5 Little Things That Make a BIG Difference as a Leader - Part 2: Listen Up!

This is the second part of a five part series about the little things a leader can do that could make a BIG difference in how they are perceived as leaders.

I have bad news and good news for all of you leaders and aspiring leaders.

You decide which you’d rather read first. Start with the good or jump to the bad and come back.

The Good News:

The ability to listen has been identified in study after study as one of the most important leadership skills – if not THE most important – than any other.

When you listen, you’re seen as a leader that:

 Is trustworthy

 Is patient

 Cares about others

 Is respectful

 Is compassionate

The ability to listen to employees, manager, peers, coworkers, and customers is a core, foundational skill for successful leaders. The ability to listen is key to:

 Developing and maintaining relationships

 Making good decisions

 Solving problems

Now here’s the good news:

Listening is one of the EASIEST leadership skills to learn and apply! We were born with the ability to listen. It’s a natural gift. Most people already know how to listen, and when they choose to, can do it very well.

If you want to listen, but for some reason you really don’t know how, no worries.

All you have to do is keep your mouth shut. Then, listen like the CEO is talking to you. Or like you're on a first date.

If that doesn’t work for you, then there are plenty of books, videos, courses, and blog posts with excellent, proven tips. No need to repeat them all here. With a few tips and a lot of practice, you’ll be astounded with the results.
Talk about little things that will make a BIG difference – what other skill could give a little this kind of return on investment? Give it a try. Sit back and watch your relationships improve – at work and in your personal life.

The Bad News:

Listening is one of the lowest rated leadership skills for executives. It’s an average rated skill for individual contributors and managers, then takes a nose-dive for executives. It’s one of the most common flaws I see on 360 assessments. It’s the number one reason employees think their bosses are jerks.

The botom line: poor listening is a significant contributor to executive derailment (failure).

When you fail to listen, you’re perceived as someone who:

 Is insensitive to the needs of others

 Is arrogant, impatient, or uninterested

 Is dictatorial

 Makes others feel stupid or unintelligent

 Is close-minded

Failure to listen can result in:

 Disastrous decisions

 Mistakes

 Bruised and unproductive relationships (both at work and home)

…..and eventually, if not addressed – you’ll go down in flames.

If you’re seen as a bad listener, in most cases, it’s because you’re making a CHOICE not to listen. To be blunt, you’ve gotten so full of yourself (due to your success), that you don’t have the interest or patience in what most people are saying.

If you don’t believe me, try asking for feedback. Ask the people in your life that matter to you how well you listen - and what it means to them when you don't. If this little scolding has already caused you to see the light, then go back to the good news. There’s hope for you. Good luck!

March 7 Leadership Development Carnival - Academy Awards Edition

It's Sunday night, and it's time for the Leadership Development Carnival - Academy Awards Edition!

Every one of these posts are Oscar-worthy.

Opening Musical Extravaganza:

Art Petty sings and dances with a glamorous showgirl on each arm with Leadership Caffeine-Learning to Lead in the Project-Focused World posted at Management Excellence.

Best Supporting Actress:
The nominations are:

Janna Rust in Self Leadership: Lead yourself to success posted at Purposeful Leadership.

Erin Schreyer in Do I Have Food Stuck In My Teeth? posted at Authentic Leadership.

Anna Farmery in Why you should hate a weekend! posted at The Engaging Brand.

Jane Perdue in Let Us Be the Water posted at Life, Love & Leadership.

Becky Robinson in How To Develop Others posted at Mountain State University LeaderTalk, saying, "In order to grow, people need exposure, opportunity, and challenge."

And the winner is..... Becky Robinson !

Best Supporting Actor:
The nominations are:

Tom Magness in Learning Leadership from "The Office" -- Part I posted at Leader Business, saying, "If you are hooked on "The Office" as I am, you will appreciate this post. We learn leadership from good and bad role models. There are plenty of both with the show's star and office manager, Michael Scott. If you are hooked on the show, or on leadership, you'll enjoy these comments."

Chris Young in Startups, Culture-Shaping, and the "Lifetime Employment Award" posted at Maximize Possibility Blog, saying, "Start-ups are exciting organizations to be a part of. However, leaders can often be blinded by their history with a team member who was "there from the start" and unwittingly give them a "lifetime employment award" at great expense to the organization's culture and the morale of its other employees."

William Matthies in Business Wisdom: Words to Manage By posted at Business Wisdom: Words to Manage By.

Mike Henry Sr. in Community's Forth Dimension posted at Lead Change Group Blog.

Tanmay Vora in Quick Thought on Leadership and Subordination to a Cause posted at QAspire - Quality, Management, Leadership & Life!, saying, "When people subordinate a leader, they are not a leader's subordinates. They are subordinates to a cause. In that context, even a leader is subordinate to a cause. This post tries to emphasize on this very important facet."

And the winner is.....Tanmay Vora

Best Actress:
The nominations are:

Mary Jo Asmus in Listening, Part II: What REALLY Gets in the Way? posted at Mary Jo Asmus.

Sharlyn Lauby in 7 Types of Power in the Workplace posted at hr bartender, saying, "Everyone has power. It's using your power effectively that makes a positive difference."

Alice Snell in Influence and Learning posted at Taleo Blog - Talent Management Solutions.

LisaRosendahl in Eliminating the Static in Performance Management posted at Lisa Rosendahl, saying, "Performance management is one of the most important things a supervisor can do and it is essential that it be done respectfully and professionally from start to finish.

Jennifer V. Miller in 25 Free Leadership Resources posted at The People Equation.

And the winner is...... Jennifer Miller !

Best Actor:
The nominations are:

David Zinger in Employee Engagement: The Zinger 2020 Vision posted at Employee Engagement Zingers, saying, "The future of employee engagement during this decade."

Jason Seiden in Your Job Sucks? Really? I'm Shocked. Oh, Wait: No I'm Not. posted at Next Generation Talent Development, saying, "Leadership success starts with the ability to work through adversity... even when adversity comes in the form of our own bad attitudes."

Steve Roesler in All Things Workplace: What Do We Expect From "Real" Leaders? posted at All Things Workplace, saying, "Leadership authority Steve Roesler says, "One thing I am sure of: You can't microwave leaders and expect a 5-Star Experience.""

Scott Eblin in Next Level Blog posted at Next Level Blog, saying, "One of the biggest questions for managers moving into executive leadership roles is "How do I delegate bigger decisions to my team and still manage risk?" Scott Eblin has been talking with his clients about that question and has come up with some answers."

Tom Glover presents Challenges To Being a Team posted at Reflection Leadership.

And the winner is..... Scott Eblin!

Best Director:
The nominations are:

Miki directs MAPping Company Success posted at MAPping Company Success, saying, "In any leadership position you are responsible for creating the culture or subculture (the culture of your group within the overall company culture). Here are 7 basic areas you need to think through and do in order to create and implement the kind of culture you want."

Wally Bock directs 4 Reasons Why Being a Boss is Not an Olympic Event posted at Three Star Leadership Blog, saying, "Olympic athletes are fun and inspiring to watch. But they're lousy role models for a boss."

Adi Gaskell directs A siesta a day keeps the afternoon slump away posted at The Management Blog, saying, "An article showing the virtues of having a nap in the afternoon if you want to be at your best throughout the day."

Amy Wilson directs Pay for Performance is Dead...almost posted at TalentedApps, saying, "This post covers several signals suggesting that the pay for performance model that we’ve touted in the past might need a serious makeover."

Nissim Ziv directs Leading a Team Effectively posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, "Teams can be a very effective in producing innovative solutions in the workplace. In jobs throughout every industry, employers always emphasize the need for “good team players.” Teams can generate enthusiasm and increase communication between workers from different departments. “Teamwork” should be the mantra of every organization. Yet, we all know that creating a team can be a bit like creating a monster."

And the winner is.... Wally Bock!

Best Special Effects:

Aaron Windeler presents Leadership: You don’t know it when you see it posted at Scientific Management.

Nick McCormick presents Social Media Policy Guidelines posted at Joe and Wanda - on Management.

Benjamin McCall in Thing about Leadership... One size does not fit all, posted at ReThinkHR.org.

Shawn M. Driscoll in Dealing with Disillusionment posted at Shawn Driscoll.

Anne Perschel in Fixing the Hole in the Corporate Soul posted at Germane Insights, saying, "Business guru Gary Hamel published "The Hole in the Corporate Soul," (WSJ) the same day I was writing how to fix it."

And the winner is..... Anne Perschel!

Here are the rest of our nominations:

Ericka Hines presents Leadership: The future that will exist posted at Ericka Hines, saying, "My blog is targeted towards those in the public sector(nonprofits/social enterprise/government) . I try to make the idea of leadership accessible to understand and to do. I hope that this works for the carnival."

Jason Reid presents Multi-tasking – doing things badly in twice as much time posted at Sick With Success .com, saying, "A look at how using synergy accomplishes more than multitasking (with examples)."

Andy Klein presents Embrace failure as part of growth posted at The Fortune Group Blog, saying, "When people know they can try and fail and not be reprimanded for doing so, they soon get good at what they do. Growth means trying, so encourage people to try!"

Katy Tynan presents The Simple Path to Leadership Bench Strength posted at Survive Your Promotion!.

Divinelysmile presents The Gender Gap: 10 Surprising Stats on Women in the Workplace posted at JobProfiles.org - Job Descriptions and Online Schools to Start Your Career.

Angela Martin presents 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First posted at Online Colleges.org.

Heather Stagl presents Monitor Your Organization’s “Non-Verbal” Communication posted at Enclaria LLC, saying, "It is widely cited that 93% of meaning in a conversation is derived from non-verbal cues. Extrapolating this phenomenon to organizational communication means that most meaning comes from outside official sources."

Kathy C presents Coaching as a Leadership Competency posted at The Thriving Small Business.

Russell Dygert presents Steak or Hamburger posted at Becoming Who I Should.

Gilda Bonanno presents Using Improv Comedy's "Half-Life" Technique to Stay Within Your Time Limit While Presenting posted at Gilda Bonanno's blog, saying, "Public Speaking is an essential success skill for leadership development yet many aspiring leaders still struggle with it. One of the most frequent mistakes they make is to go over the time limit when presenting. This blog post describes a technique from improvisational comedy that can help presenters learn to deliver the essential elements of their message while staying within the time limit."

The next edition of the Leadership Development Carnival will be hosted by Sharlyn Lauby, over at hr Bartender on April 4th. Please use the Carnival Submission form on the sidebar if you would like to submit a post.

5 Little Things That Make a BIG Difference as a Leader Part 1: Show up on Time

This is the first of another 5 part series about some of the little things you can start or stop doing that can make a big difference on how you are perceived as a leader.

BTW, some of you may be looking for my next installment of “Leadership Lessons from Undercover Boss”. You can stop waiting – I’ve stopped watching after the third episode. I said I would give it one more chance after the disappointing Hooters episode – and I did. I suffered through watching 7’Eleven’s CEO Joseph M. DePinto be amazed at how much coffee one of his store sold, how much food they threw away, and how hard his employees worked. He came across as another “Forrest Gump” CEO – basically a nice guy, but clueless. I can’t take it any more. I'll stick with American Idol for my dose of reality show.

Anyway, back to the new series.

I work with a lot of very successful leaders and aspiring leaders who set very ambitious improvement goals for themselves. They want to be more strategic, lead change, be more visionary, improve their presentation skills, learn marketing and finance, and improve their work-life balance. Yes, these are all important and impressive goals. However, they can be huge mountains to climb, and take years to master.

I once heard of a parent that screamed at their teenager: “if you want to clean up the environment, why don’t you start by cleaning your damn room!”

Sounds like pretty good advice for leaders too. In addition to those BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals), why not set some little-bitty achievable goals (LBAGs) for yourself too?

Something that requires little investment but yields a lot of profit, with a nice ROI. $$$

Here’s part 1: Show up on Time

Imagine yourself in the following scenarios and respond with brutal honesty:

1. You’re at a meeting that looks like it’s going to run late. You check your blackberry and see your next meeting is with one of your employees. It’s just a routine 1on1. What would you do?

2. You have a meeting to get to on the other side of town that starts in 20 minutes. On a good day you can make it there in 10 minutes. You’re buried with emails. Do you knock off a few more emails, or leave now to give yourself a little cushion at the risk of arriving early?

3. You’re in a very important meeting that’s running late. Someone 3 levels down in the pecking order has an appointment with you and is waiting for you in your office. Does this bother you at all? Or should they understand, given your position and responsibilities?

4. You have a meeting with the CEO at 4:00m. What time do you show up?

Your responses to these scenarios will tell you a lot about how you manage your time. OK, so you might have a time management issue- big deal, right?

However, they might also reveal some clues that you may be abusing your power as a leader and/or showing a lack of respect for others. You might be subconsciously prioritizing who you are late for based on status, or self-inflated view of yourself.

Does that sound overly harsh and judgmental? It may be. We're all human, and we're all late now and then. Stuff happens. Believe me, I’m nowhere near perfect when it comes to being on time. However, at least I feel really bad about it when it happens. In fact, writing this post serves as a reminder that I've been slipping.

I didn’t always understand this. I was one of those habitually late people.
There were two events that woke me up.

A few years ago, I was that minion waiting outside the big kahuna’s office. I was used to it…. it went along with the territory. However, this executive was different, and taught me a huge lesson I’ll never forget. He came rushing up to me, shook my hand, and sincerely apologized for keeping me waiting. He said it went against a strongly held personal value he had – that NO one, no matter who they were, had the right to abuse their power and keep someone else waiting.

Wow. Heck, he was only 5 minutes late… but he really meant it. He made me feel important – just as important as if he had kept the CEO waiting. I respected him so much for that, and always went out of my way to be an advocate for him.

He was a role model for me, and while I haven’t always lived up to that standard, I’ll always remember the lesson and have strived to.

The second event involved a project team that I was a part of. Again, I was that person that always looked at showing up on time as “early”. I figured nothing every happens the first 5 minutes of a meeting, everybody else does it, and I was being productive by maximizing every minute of my precious time.

This project leader took me aside one day and explained to me the impact that being late to his meeting had on him. To him, it was a slap in the face as the leader of the team. I was telling him my time was more valuable than not only his, but the other 10 people in the room. It wasn’t just a nuisance to him… it really bothered him, and he assessed performance based on this character flaw. To him, it was career limiting.

Fortunately, he cared enough about me and my development to give me this feedback and advice. I’ll bet there were a lot of other managers where he didn’t, and held it against them.

These two experiences changed the amount of value I put on being on time.

Being on time shows people you can manage your work and life, you’re competent, you’re responsible, and shows respect for others.

As leaders, we’re judged by our actions – not our intentions. Want to earn the respect of others? Start by showing up on time.

Leadership Development for “The Little Guys”

I received the following comments on my recent “Best Companies for Leadership” post:

“The list of things that make these great companies for leadership development is impressive. How do you apply these lessons to small business. A staff of five or eight or even 25? The opportunity for promotion and growth may be limited. Lateral moves don't really exist. I'd love help to implement great leadership development with small staff companies.”

“Yeah, there are lessons to be learned, but the small business experience is extremely different than that of the large corporations. I guess the little guys need to take what they can and come up w/ alternatives for the rest!”

Great question! Yes, the small business experience is different – but that doesn’t mean that there are not opportunities for leadership development. In fact, I’d argue that there are just as many opportunities – they’re just different.

Let’s start out by reviewing how successful leaders develop. Back in the 1970s, CCL published its landmark study on executive development, which resulted in the best selling book “The Lessons of Experience”. Since then, just about every best practice company and practitioner has built their leadership development practices on this foundation.

CCL asked 1000s of successful executives how they learned the most important lessons that had the biggest impact on their success as a leader. I’ve conducted this exercise with hundreds of groups of leaders, and the answers always fall into the following buckets:

1. Job changes
2. Challenging, stretch assignments (without changing jobs)
3. Other people (good & bad managers, mentors, coaches)
4. Hardships (learning from trauma, failure)
5. Other (programs, books, etc…)

The programs that big companies like GM, Proctor & Gamble, and 3M use to develop their leaders are basically designed to provide their emerging leaders with as many of these high impact developmental opportunities as possible. Sure, they add a lot of bells and whistles, but there’s very little they do that a leader at a small company can’t do for themselves.

I think the biggest difference is your company isn’t going to spoon-feed you. You’re going to have to be in charge of your own leadership development – and maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

So how can you take charge of your own leadership development if you work for one of “the little guys”? Let’s test each component of the CCL development within a small company context:

1. Job changes.
Yes, there may be more opportunities to change jobs in a large company. Big multi-nationals are like a job market in themselves, especially if you’re learning agile and willing to relocate. However, in a small company start-up, you might have the opportunity to create your own job that doesn’t yet exist. You might start off as the only salesperson – then become the first sales manager – and then start up a marketing department.

The other way to look at development through job changes in a small company is to actually change companies. You can look for jobs that provide new opportunities in scope and scale, new locations, new products, and new challenges (i.e., start-up to turnaround).

2. Challenging, stretch assignments (without changing jobs)
The types of challenges that have the most impact on a leader’s development are the same in any size company or culture. Dealing with employee performance issues, taking on new assignments that you’ve never done before, learning different aspects of your business or industry, or volunteering for a non-profit outside of work are all examples. All of these challenges have the potential to enable a leader to “earn their scars”. I would argue that there may be more danger of getting stuck in an overly narrow rut in a large company than there is in a small company, where the responsibilities are broader and everyone is expected to pitch in.

3. Other people (good & bad managers, mentors, coaches)
Again, it can just as easy to become isolated in a large company as it can in a small company. Small company leaders will most likely look outside of their company for role models, mentors, coaches, and professional and community networks. Social networking has opened up a whole universe of networking and best practice sharing possibilities. It’s similar to the impact eBay had on the little guy’s ability to sell to the entire world.

When it comes to the booming business of coaching, a lot of the executive coaches I know get a lot of their clients from small businesses.

4. Hardships (learning from trauma, failure)
No differences here – we’re always going to faced with the possibility of the death of a loved one, divorce, illness, losing a job, etc… regardless of company size.

Resilient people have the ability to turn these hardships in opportunities to reflect and grow.

5. Other (programs, books, etc…)
All right, I’ll bet this is where you’re thinking the deck is stacked against the little guy company. Well, not really. Many of the leading executive education programs are made up of participants from small companies. If you can’t afford one of these expensive programs, there are probably plenty of lower cost open-enrollment leadership development programs in your own community.

Again, this is where the internet has leveled the playing field. The quality of distance learning programs has improved dramatically. You can even get a degree in leadership or management completely online.

And let’s not forget blogs like this one and thousands of other websites, newsletters, books, and periodicals. My email subscribers are from big and small companies, and everything in between.

So no, if you work for a small company, you don’t have to settle for table scraps. There are plenty of opportunities for leadership development, you might just have to be a little more proactive and creative.

What are some of the other differences between big company and small company leadership development?

Brain Exercise: The Top 10 TED Talks

Do you ever just take the time to learn about something that may have nothing to do with your immediate job or personal life?

I never used to. I’ve never been a learner for the sake of learning. I naturally want to gravitate towards what’s “practical” and highly relevant.

If you’re like that too, you may be missing out. Some of the most innovative ideas come from seemingly unrelated fields.

A lot of leaders want to be “more strategic”. Being strategic involves recognizing patterns, making sense out of seemingly unrelated information, and being able to step back and see the forest from the trees. It requires a little knowledge about a lot of things.

This has little to do with IQ, and it’s not some innate trait. It’s a skill that can be developed with deliberate practice.

As a part of my development goal to be practice “possibility thinking”, I’m going to take the time to view the top 10 TED most popular talks.

For those not familiar with TED (from the TED website):

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

I’d encourage you to give it a try. Book mark this site, or the TED site, and set a goal to view one TED talk per week. Each one is about 5-20 minutes.
However, instead of “listening for agreement or disagreement” (evaluating), force yourself to listen for possibilities. Suspend your judgment and try to expand your worldview.

Who knows, you might just solve that nagging problem that you just haven’t been able to crack.

The *Top 10 TED Talks (My comments in parenthesis):
1. Johnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacks
Building sophisticated educational tools out of cheap parts, Johnny Lee demos his cool Wii Remote hacks, which turn the $40 video game controller into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted 3-D viewer.

2. David Gallo shows underwater astonishments (Incredible underwater footage!)
David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square's worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean.

3. Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth
Blaise Aguera y Arcas leads a dazzling demo of Photosynth, software that could transform the way we look at digital images. Using still photos culled from the Web, Photosynth builds breathtaking dreamscapes and lets us navigate them.

4. Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do
Tony Robbins discusses the "invisible forces" that motivate everyone's actions -- and high-fives Al Gore in the front row.

5. Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity (a lot of good lessons for trainers here too - any funny. i.e“If a man speaks his mind in a forest and no woman hears him, is he still wrong?”
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

6. Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight (this one is amazing!)
Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

7. Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic" (who knew math could be so much fun)
In a lively show, mathemagician Arthur Benjamin races a team of calculators to figure out 3-digit squares, solves another massive mental equation and guesses a few birthdays. How does he do it? He’ll tell you.

8. Jeff Han demos his breakthrough touchscreen
Jeff Han shows off a cheap, scalable multi-touch and pressure-sensitive computer screen interface that may spell the end of point-and-click.

9. Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen (talk about changing your worldview)
You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world."

10. Kevin Kelly tells technology's epic story
In this wide-ranging, thought-provoking talk from TEDxAmsterdam, Kevin Kelly muses on what technology means in our lives -- from its impact at the personal level to its place in the cosmos.

*Note – the real #10 on the TED list is Al Gore talking about climate change. I substituted the Recent Kevin Kelly talk (similar topic, much better). Apologies to all you al Gore fans, but there’s a limit to my ability to listen and suspend judgment. (-:

Nielsen Closes Training Magazine - the End of an Era

Wow, this news comes as a shock. Nielsen Business Media told employees this week that it is shutting down Training magazine and its companion Web site, trainingmag.com, according to a Nielsen Co. spokesperson.

The March issue will be the publication's last. The move includes the elimination of 11 positions, the spokesperson said.

Nielsen Co. is exiting the trade publishing business; in addition to closing some publications, it is selling others. The company recently sold Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter to e5 Global Media.

I've been a reader of Training Magazine since I've worked in this field. It’s always been one of the most well respected trade journals in the training business. They also sponsor the prestigious Training Top 125 Award, which recognizes the companies for training in the world. I was just in San Diego on February 1 to accept my own company’s’ award.

I guess it’s a sign of the times. The end of an era.

Thanks Training, for all that you’ve given our profession. I wish the staff, including Julie, Joyce, and Marjorie, all the best.

We’ll have to look to other organizations to recognize and learn from the leaders in training, including ASTD’s BEST awards, and CLO’s Learning in Practice awards.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com/Hay Group Study Identifies Best Companies for Leadership

See press release below from Hay Group announcing the latest Best Companies for Leadership study. There are some interesting findings. See complete list at the end.

I don’t know about you, but I like these annual awards. The cynics might say they’re a lot of PR and questionable criteria or methods.
I’ve found them to be pretty accurate.
Based on the networking I do, it seems like the ones that really have their act together around leadership development are consistently on these lists.

For example, I just talked to the head of leadership development at 3M. They’re on this list and #1 on the Fortune/Hewitt list. Their CEO is committed to leadership development, they invest a lot of time and money, and they’re using every best practice in the book. The companies on these lists are serious about leadership development and damn good at it.

I just want to learn from them and help my company (and Great Leadership readers) get better.

Top leadership companies continued to make people development a priority during the recession

PHILADELPHIA, PA February 17, 2010 – Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com released today the Best Companies for Leadership Study and Top 20 list. For the first time, Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com partnered with Hay Group on its annual study, which ranks the best companies for leadership and examines how those companies develop leaders. General Electric ranked as the top company for leadership, followed by Southwest Airlines, 3M Company, Procter & Gamble and Accenture.

The Top 20 companies continued to make leadership development a priority over the past year, in spite of the economy. Employees at these companies were asked to what degree in the last 12 months the urgency to develop leaders in the organization had increased -- the Top 20 indicated an 8.8 percent decrease, compared to a 13.8 percent decrease for all respondents.

"The Top 20 Best Companies for Leadership not only entered the recession with strong leadership in place, they maintained their commitment to preparing and retaining leaders – and are highly committed to developing leaders within their ranks," said Rick Lash, Director in Hay Group's Leadership and Talent Practice and co-leader of the Best Companies for Leadership Study. "The study also revealed a shift over the past year in what these companies value in leaders. ‘Strategic thinking’ and ‘inspiring leadership’ are the most valued qualities in leaders this year, indicating that businesses are starting to dig out from the turmoil and are thinking more about their future long-term growth again."

The study also identifies a variety of factors that make the Top 20 Best Companies for Leadership stand out when it comes to identifying and developing great leaders. Ninety percent of respondents in the Top 20 agree that all employees at their company have the opportunity to develop and practice the capabilities needed to lead others, compared to 67 percent of all respondents. Nearly all of the respondents in the Top 20 (85 percent) said that employees are expected to lead, regardless if they have a formal leadership position, compared with 57 percent of all respondents. In addition, 86 percent of respondents in the Top 20 said that employees are encouraged to learn in areas outside their expertise, compared with 66 percent of all respondents.

“Rapid changes in the world are impacting how organizations do business, and as a result, the old rules of how organizations select, develop and retain good leaders have been turned upside down causing the future of leadership to look very different,” said John Larrere, National Director of Hay Group's Leadership and Talent Practice and co-leader of the Best Companies for Leadership Study. “For organizations to succeed, they will need to understand what key leadership elements are paramount in driving their organization toward growth. It’s more than just getting people to produce the right outcomes. It’s about getting them to be passionate about their work and grooming them to handle the challenges ahead. The Best Companies for Leadership have already figured this out.”

Among other study findings:

- 94 percent of respondents in the Top 20 actively manage a pool of successors for mission critical roles, compared with 69 percent of all respondents
- 80 percent of respondents in the Top 20 noted that people stay at the organization primarily for growth opportunities, compared with 61 percent of all respondents
- 95 percent of respondents in the Top 20 use corporate social responsibility to recruit employees, compared with 60 percent of all respondents
- 66 percent of respondents in the Top 20 have a high proportion of women in senior leadership, compared with 37 percent of all respondents
- 91 percent of respondents in the Top 20 make it easy for people to work from home, compared with 46 percent of all respondents
- 87 percent of respondents in the Top 20 have a sufficient number of internal candidates ready to assume open leadership positions, compared with 54 percent of all respondents

2009 TOP 20 BEST COMPANIES FOR LEADERSHIP

1 GENERAL ELECTRIC
2 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
3 3M COMPANY
4. PROCTER & GAMBLE
5 ACCENTURE
6 WAL-MART STORES
7 NESTLE
8 COCA-COLA
9 MCDONALD’S CORPORATION
10 INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES
11 IBM
12 CISCO
13 UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
14 IKEA
15 ABB
16 ZAPPOS
17 HEWLETT-PACKARD
18 GOLDMAN SACHS
19 UNILEVER
20 GENERAL MILLS, INC.

About the Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com/Hay Group Best Companies for Leadership Study:
Hay Group has researched the Best Companies for Leadership since 2005. The 2009 survey included responses from 1,869 individuals from 1,109 organizations worldwide. The survey was based on the organization’s response to an online questionnaire and peer nominations. Respondents that completed the survey were from 98 countries, with 45% from North America, 27% from Europe/Middle East, 16% from Asia, 6% from South America, 3% from the Pacific, and 2% from Africa.

About Hay Group:
Hay Group is a global management consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective and motivate them to perform at their best. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations realize their potential.
We have over 2600 employees working in 85 offices in 47 countries. Our clients are from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry, and represent diverse business challenges. For over 60 years, we have been renowned for the quality of our research and the intellectual rigor of our work. We transform research into actionable insights. We give our clients breakthrough perspectives on their organization, and we do it in the most efficient way to achieve the desired results. For more information please contact your local Hay Group office at http://www.haygroup.com/.

Leadership “Lessons” from Undercover Boss: Episode 2

OK, I admit it, I fell for it. After watching the first episode of the new CBS reality show Undercover Boss, I thought the show was going to provide some entertaining yet valuble lessons in leadership.

The first episode delivered. Larry O'Donnell, president and COO of Waste Management, was so darn likeable and believable. There were rich, transferable leadership lessons worth writing about. I even defended the show – well, I mostly defended O’Donnell – against critics Wally Bock, Bret Simmons, and others.

As it turns out, according to this follow-up interview with BNET, the show actually did drive lasting, positive changes at WM. So I had high hopes for the next installment.

Well, in case you missed it, the second episode was a complete train wreck. To all of you that watched that show as a result of my recommendation, please accept my humble apologies. Sorry, Steve - I owe you an hour of your life back. Leadership lessons? Sure, I can still come up with a few, but I doubt they’re anything CBS or Hooters would be too happy with.

I’m going to give it one more chance – next week features the CEO of 7-Eleven. But if it’s anything close to as bad as the last one, I’m through with it.

Here’s my recap and leadership “lessons” from episode 2:

Coby Brooks, President and CEO of "Hooters", went undercover in his own company. After watching the show and reading about it afterwards, I’m still not sure why.

According to the show, Coby reluctantly inherited the company from his late father. He was show riding a motorcycle, aboard the corporate jet (“working hard”), and showing up at some Hooters promotions.

By going undercover at a few of his stores, he was shocked to discover that:

1. Employees in the kitchen work REALLY hard.

2. Some people find Hooters to be degrading to woman. “I’d be OK with my daughters working here”, he said.

3. One of his store managers, "Jimbo,", held leering "inspections" of the staff and forced the girls to eat a plate of beans without using their hands to determine who could go home first. Brooks thought those actions were "inappropriate" and made Jimbo say he was sorry.

4. One of his single Mom store managers worked REALLY hard, multi-taked, with little time off. Coby had to clean up a spill on the floor,

5. He went to the Naturally Fresh factory in Atlanta (for the first time since he was a teenager), where his dad, who founded the enterprise, used to have an office. There, he learned morale was poor and that employees who had never met him, and referred to him only as "the son," couldn’t stand him.

Coby was so shaken by the whole experience that he:
1. Donated $50,000 to one of the manager’s favorite charities
2. Paid for a vacation for the single Mom
3. Started a PR campaign to convince the public that Hooters really does a lot of nice things and “empowers” woman.

So there you have it. I'm sure you've been moved to tears just reading about it. All is now well in Hooter nation.

And what could we possibly learn about leadership as a result of this probably mostly staged, superficial fairy tale about a clueless, spoiled CEO? Not much, but fortunately, we all too often end up learning some of our most memorable leadership lessons from some of the worst examples. So for that, we thank you CBS.

Leadership Lessons from Hooter’s Coby Brooks:

The Value of Good Succession Planning:

1. When it comes to succession planning, you need to groom and prepare your successor for the job. That means working in the kitchen, running a restaurant, and earning your scars. You also need to verify that your potential successor even wants the job. Dropping a title, or business, on an unprepared reluctant successor is a recipe for disaster for your business. You’re also not doing your successor any favors. Preparation to run a business should involve a series of planned, structured passages. Each passage builds skills and perspective and helps prepare your for the next level.

2. Successors should not be hand-picked and handled a job just because they are family. CEOs should be selected from a slate of highly qualified candidates. It should be a compitition, not a coronation.

The Importance of Company Values

3. Company “values” are nothing but useless words on a plaque unless they are backed up with action. Even if the bean eating contest was staged by the producers of CBS, the manager and Brooks should have never allowed it. It made their employees and manager look like idiots. If it wasn’t staged, then Jimbo should have been fired on the spot. If that’s what they’re willing to film, I can only imagine how employees are really treated.

4. You can’t buy respect from your employees or customers. You don’t just leave a big, fat tip or put up a billboard and be done with it. Respect needs to be earned through substantial actions and authentic commitment (see Larry O’Donnell).

I welcome your comments. Unless you claim to be a Hooter girl and want to stick up for Coby or Jimbo.

Career Advice Part 5: The Best Career Advice You Will Ever Get

This is the final part of a 5 part career advice series. The others were:

1. Don’t Settle

2. Never Stop Learning

3. Lateral Moves

4. You Have to Ask

Throughout this series, I’ve tried to incorporate advice that I’ve received and used from a variety of sources including former managers and mentors, with a little best practice research sprinkled in. I hope you enjoyed the series.
I have to say I found dispensing with career advice to be a bit uncomfortable. It’s different when I’m advising as a mentor – someone is asking for my advice, so I have permission. In a blog, it’s going out to 1000s of readers, whether they want it or not. Plus, it can be misunderstood or taken out of context.

As an example, another blog picked up my post on “Don’t Settle”, and used the headline “Job Making You Miserable: Quit!”. Needless to say, that managed to tick off at least one reader of that blog…

“Really?? Quit? That's really good advice...NOT! In this economy with so many unemployed, unfortunately people are having to take jobs they would never have before. BILLS HAVE TO BE PAID Mr McCarthy. “

Ouch. Just for clarification, I NEVER said “quit your job”.

Anyway, I’m sure it won’t be the last time I’ll be dishing out advice, but for now, I'm looking forward to getting back to leadership development. (-:

This final piece of advice comes from Marshall Goldsmith, one of the world’s leading executive coaches and experts in the field of leadership development. Regular readers of this blog know I reference Marshall quite a bit – I’ve probably learned more about leadership development from him than any other source.

Marshall uses this exercise in many of his programs. When I first heard it, it really hit home for me - it had a profound impact. Since then, I’ve been using a version of it in my own programs (giving full credit of course). No matter how many times I’ve used it, I still can’t help but get emotional. I’ll always have at least one participant come up to me afterwards or send me a note about how much of a wake-up call the exercise was for them.

So here it is, The Best Career Advice You Will Ever Get

(adapted from “The Best Coaching Advice You Will Ever Get”, By Marshall Goldsmith, originally published in Business Week)

Please take out a pen and paper before you read this, and give it a try. If you don’t have time, come back later when you have about 5 minutes to give it your full attention.

You are now about to receive the best career advice that you will ever get in this—or perhaps any other—lifetime! You are about to receive advice from a very wise old person. Listen very carefully to what this wise old person says.

First, take a deep breath. Take a deeper breath. Now, imagine that you are 95 years old and you are just about to die. Here comes your last breath. But before you take your last breath, you are being given a wonderful, beautiful gift: the ability to travel back in time and talk with the person who is reading this blog. The 95-year-old you has been given the chance to help the you of today to have a great career and, much more important, to have a great life.

The 95-year-old you knows what was really important and what wasn't; what really mattered and what didn't; what really counted and what didn't count at all. What advice does the wise "old you" have for the you reading this blog? Take your time. Jot down the answers on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. And once you have written down these words, take them to heart.

In the world of performance appraisals, this may well be the one that matters most. At the end of life, if the old you thinks that you did the right thing, you probably did. If the old you thinks that you screwed up, you probably did. At the end of life, you don't have to impress anyone else—just that person you see in the mirror.

A friend of Marshall’s actually had the opportunity to talk with old people who were facing death and to ask them what advice they would have had for themselves. Their answers were filled with wisdom. One recurring theme was to take the time to reflect on life and find happiness and meaning now. A frequent comment from old people runs along the lines of: "I got so wrapped up in looking at what I didn't have that I missed what I did have. I had almost everything. I wish I had taken more time to appreciate it."

The great Western disease of "I will be happy when…" is sweeping the world. You know the symptoms. You start thinking: I will be happy when I get that…BMW…that promotion…that status…that money. The only way to cure the disease is to find happiness and meaning now.

A second theme from old folks was friends and family. You may work for a wonderful company and believe that your contribution is very important. But when you are 95 and you look around your death bed, very few of your fellow employees will be waving goodbye! Your friends and family will probably be the only people who care.

Don't get so lost in pleasing the people who don't care that you neglect the people who do.

Another recurring theme was to follow your dreams. Older people who tried to achieve their dreams were happier with their lives. None of us will ever achieve all of our dreams. If we do, we will just make up new ones! If we go for it, we can at least say at the end, "I tried!" instead of, "Why didn't I at least try?"

In conducting research for one of his books, his co-author and Marshall interviewed more than 200 high-potential leaders from around the world. A key question that we asked was: "If you stay in this company, why are you going to stay?"

The top three answers:

1. "I am finding meaning and happiness now. The work is exciting, and I love what I am doing."

2. "I like the people here. They are my friends. This feels like a team—like a family. I might make more money if I left, but I don't want to leave the people here."

3. "I can follow my dreams. This organization is giving me the chance to grow and do what I really want to do in life."

When his friend asked people who were on their death beds what really mattered in life, and when he asked young, high-potential leaders what really mattered at work, they heard about the same thing.

If you want to make a new beginning in life—look ahead to the end. Then decide what to do.

How about you? What did the old “you” tell the "you of today"? Please leave a comment with your real or humorous advice (oh oh, I may regret opening that door).

Career Advice Part 4: You Have to Ask For it

There are very talented people in the world of work that always get recruited, get promotion offers, are wooed by recruiters, get picked for all of the sexy assignments, and never, ever even have to ask. They are constantly being offered opportunities because they are remarkable. Their biggest challenge is sorting through all the offers and being in such high demand.

These are the true superstars, the “A” players, the prodigies.

I was never one of those people.

And I’ll bet you’re not either. The reality is, very few people are. They are the top 1% in any given profession – the rest of us make up the other 99%.

If you’re one of those top 1%, superstar A players, then this post is not for you. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and good things will continue to fall into your lap. Heck, I’m not even jealous. Being in the talent management profession, I work with rising stars all the time. They’re a pleasure to work with, and it’s rewarding to help accelerate their development.

However – for the rest of us – here’s my advice: if you want it, chances are, you’re going to have to ask for it.

I learned this at an early age. I was never the best at sports or school – but I did tend to fall into the next quartile, somewhere in the top 25%. It was usually enough to get my foot in the door and compete.

When I first started working, I had heard that if you work hard, do a good job, and have a good attitude, then good things will happen. I soon discovered that while those qualities were indeed important, good things usually came to those who also asked.

Looking back over my own career, every significant milestone was a result of asking for it. I wrote a business case than landed me my first promotion to manager. I contacted a recruiter and talked my way into an interview at my next company. I asked for my next promotion. I nominated myself for a prestigious executive development program. If I’m left off an important list, I’ll work harder and ask to be included next time.

I’ve tried to explain this to my kids as they’re learning their early workplace lessons. If you want a better shift – different days off – less hours – more hours – more money – more vacation – more responsibility – less responsibility – whatever… you’re got to ask for it. I can guarantee you that most managers – even the good ones – aren’t sitting around trying to read your mind and come up with ways to make you happy.

Perhaps to the readers of this blog – who tend to be a little more motivated than the average bear – this is too obvious. I have to tell you though; I’ve run into people from all walks of life that think it’s impolite, beneath them, inappropriate, selfish, or unnecessary to have to ask for anything at work. I think some of them would rather stew about it and be a victim – maybe it’s easier.

Here’s a classic example: Most companies have some kind of job posting system in order to make sure everybody has a shot at open positions. I’ve known a lot of people that refuse to post for a job – even through they really want it. They feel that it’s the hiring manager’s, or their own manager’s responsibility to seek them out and encourage them to post. Then, after the position is filled, they’ll carry a chip on their shoulder for years to come.

The concept of workplace “asking” doesn’t just apply to job opportunities, promotions, and raises.

When was the last time you felt you should have been invited to an important meeting but weren’t? Did you do anything about it? The next time it happens, and you really think there’s a compelling reason for you to be there, then contact the meeting leader and state your case. You may find it was just an oversight. Or, perhaps no one knew about your expertise or the role you could play. Worst case, you’re told no. At least you’ll know why and it shows you care about your job.

How about training and travel? Again, I’ve seen available budget go unused because of a lack of requests. Then, these same people will turn around and complain about a lack of development opportunities.

Tired of that old computer always crashing? How about asking for a new one? Again, I've seen employees just suffer in silence and never even tell their manager, let alone ask for a repalcement.

When it comes to leadership, some leaders get more support, resources, and opportunites simply because they have the courage to ask. In fact, they are often relentless - it's hard to say no to them. The rest will sit back and cry foul or favortism,  get frustrated, yet not do anything about it.

In most cases, you’ll have nothing to lose by asking. However, in order for the “ask for it” advice to work, you still have to meet the pre-requisite criteria: you have to work hard, be good at what you do, and have a good attitude. If you’re not, then asking will come across as clueless and/or obnoxious. Being a good employee earns you the right to ask away and increases your odds of getting a "yes".

Give it a try. Start with something small. Go on, just ask for it.