In this issue...

Dear [[First Name]],
How are you doing at really listening? If you asked your direct reports (or even your spouse or significant other) you might get a surprise! (See article at right, then give us your thoughts on our BLOG.)

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^{October 2008}

^{What People Want from Leaders
by Emmie Alexander}

<sup>In just a few weeks, we'll elect the leader of the free world. The election process will confer the office - but the people will ultimately determine if the winner is a true leader. A person is a leader only if followers willingly and voluntarily sign up to follow. So, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, leadership is in the eye of the follower.

What about you? Why would anyone want to follow you? 

What do your employees and associates see in your actions, speech, and decisions that would make them eagerly enlist into the ranks of your followers? 

In our leadership workshops we often ask experienced and aspiring leaders to write their answer to that provocative question, then share their answers aloud. It's an uncomfortable exercise for everyone. We find that since most leaders feel they have worked hard to earn their position, they have never stopped to think about this from the follower's point of view. Many answers begin with, "Well, I hope they want to follow me because..." But we probe deeper: Not what you hope they see in you, but what do you think they actually see? It's a sobering question.

Because of solid research conducted twenty years ago, we have a pretty clear idea what followers want to see in their leaders. James Kouzes and Barry Posner surveyed thousands of managers to find out what they wanted in their top leaders. The results, distilled in their book The Leadership Challenge, showed the 4 most desired qualities to be</sup>

• ^{Honesty/integrity}

• ^Competence

• ^{Forward looking}

• ^Inspiring

<sup>Current research indicates that not much has changed in the last twenty years. The current financial crisis is causing many Americans to question the integrity and the competence of many business and government leaders. Scandals that brought down leaders in Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, Adelphia and others created widespread cynicism about the integrity and competence of leaders.

When they look at you, do they see honesty and integrity?
A question on our InnerView 360 degree assessment asks to what degree the leader displays honesty and integrity. One would think the answers would always be simply "yes," or "no." (In my view, it's rather like being pregnant - you either are or you're not; you can't be "somewhat pregnant.") But in answer to this question we get a lot of "sometimes," or "for the most part" and even "occasionally." That's because when people want a leader with integrity, they want far more than just someone who obeys legal or ethical mandates - that's a given. They're also looking for someone they can trust to do what they say they'll do, someone they can trust to look out for the organization and all the people in it ahead of their personal gain, someone they believe has the best interests of others at heart. Followers need to know you can be trusted with their livelihood, their loyalty, and their commitment before they'll give it to you. Kouzes and Posner quote a CEO: "Trust is a risk game. The leader must ante up first." What are you doing to earn trust? When are your words and actions not in sync? Where do you demonstrate your interest in the well-being of others over your personal gain? What is your ante? 

When they look at you, do they see competence?
Knowing what you're good at, and acknowledging what you're not good at, is an essential trait of successful leadership. Followers need to be able to trust that you know what you're doing, and that you know how to make things happen. Competence includes:</sup>

• ^{Technical knowledge, industry specific knowledge: knowing how things work both for your customers and inside your own organization}
  

• ^{Business knowledge: knowing how the marketplace works, where your business fits in the marketplace, what your customers want, what the competition is doing, how to make your business successful}
  

• ^{The influencing skills to get things done: interpersonal and communication skills that enable you to make things happen by influencing customers, vendors, lenders, investors, regulators, your peers, your supervisor, your employees.}

<sup>While competence looks different at different levels and functions in the organization, followers are daily assessing whether they can trust that you know how to get things done. An executive said to me last week, "When I first moved up to the senior level, I never realized how much people watch everything you do." If you've made an honest assessment of your competence and have found some weak areas, you can be sure your employees and your peers have found them too. They're wondering what you're going to do about these deficiencies. Have you been open about your weaknesses and transparent in your efforts to improve? Are you admitting your mistakes and demonstrating your ability to learn from them? If so, you'll gain the respect and trust of your employees and colleagues. If you don't, you lose.

When they look at you, do they see vision and direction?
Leaders by definition are moving, not standing still. Followers want to know where you're taking them. They want to know that you're focusing not just on next quarter's returns, but on the long term future of the organization - their future. They want to know that you know where you're going, that you have a plan, that you're moving towards positive goals. In this presidential campaign, voters seem to want positive movement towards the future, and they're asking, "What's your plan? Where will you take us?" Given the turmoil in our economy, and indeed in our world, now, more than ever, people need to hear from their leaders, "Where are we going? Why is that important? How will we get there? Where do I fit in?" 

Can your employees answer these questions? If not, you have an opportunity, and a challenge.

In our leadership workshops we have leaders develop and practice a "stump speech" or "elevator speech" articulating their vision for the group they lead. We encourage them to work on it, and keep it always ready in their hip pocket. This is the most important leadership message you should have in your repertoire. Identify the key message points that address the four questions above, and practice different ways of packaging those points for different situations and audiences. Then find opportunities to share this message - in staff meetings, in one-on-ones with your employees, in casual conversations. 

When they look at you do they see inspiration?
What would your employees say if you asked, "What do I do that inspires you? And what do I do that has the opposite effect?" If they had they courage to be honest, what would they say?

Employees cite a variety of leader behaviors they find inspirational: energy, enthusiasm, positive attitude, pride in quality and service, a commitment to excellence, a sense of purpose.

Daniel Goleman's research on emotional intelligence at work indicated that the leader's mood or attitude is contagious: the leader's positive energy spreads through the workplace like a virus - and likewise the leader's negative energy. What virus are your employees catching from you?

Do you remind your employees of how your products and services make the lives of customers better? Do you model and instill in them a sense of pride to be working for your organization? Do you give them a reason to come to work beyond just earning enough money to buy beer and diapers? There is a natural tendency, over time, for people to come to work and just focus on getting through the day. A woman who once worked in my Dad's business said, "You know, the problem with life is that it's just so daily." Indeed. Leaders find ways to remind employees they are doing something important and meaningful, something that matters, something that makes a job a calling.

So how have you answered these questions? As you ponder whom you will follow as the leader of our country, ask yourself: Why would anyone want to follow me?</sup>

What do you think?

Give us your thoughts on our BLOG  

P2P (People to People)
The ALT Skills^TM Toolkit

Conversation is the primary instrument of leadership. Leaders can ensure that important conversations have the desired impact if they thoughtfully use the ALT Skills^TM:


A is for ASK


Successful leaders engage others in conversation by asking open-ended questions to draw out the other person, to demonstrate genuine interest in what others are thinking, to explore creative options, to develop mutual understanding of issues, and to encourage others to take a different perspective.


L is for LISTEN

Successful leaders genuinely listen to what others say and how they are saying it - they don't just "reload their guns" while the other person is talking. They listen with their eyes as well as their ears. They listen with their brains, but also with their hearts. Real listening involves focusing attention, repeating back to clarify and confirm, summarizing key points, and expressing empathy.


T is for TELL

Most leaders do too much TELLing and not enough ASKing and LISTENing. But there is a proper place for a strong, clear leadership message. Employees need to hear from their leaders where are we going, how are we going to get there, and why does it matter. Leaders need to tell their story, say what they're passionate about. And employees need to hear direct, honest, specific feedback from their leaders.


ASK, LISTEN, and TELL - the leader's toolkit for effective conversations that impact the success of the business. Without careful, deliberate planning and execution, leaders leave the impact of these important business conversations to chance.

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