In organizations worldwide, people are promoted to management and leadership positions each day. Through no fault of their own, they seldom have a clue as to how to manage or lead effectively. Their companies, while demanding much of them, fail to provide them with the necessary skills, coaching, training, and tools to lead successfully.
This first section includes four chapters:
Chapter 1: Welcome to Leadership – Nature of the Job
Chapter 2: Who Said It Would Be Easy? – Scope of the Job
Chapter 3: Principles of Effective Leadership – Essence of the Job
Chapter 4: Disciplines and Practices of Highly Effective Leaders
1
Welcome to Leadership
Nature of the Job
Today, there's an unprecedented demand for highly effective leaders. As organizations strive to stay competitive in the tough global marketplace, the ability to develop effective leaders has become increasingly difficult. Organizations are facing – or must face – the reality that effective leaders, at every level, can make or break them.
An aging workforce and retiring baby boomers compound the challenge. Where will tomorrow's leaders come from? Smart organizations must identify and train their talent to meet rigorous leadership demands, or they risk failure.
The Need for Leadership Is Greater Now Than Ever Before
The Gallup Business Journal had it right in its March 25, 2014, article, “Why Great Managers Are So Rare.” According to authors Randall Beck and Jim Harter, “Companies place the wrong leadership candidates in the job 82 percent of the time.”
Think about that number for a moment: 82 percent? Is it any wonder that so many companies fall by the wayside? As Beck and Harter put it, “Bad managers cost businesses billions of dollars each year, and having too many of them can bring down a company. The only defense against this problem is a good offense, because when companies get these decisions wrong, nothing fixes it. Businesses that get it right, however, and hire managers based on talent, will thrive and gain a significant competitive advantage.”
The lack of effective leadership is further evidenced by the staggering number of employees who aren't working to their full potential. In another Gallup Business Journal article, “How to Tackle U.S. Employees' Stagnating Engagement,” dated June 11, 2013, authors Susan Sorenson and Keri Garman claim that only 30 percent of American workers “…were engaged, or involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their workplace.”
They go on to say, “An alarming 70 percent of American workers are not showing up to work committed to delivering their best performance, and this has serious implications for the bottom line of individual companies and the U.S. economy as a whole.”
Mike Myatt, author of the book Leadership Matters…The CEO Survival Manual (Outskirts Press, 2007), writing in Forbes says, “Why do businesses fail? If you're willing to strip away all the excuses, explanations, rationalizations, and justifications for business failures, and be really honest in your analysis, you'll find only one plausible reason – poor leadership. I've often said real leaders refuse to take the credit for success, but they will always accept responsibility for failures. Harsh? Yes; but it goes with the territory.”
Steve Tobak of Fox Business News puts it this way in an article he wrote for foxbusiness.com on January 20, 2013, “Why Good Companies Fail”: “When you cut through all the BS [of a failing business] it always comes down to one thing. People. If you observe the people in charge, ask some good questions, and poke around a bit, you can usually figure out what's really going on. And what's really going wrong.”
Steve continues: “At the core of every company in trouble is usually a management team that's not as competent as it needs to be, more complacent than it should be, and more dysfunctional than it can get away with.”
In such an environment is there any basis for questioning the need for more capable leaders, or as I like to say, highly effective leaders?
Real Life, Real Lessons
I wrote this book after being prodded by thousands of people who have attended my speeches and workshops, the hundreds of executives I've coached, and the countless organizations I've worked with in consulting and training. I designed the book to address and answer a critical question: What can you do to improve your leadership?
This book provides you with simple, pragmatic principles, as well as stories and exercises that can make you a more effective leader as you read and apply the book's lessons.
Leadership is not rocket science. It comes down to living and leading by the golden rule: Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.
Through real-life stories and examples, I provide a window into the lessons gleaned in hundreds of coaching sessions. Certain names and details have been omitted to protect clients' identity. I confess that coaching alone wasn't responsible for their successes.
Leadership requires common sense, knowledge, and honesty with people. It's talking – and walking – the talk. Effective leaders learn about the people they lead, they communicate well, they offer relevant feedback and praise, and they give credit to those who deserve it. They are a positive force at work (where people spend most of their time), and create a welcoming, productive environment where people can enjoy their jobs.
Secret Ingredient: People
“You can dream, create, and design the most wonderful place in the world…but it takes people to make the dream a reality.”
When Walt Disney made this statement some 55 years ago, he likely never imagined that it would be applied to the workplace and become a core management tenet.
It doesn't matter what business you're in – manufacturing, accounting, legal, high tech, biotech, blue collar, or white collar – nor the size or nature of your organization: It's people who are your most vital resource. Without highly motivated employees, your organization will struggle to survive.
Motivated people give you a competitive advantage. As a leader, you can make the difference between those who care deeply about their roles versus those who simply show up for work every day (if you're lucky), and go through the motions while collecting a paycheck. An effective leader motivates employees to work together and achieve greatness, instilling confidence and trust as they go about their everyday business.
Of the 70 percent mentioned in the previous Gallup article, 52 percent are not engaged, and another 18 percent are actively disengaged. These employees are emotionally disconnected from their companies and may actually be working against their employers' interests. That's a frightening number! What does this say about the state of leadership today?
People make companies. As leaders, we often spend most of our time on strategy and improving bottom-line results, but what about our people? It's our job as leaders to guide them, help them develop more skills, and increase productivity.
I've often questioned why so few MBA programs include essential people skills (often called “soft skills” in their curricula). I was therefore happy to read a recent Wall Street Journal article describing how top MBA programs are starting to incorporate soft skills into their course studies. It's about time! In today's workplaces, these soft skills can make or break a leader. Let me give you an example.
Jim Gets It Done the Right Way
Jim, an engineer at a pharmaceutical plant, was loved by everyone he worked with. When people in production had a problem, they would seek him instead of their manager for help. Jim was outgoing, pleasant,