The Many Faces of Leadership - AMCF - Seminar

The Association of Management Consultants Firms hosted a daylong event at the Union Club in New York this week. It reminded me of my days working in British Parliament. You know that feeling of clubish collusion. Where the walls are adorned with men in wigs Rembrandt type paintings and the furniture is old warn leather and very comfortable to slouch in.

A note arrived that read, ‘please be dressed in suite and tie and ladies in appropriate alternative attire at the Union Club.’ As well we must observe the ban on cell phones, so they needed to be turn off while in the club. This presented a problem to me on many levels, and the most immediate one is that all my notes for my talk were on my iPhone in a, speech app. When I received the note I thought perhaps my reputation from the Trump Tower, The Windows of the World, The Boston Ritz, The London Savoy or some very over rated French Bistro in Paris had put my name on some watch list. In each of those clubs at sometime or another I could be heard uttering the words, “I have been kicked out of better places than this.” It was because in each circumstance I was not suitably attired. Sadly, today I cannot be that rebel, I was an invited guest, I would be dress in the 'nines'. And I am always on better manors as a guest in someone else’s home than in my own.

When I arrived the first session had begun and what a treat it was. Michael Useem who is the Director at The Center for Leadership and Change Management at Wharton Business School and one of the most popular professors on Leadership. I say treat because I have really been enjoying his book Leading Up. It is a book that I have been recommending to clients of mine who are not at the CEO position in their organizations. Michael is an amazing teacher, his ability to engage, retain, and synthesis information and then provide it back to the audience is truly remarkable. He was offering up a checklist for leaders to follow much like what a pilot goes through at the beginning of a flight.

1. Have a Vision, Mission, Strategy and Execution plan.
   
2. Communicate what you have in mind that honors them.


3. Don't Forget to honor the room.


4. Communicate your character

Say it so it sticks (Get book Made to Stick it's great!) Don't underestimate what you want them to remember!

1. Understand and use decision management
   
2. Appreciation for the fact that we each have predictable errors (Predictably Irrational). The better we do the worse our decision making is.


3. Remember it is about the mission not about you.
   
4. More active listening to those below on an organizational hierarchy.
   

After Michael’s session Joe Grano who has written the book You Can’t Predict a Hero: From War to Wall Street, Leading in Times of Crisis and myself, author of Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask The Right Questions, were put on a panel together with Dr, Kembrel Jones, Associate Dean, Wharton School of Business as the moderator. The idea was to get two leaders that had divergent styles to mix things up with each other. Wow! This was challenging for me. I wanted to be both respectful, gracious and strongly disagree with Joe’s point of view, which I did. He seems to draw the parallel that leadership is about heroics. And his stories were about his heroic efforts in War and on Wall Street. The stories he told were interesting, even spellbinding and the life experiences he had seemed like right out of a movie from fox holes in Vietnam, to a titan of finance on Wall Street to being a producer of a Broadway smash. And no matter how I tried, and I did try, I could not seem to pierce his iron toughness. He was charming and a quick wit to divert attack or too much confrontation. He very much reminded me of my first coach and mentor John Kunz, who was the former head of Dun & Bradstreet. John grew up on the streets in New York and learned to be tough early on. Joe seem to have an answer for most things, he was reassured, a bit bigger than life really. And somehow he is what I think of as the leader of the past. He reminds me of the living breathing version of John Wayne. I believe that different businesses take different types of leaders and I am just wondering if this is what the military and Wall Street leadership is all about? It is difficult for me to conclude this given some of the warmest leaders I know have come from Goldman Sachs. And the Generals that I interviewed did not strike me as bigger than life characters.

I am struck over and over how often the notion of Just Asking is not part of the leadership conversation. When Michael Useem was speaking and he asked the question what else should be on this checklist – I remained quiet to see if anyone would raise 'asking questions'. And not to my surprise, not a person in this room raised it. And yet when I asked this audience if they ask more than they tell when leading all but one said yes – which is significantly different than the usual 27% I see from most audiences I speak to. And yet they don’t label it as a significant part of their leadership until I present. How is it that the obvious is so hidden to so many? Are leaders really that afraid that if they ask questions that people will see them as weak?

Joe says he uses the 95 / 5 rule. Let it be their idea and ask them questions 95% of the time but 5% it is command and control. The interesting thing was all the examples of leadership he gave was about the 5% not the 95%. Wouldn’t you think it is the 95% of the time that one would spend there time on, rather than the 5% of the time when it was your call. How does making it your call make it leadership. There just seems something a bit off about that balance. The great part about leadership is so many different styles work. Although you may not care for a certain style it simply means that you would not be lead by that person.

I continue to enjoy all these experience that are opening up for me by having written the book. And it is great in today's technology rich world that I can share these experiences with a larger audience. The book was hard work and still is - getting it out to readers who would enjoy it. And the experiences are the frosting on that cake. I am grateful to those who have chosen to read my blog and those that are reading Just Ask Leadership.

Union Leadership

It interests me how a company that works with Union leadership develops those leaders to go into management. It is an interesting and complex issue. The question I have is a union leader operating with different values and mission than the company? If that is true then how do you help midigate the value conflict and mission conflict when they switch positions within the firm from laboror and Union Leadership to corporate leadership and management.

Stephen Covey on Ego

I had the opportunity this week to speak at the Midwest Energy Association and in presenting I said to the audience something I learned from a speech coach, Bob Boylan, twenty years ago. That is that you should singularly have one point, that your audience should walk away with. After the interaction/presentation a member of the audience came up to me and shared the one thing he learned from Stephen Covery's speech he went to twenty years ago. Covey says, "You know when your ego is getting in the way when it is crowding out God." That wasvsuch an appealling thought - I thought it was worth spreading.

David Bornstein author of Changing the World Through Social Venture

GeoTagged, [N45.02374, E93.10757]

He is a reporter living in New York. He is teaching us tthis morning about how social venture is changing the world for millions around the world.

Delta no room even in first class

Travelling south tonight flying first class and regardless of ones status and how much you pay for a ticket we have become a classless society all passenger are treated equal. I must say the improvement in flying Delta is not the space it is the authenticity of the attendents they are really appolgetic. The lack of integrity on the customer promise is lacking

Leadership - How to ask the right questions

Question-based leadership only works if managers don't provide all the answers. Here's how to focus on being a facilitator, not an oracle

by Gary Cohen

What are the right questions for leaders to ask?

Like notorious law school professors who interrogate their students until the "truth" appears, many business leaders hold meetings where they pepper employees with rapid-fire questions. But too often managers' questions are designed to show off their own knowledge rather than actually solicit new information or ideas.

Question-based leadership is certainly preferable to the command-and-control model but not when.... Read Full Article in BusinessWeek.

Leadership - How to ask the right questions

What are the right questions for leaders to ask?

Like notorious law school professors who interrogate their students until the "truth" appears, many business leaders hold meetings where they pepper employees with rapid-fire questions. But too often managers' questions are designed to show off their own knowledge rather than actually solicit new information or ideas.

Question-based leadership is certainly preferable to the command-and-control model but not when

Training Leaders to Handle Uncertainty: Moving from Knowing to Not Knowing

By Gary B. Cohen

When the Dow Jones industrial average goes from over 14,000 to under 7,000 in roughly a year's time, not much is certain. Will your chief supplier survive the credit crunch? Will customers return to their old spending habits or continue to conserve? Is another industry primed for a crash?

Our government has shown far-reaching power—rescuing companies it deemed too big to fail and letting others succumb to market forces. Will the government become your competition or might it come to your aid?

With many barriers to entry removed—due to easy access to information (much of it free), endless outsourcing options, and discounted equipment and retail/office space—will a new player enter the market and disrupt your entire business overnight? Or will new technology make your bestselling product obsolete?

The present and future is uncertain, and even the past might have to be revisited. What appeared to be a solid company partnership might turn out to be nothing more than an elaborate ponzi scheme. The numbers in your books may be grossly overinflated, depending on whom and what you've trusted.

Thankfully, change is familiar territory for trainers... Read Full Article in Manage Smarter Performance

Investors.com - Push For Accountability

By Steve Watkins Posted 10/15/2009 06:14 PM ET

Hold people accountable and you'll get more productivity and profit. Here's how:

• Define it. Make sure your people know what you mean.

Accountability comes down to people doing what they said they would in the time frame they set, says Linda Finkle, founder and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based executive coaching firm Incedo Group.

Barring that, they should level with you: They can't meet the deadline; time to renegotiate.

• Hand over the reins. As you hold people to their word, let them make the decisions that go into hitting their goals, says Gary Cohen, author of "Just Ask Leadership."

Help them along, but don't force them to do it one way and then blame them if it doesn't work.

"You have to realize, 'It's their accountability, and I have to trust them,'" Cohen said.

• Admit you don't know. Successful leaders learn to ask questions, Cohen says. They don't need to feel they have all the answers. Read Full Article

20 Best Questions a leader can ask - BusinessWeek Slide Show

The Power of the Right Questions

By Gary P. Cohen

Voltaire wrote, "Judge others by their questions rather than by their answers." If you want to be judged well, ask the right questions. Most leaders ask questions with the hopes of generating thought, focus, and action from the listener, but too often their questions are designed to do little more than show off their own knowledge, not solicit meaningful answers. If leaders gave more attention to their questions, they would get not only better results but also a team of fully engaged co-workers. Here are 20 questions to get you started. See the full slide show at BusinessWeek.com

Questions incubate ideas and stimulate Change

Larry Olson Radio Show

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Volleyball a lesson in leadership

I am at my younger daughter's volleyball game this afernoon and notice how quickly each team tries to get the ball over the net as compaired with my older daughters team. I am struck by the similarities of new leaders verse experienced leaders. The more experienced leader tends to see keeping the ball on their side as a strategic advantage. Setting the play up, slowing it down long enough to go for the spike or killer shot. Are you exhaling when the ball is on your side of the net? Or are you rushing to get it off your side?

Crank Middle Manager - Interview on the Art of Asking the Right Questions

Leading with Questions

Leadership Development Based on Questions© by Sandra Williams

Coworkers can't excel if the leader is making all the decisions, which is why leadership development that's based on questions succeeds.Leaders who answer too many questions are creating more work for themselves and depriving coworkers of participating in their company’s growth according to Gar B. Cohen in Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions.Instead, they should ask specific questions that encourage others to brainstorm and take responsibility as opposed to leaning on one leader for all the answers.There are five areas Cohen focuses on in Just Ask Leadership that will empower others while developing question based leadership. Read full article at Suite101.com

Simple side of complexity - Leadership in chaos - Interview

Today it is my great pleasure to interview Gary B Cohen author of a great book that I've just read called "Just Ask Leadership – Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions."

Gary, as President and co-founder of ACI Telecentrics grew that company from two people to 2,200 employees and reached $32 million in sales at the company’s peak. ACI was recognized as one of Venture Magazine’s Top 10 Best Performing Businesses and Business Journal’s 25 Fastest Growing small companies. Gary is partner and cofounder of CO2 Partners, LLC operating as an executive coach and consultant. His clients run a wide range of organizations – from small entrepreneurial companies to multi-billion dollar enterprises.

Trevor: First of all Gary – thanks for taking the time in your busy schedule to answer a few questions for my Simplicity Blog.

Gary: It is truly my pleasure, and thank you for being willing to share my ideas and the book, Just Ask Leadership, with your audience. As you can see from the title, it would be difficult not to respond to a fellow Asker. Don’t be surprised, though, if I take the opportunity to ask you a few questions as well.

Trevor: I really enjoyed reading your book and found many similarities in your philosophy to my own about business, management and leadership. Not least the need for Simplicity. Do you think some managers make things too complicated?

Gary: Yes and no. To me it really depends on the situation. If you are referring to leading others, yes. If you’re referring to leading an organization, I would say no. I believe many of today’s crises are a result of the complexity of our operating systems. Leaders are applying linear solutions to complex systems.

In a discussion the other day with Joseph Grano, who is currently Chairman and CEO of Centurion Holdings and formerly Chairman of UBS, Joseph stated that it’s not that CEO's are unaware of the complexity of their organizations, but that they’re unaware of the complexity of the products their organizations offer. Leaders don’t and can’t understand every aspect of their organization, nor should they try. They put their organizations at risk when they do. Instead, they need to learn the right questions to ask and where to direct these questions. When leading people, both straight forward and more complex strategies are necessary.

The straight forward aspect of leading is really simple – Just Ask. If leaders did that more than Just Tell, they would see vast improvements in their organisations’ performance. What I don’t want people to believe is that any question, in any tone, will do. The types of questions – and they way they’re delivered - are equally important. Counter to popular opinion, there is such a thing as a Bad Question!

On the complex side of people leadership, leaders would benefit from understanding the brain and how it takes in and stores information. People favor certain types of information and disconnect from others, which has a huge impact on outcomes in organisational trade-offs.

By understanding the workings of the brain, leaders can ask questions that cut through thinking processes and create improved outcomes.

Trevor: The images of a leader telling people what to do rather than asking questions still persists in many organizations. Do you think this style is changing fast enough? Read Full Interview at Simplicity

Just Ask Leadership Spotted in Montreal

Gary,

I am at the airport of Montreal checking book, and sure enough your book is displayed here at the forefront with all the other bestsellers. That's cool!!!

Chady

Leadership Skills with Jim Collins

Each week Entrepreneur's Organization brings an exciting mix of practical learning and advice for business owners through EOTv. This message is of Troy Hazard - The Naked Enterprise, Gary Cohen - Just Ask Leadership and Jim Collins - Good To Great.

Troy speak to the 4 Key personality traits you can have in business, master, mentor, manager, and mate. I outline how Just Ask Leadership can elevate you as a leader. And Jim Collins offers advice in setting up your own personal board of directors to hold you accountable in your personal life.

EOTv Video