Straight Talk

I happened across a movie the other day called Straight Talk.  It’s about a young woman who was accidently hired by a radio station to be an Agony Aunt.  This young woman, (played by Dolly Parton), was delightfully guileless and dished out her unadorned advice with clarity and good humour.   For example, her counsel to one caller who was obviously playing the martyrdom card went something like this: “Get down off the cross honey, somebody needs the wood!

It made me smile.  And, it also made me think about how important straight talk is in leadership.

Straight talk in organizations tends to accomplish understanding quickly. It brings clarity to confusion.  It allows for quicker problem solving. It values truth.  It builds trust. It grows integrity.

And yet, in so many organizations, we are incredibly bad at it.

There are probably a lot of reasons for this.  I suspect most of them have something to do with internal politics, bureaucracy, or perhaps a belief that the more complicated or obscure the language, the more important the message.

Whatever the reason, to me, creating an environment that values candid and respectful discussion is a leadership imperative and a key to building sustainable organizations.

So how might we go about establishing this straight talk environment?  Well, it could begin with establishing some principles, not unlike these:

Principle # 1: Talk to the Organ Grinder, not the Monkey

When we talk to the wrong person (or people) about something, we often do it to gain support or sympathy for our position.  It doesn’t usually solve anything and can create ill feeling and unnecessary speculation.

Principle #2: This organization is a jargon-free zone

I’m a fan of simple language. Business jargon (or any kind of jargon for that matter), may sound more intelligent or important but it has this tendency to get in the way of understanding.

Principle #3: Feedback goes stale. Serve while fresh. The longer we take to share information with each other, the less value it will have for us.  Ask permission… then deliver it when it’s fresh.  For one thing, it’ll be easier to remember and that usually makes it more useful.

Principle #4: People are not punished for speaking their minds

Often people are reticent to speak up for fear of ridicule or some other subtle form of punishment.  Taking the hammer out of the communication toolbox allows for more open and meaningful conversation.

Principle #5: Everyone has something important to say.

Adherence to this principle makes a promise to those who may be reticent to speak up, that their opinions count.

Principle #6: Listen first…talk later.

Listening is part of having respectful and candid conversations.  It allows for good questions.  Good questions invite thoughtful answers, which in turn, increase the quality of conversations.

Principle #7: R-E-S-P-E-C-T in this organization is an important noun and verb

This principle (otherwise known as the Aretha Franklin principle) pretty much speaks for itself.  Without it, the chances of establishing a culture of straight talk are pretty dim.

What do you think?  What would principles would you add?  How do you achieve straight talk in your organization?

 

To Lead is also to Follow

I asked a question the other day and that was, “At what point does a leader lead by following?”

One response, from Susan Mazza (check out Susan’s Blog, Random Acts of Leadership here) is that leaders follow when they want to empower others to lead.  And that, I think is one of the paradoxical things about leadership.  Sometimes, to lead is also to follow.

But what does it actually look like? And, what does it take?

The other evening, I was watching one of my favourite TV shows, NCIS.  I love it because the dynamics of the team of NCIS agents is so full of energy.  The seriousness and gravity of their work is wonderfully offset by a lighthearted banter, a lot of mischief and loyalty to each other that transcends words.

In this show, it is clear who the boss is. Jethro Leroy Gibbs brings his marine training to the team.  He runs a tight ship and everyone calls him “Boss” His leadership style is pace-setting. He expects the highest level of performance from everyone at all times.  He drives them, challenges them and fiercely defends them. You simply don’t mess with Gibbs.

And yet, the other night, Gibbs gave over the leadership of the team to one of his agents, Tony DiNozzo and became a team member.  Tony had knowledge of the case that he did not and so he said simply, “Your case, your lead…Boss”

Here is that portion of the episode that illustrates the power of leading by following. Watch it to the end and see what you think.  To me, there are no grand gestures, only a simple acknowledgement, in a lot of little ways, that the leadership has shifted from one person to the other.  DiNozzo steps forward and begins to take on the leadership mantle.  Gibbs steps back and participates with the team. That, I think is often what it looks like if approached well.  There is no fanfare or great speech. One simply gives way to the other in service of getting the job done.

So what does it take? Okay, this is what I think it takes:

• Accurate knowledge of a person’s capabilities.  It stands to reason that it is unwise to throw the keys to the family car to someone who either doesn’t know how to drive or is always having accidents.  So, as a leader, it is important to be solidly aware of just what people are capable of doing.

• Ability to judge potential in others to do more. Part of a leader’s role is to observe and to listen to what the people around them are saying and doing.  Most people need encouragement and challenge before they can see that they are really capable of doing more.

• Courage to take risk. Not everything works out the way we imagine and so there is an element of risk to standing back and giving the job of leadership to someone else.

• Enough humility to set aside the ego in service of something greater. This can be a toughie.  The ego does not take kindly to playing second fiddle, but sometimes following someone else’s lead produces a better result and it is the quality of the result that ultimately matters to good leaders.

What do you think it takes?  What are your experiences with leading by following?  What have I missed?

Leadership Style – Part I

What’s your leadership style?  Well, that’s a big question.  And the answer doesn’t always come readily to hand because leadership style varies from person to person and from situation to situation.

As the boss, you might say, “I am what I am and people will just have to figure it out and work with it”

In fact, in many cases that is just what happens.  New leaders are introduced and those who are required to follow them spend a lot of unproductive time trying to figure out the new leaders’ modus operandi and then spend more unproductive time trying to adjust their own behaviour to suit.

So here’s the message.  It is not the primary job of followers to figure out how to respond to the leader.  It is the job of the leader to set the tone and direction;  determine the needs of the followers and; respond to them in such a way that they get what they need to do their best work.

I recognize that that is a rather simplistic statement.  After all, personality and preferences of all parties involved tend to cast a haze over the leader/follower relationship. But, being able to recognize what kind of leadership is required in a variety of situations and to supply it in a timely way is a skill worth acquiring.

So to kick things off, I’m going to start with the fundamentals and point you to the work of  Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey who developed a Situational Leadership model, maybe a hundred years ago…okay not quite that long ago.

This model is easy to follow and I think has been widely used because of its simple and practical approach to guiding people and responding to them according to their stage of knowledge and skill development.

Here’s:

Something to Read: Leadership and One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard.

Something to watch:  A clip from the old movie 12 0′clock High which provides a classic example of the Telling or Directing stage of the Situational Leadership model.

Something to think about:  How does the Situational Leadership model apply to you and those who follow you?  Where might you make some adjustments in your approach?