If yes or no, ask-How come? Tell me more? Could you explain that to me?) Would you tell me a bit about where you plan to be in ten years? Why do you feel that way?

• Understanding of motivators in a business environment - How did you get to this position? What do you enjoy most about your job? What do your people do especially well? What’s working well for you? Why do you work here?

The Magic of Feedback If you are interested in improving yourself, your business, your products or your services, few things can be so inexpensive and yet yield such dramatic results as feedback. Quality feedback is a way to monitor continuous improvement. It’s often free and if you have the courage and consistent discipline to ask for it, it will soon change your life. Feedback in its most elementary form may be a normal routine or it may be dramatic. It may be personal or it may be sterile and statistical. One thing is certain, if it is going to help in any significant way it will probably be uncomfortable.

“The common denominator of success is this: successful people form the habit of doing things failures don’t like to do.” -Albert E. N. Gray

When you ask for feedback, be sure you have taken the time to think it through and that you ask the right questions. Focus the questions to elicit information and suggestions that will be helpful. If you were concerned with improving your job performance, rather than ask, “How am I doing?” try these questions:

• Specifically what habit do you see I should improve to get promoted, to get a raise, or to accomplish x?

• What are my three best strengths?

• What do I do that annoys people the most?

• From your point of view, what could be my biggest contribution to the management team?

The purpose of these questions is to elicit specific ideas on how you might improve to advance your management career. Avoid the temptation to look for pats on the back or warm fuzzies. They may make you feel good for a short while but they won’t help you improve and grow.

Team Building

An effective team is a cohesive unit composed of diverse individuals. To get the best results it is advisable to look at your team as your critical co-workers, customers and/or vendors. In each of these groups you must evaluate several factors: diversity, cooperation, attitude, skills and effectiveness.

There is a natural human tendency to “like” people that are the same as you are. An outgoing person enjoys other expressive people. On the other hand, a reserved person is more comfortable with a low-key person. If this tendency is taken to an extreme, it will potentially cause imbalance and weakness for a team. The best team has a balance and diversity of styles, perspectives, and talents. A good leader will evaluate the strengths of the whole team and hire or train people to supplement any weakness.
With diversity comes possible misunderstanding. It is important to ferret out and address problems on a timely basis. In teams, frequent short discussions are more valuable than a few long meetings. People develop trust and understanding by having numerous contacts with another individual.

In License to Lead, Ross Buchanan talks about research that clearly shows how you could double your employees’ cooperation and contribution. The North American work force in the research study said they could “double” their contribution to their employers if there was “more in it for them.” And what does “more in it for them” really mean? As managers, we typically interpret this statement to mean more money. But in fact, we couldn’t be more wrong. Buchanan mentions the top three things people are looking for from their managers:

• Inclusion - Inclusion rather than exclusion. It results in a strong sense of commitment.

• Appreciation - Appreciation rather than being taken for granted.

• Accountability - The accountability of themselves and their associates to perform to clearly defined expectations.

Leadership means to help people achieve what they are truly capable of, to establish a vision for the future, to encourage, to coach, to mentor and to build and maintain successful relationships.
You need to make a deliberate effort to build cooperation. There are two aspects to consider: willingness and ability. Both are necessary but they are achieved by different means.

Willingness is primarily an attitudinal factor. As a team leader you can influence the willingness of others, however, this is primarily the responsibility of each individual. Years of past experience influence a person’s attitude. A person must choose to have a positive or negative attitude. You can encourage another person but ultimately it’s up to them to decide their attitude toward the team. Likewise, you are responsible for your own attitude.

“No man has a chance to enjoy permanent success until he begins to look in a mirror for the real cause of all his mistakes.” Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich.

Let’s look at three specific areas to assess a person’s attitude:

• Time - The way a person treats time shows how much they value it (are you always on time?)

• People - Respect for others or lack of respect shows how much they value others.

• Events - What events actually get put on your priority list and then get done.

If you have a great attitude and consistently do effective activities, you will develop the skills needed in your profession. Experience is a great teacher. Skills are important, but even more important is to have a “can do” attitude combined with the prerequisite skills. Many times we hire people because of their technical skills and have to terminate them because of their attitude or inability to get along with the team.

The leader of a team has the responsibility of providing the vision for the team. Organizational goals are more important than narrow departmental goals. Effective leaders push decisions down the organization and encourage individual initiative. An effective leader has a clear understanding of high payoff activities and does them.

Your best time saver for the short term is a daily prioritized “To Do List”. The best time saver for you in the long term is “delegation.” A good system of delegation will give people enthusiasm and build teamwork. Serious damage to morale and performance is a natural by-product of poorly executed delegation. There is a significant difference between delegation and dumping menial, unpleasant tasks on others. As with most worthwhile endeavors, delegation is not something to take casually.

Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in their book Leaders, tell us that “trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.” Without trust between the leader and the people, your efforts to change will produce disaster. Authority and responsibility go together and are a basis to build trust. One of the most frustrating situations in any person’s life is when there is confusion between authority and responsibility.

The manager cannot just tell an employee what to do. It is best when the manager asks the employee what has to be done to reach a desired result. The manager knows and is expert on the goals and vision of the company. The employee is the expert on how a particular job needs to be done. When this sharing takes place you have the beginning of communication and trust.

When a leader has the courage to sincerely ask an employee, “What is the best way to do this or that?” it creates an opportunity to reward and praise the employee for their creativity. This builds trust and enthusiasm. It also encourages initiative. By contrast, the boss who tells people what to do creates low morale, lack of initiative and limited results.

Effective delegation will increase your contribution to the organization. You will be helping others increase their ability as well as developing new skills of your own. All managers need to be constantly seeking people (the ‘right’ people) who want to be pushed up within the organization. This will develop positive attitudes, emphasize personal growth, encourage creativity and reward initiative.

Establishing and achieving goals

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Every great and commanding movement is the triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever achieved without it.”

Thomas S. Monson said it well: “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.”

Dr. Jack Weber tells us, “The bottom line is that leadership shows up in the inspired actions of others. We traditionally have assessed leaders themselves. Maybe we should assess leadership by the degree to which the people around leaders are inspired.”

Managers need to help their people define their personal and professional goals. They can then help them interpret the relationship between these personal goals and the organization’s goals. People who see a direct correlation between their personal goals and their contribution to the organization’s goals will be enthusiastic and have a large stake in helping the organization reach its goals.

Let’s review a proven formula – SSMARTT - that will help you set worthwhile goals.

The first key to setting a goal is SELF. Do you see what’s in it for you? Do you have enough authority and responsibility? Nothing becomes dynamic until it first becomes SPECIFIC. Who? What? Where? When? Why? Be sure you use numbers where ever possible.

If you can’t MEASURE it you can’t manage it. Every goal needs to be measured. The best way to do this is with numbers on a chart in plain view. This will then show you where you’ve been, where you are now and where you are going.

ATTAINABLE goals are the goals that you believe you can achieve. One good reason to keep charts, measurements and records is so you have a frame of reference for future goals.

Every goal will take time, effort, knowledge, maybe money and many other resources. Be sure you have the resources to achieve your goal so it is REALISTIC. Sometimes it is necessary to back up and set a different goal to acquire a basic resource before you go for the big goal. When you set several small goals and are able to check them off, it gives a feeling of accomplishment. This will then build confidence to set more goals.

Goals can be TANGIBLE or intangible. However, it will be easier to measure and chart your goals if you are able to convert the intangible ones into tangible goals. This takes a bit of creativity. Suppose you wanted to be more gregarious. Start by setting a simple goal, “saying Hello to two people a day.” The next goal might be to “say Hello and smile.” Then progress to “say Hello, smile and shake their hand.” All these simple goals can easily be measured.

Last but not least, you want to set a TARGET DATE for completion of the goal. Until the target date is set it is just a dream or a wish. When you have thought it out using this formula and believe you can achieve the goal it will be easy to write the goal and set a target date.

Create a Positive Environment

Most of us will spend a major part of our waking hours at work. So how can we make the best of it for ourselves and our co-workers? The most critical element for a healthy work environment or any other environment is trust. The biggest lessons in trust I learned came from flying close formation in combat. This was life and death. Two key elements came into play. First is the perception by others of your competence. If I’m going to trust you with my life at supersonic speeds close to the ground or in combat, I need to believe you are competent. It doesn’t help for you to talk about it. I need to observe you and hear what others say about you.

Second, trust is dependent on keeping commitments. This again becomes a belief based on observation of your actions, not words. Simply put, “do you do what you say you will do?” Practice keeping your commitments in the little things. Be on time. If you promise to get back to someone in the morning, do it, don’t let it slip to the afternoon or the next day. Write things down so you remember what you have agreed to do. Realize that the perception others have is their reality. With frequent communication and feedback you can judge if you and others are looking at things the same way. There is no substitute for face to face discussion where both parties are trying to understand and relate.

To create a positive work environment, all people in an organization need to develop a positive mindset. This really is not as difficult as it may sound, but you can only develop it for yourself and then influence others. How? Develop positive affirmations about yourself and remind yourself daily. An affirmation is nothing more than a statement we make about ourselves in the first person. Ideally it should be in the present tense, be personal and have an emotional impact. What is amazing is that if we keep repeating an affirmation to ourselves, in time, we will believe it. First we have thoughts, then pictures in our mind and words, and finally it becomes a reality. This works either positively or negatively. You choose. My three favorite affirmations are:

• Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.

• I feel healthy, I feel happy, and I feel terrific.

• I visualize myself having an ideal positive mental attitude, and then I practice being that kind of person.

We all talk to ourselves all the time. Some call it self-talk or daydreaming. And some deny that they do it - that’s just the same thing only with a negative orientation as opposed to a positive orientation. So talk to yourself with positive affirmations. “As a man thinketh, so is he.” That’s what it says in the Bible. Science is now confirming this same point. Science has now made great progress in the study of the mind, memory, emotion and energy. Our mind is the only part of our body that can grow and improve through the years. It is continually changing. That change can either be in growth mode or in the form of deterioration. Good positive past experiences have a tendency to produce good positive thoughts in our current situations.

By the same token, if we think about a bad past experience, we will probably focus on the possible negative aspect of our current situation. What is absolutely EXCITING is that we have a CHOICE to think positively or negatively. By using affirmations, we are controlling our minds to focus on positive thoughts. That will help us to get positive outcomes.

Take that small action of repeating a positive affirmation. Repeat it until it becomes a habit. Then that habit will start to influence your attitude which will then change your feelings. Try it, you’ll like it.

What are the characteristics of an effective leader in the 21^st century? A person who has mastered interpersonal skills to communicate effectively, builds successful teams, establishes and achieves important goals, and creates a positive environment by being positive themselves.

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