The Leadership Academy

Friday, 7 November 2014

Six Reasons Why Boundaries Help Everyone Be More Successful

There are all sorts of boundaries in our lives.

Boundaries define the playing field for most sports.

Fences provide boundaries for homes and farms.

Walls keep people in, or out.

These are obvious and clear boundaries. There are others that while we know they exist, there isn’t a physical line of demarcation.

The boundaries in our professional and organizational lives are like those examples – some are clear, others, not so much. It is my goal here to give you reasons why boundaries are needed, and why making them clear and obvious is a far better approach to leading and running an organization (and the relationships inside it).

Clear boundaries improve focus and productivity. Once we know where we can go and what we can do, it allows us to focus on those things and not worry about overstepping bounds, making mistakes or doing someone else’s job.

Clear boundaries improve safety and compliance. In most organizations there are safety and/or compliance concerns. When everyone knows what those rules are and what is needed in a given role or task, people can operate more safely and not take actions that might lead to dangerous unintended consequences.

Clear boundaries allow trust to grow. When you and I know what you want me to deliver, I am better able to deliver. And when I do, trust goes up. Plus, if, as a leader you provide me a boundary that is bigger or more expansive than I expected, it show me that you trust I can handle those tasks, roles and decisions – you showing me that trust, provides a further chance to build trust between us.

Clear boundaries create defined expectations. This is perhaps the biggest underlying power of all. Until I know what is expected of me, how can I possibly deliver on these expectations? Setting boundaries on what I am and am not responsible for allows me to know what success looks like and then deliver that success.

Clear boundaries allow for empowerment. Too many leaders think empowerment is granted – but that is only half correct. Empowerment must be given to the leader, but must be understood and accepted by others. This can’t happen without clear boundaries defining what people are being empowered to do (or not do).

Clear boundaries promote growth and development. Once I know what is inside my realm of influence, my stress, anxiety and worry will decrease, and I am able to focus on successfully doing my work. Boundaries give me more opportunity to develop and help me determine where I might focus my efforts on growth and improvement.

Before I go, let me say something about the word “clear”. I purposefully used it in each of the items above, because just like if the boundaries on the ball field are missing or obscured, if the boundaries aren’t clear or agreed to, their power and usefulness is drastically diminished.

So let me be clear . . . by “clear boundaries” I mean they are:

Defined by everyone involved
Mutually agreed to
Mutually understood
Reviewed regularly
Managed and maintained

At the end of the day, boundaries are less about defining what we can’t do and more about what we can do. When you view them that way and keep that in mind, boundaries really can become a tool that people will welcome and that will allow them to be more successful in their work.

Thursday, 6 November 2014

Series on Top CEO's Secrets of Success - Hewlett Packard

Meg Whitman

Photo: China Foto Press/Getty Images

Chairman, President and CEO—Hewlett-Packard

It helps having run for governor of California—unsuccessfully—because it gives you a very thick skin. But in fact, you’ve got to get people who are up for the challenge. That leads to this notion of enthusiasm, of eagerness, of the willingness to throw yourself into a situation where you may not fully understand the outcome.

Tips for leading a happy and successful career: Be clear what matters most. And what matters most is your family. There are tradeoffs that you will make, but remember, at the end of the day that is probably the most important group of people in your lives, and that has been true for me from day one.

Do something that you love. We spend a lot of time at work. I’ve probably spent 150 hours over the last couple of weeks. And so you have to find something that you love and I think you need to do it with people who you really enjoy. I get tremendous satisfaction from the team—the joy of collaboration from figuring things out together. And so I think teams and the people that you work with are incredibly important.

My advice to young people is if you find yourself in a company where you’re being asked to do something that you don’t think is right or you’re feeling uncomfortable about the leadership and the direction of the company, run, do not walk, for the doors.

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Series on Top CEO's Secrets of Success - Dreamworks

Jeffrey Katzenberg

Photo: Stuart Isett—Fortune Most Powerful Women

Co-founder—DreamWorks

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I saw the movie Spartacus when I was just 10 years old. And from that day on, Kirk Douglas was a hero to me. Thirty years later, I found myself sitting next to him at a charity event. He had just addressed the crowd in a more eloquent, elegant, and passionate way than I had ever heard anyone speak before. I asked him where that passion came from. That is when he said the most important words anyone has ever said to me: “You haven't learned how to live until you've learned how to give.”

What’s the best advice you like to give?

I don't think it matters how small or how big the task is, if you can do it just a little bit better than what is expected, you will be noticed and rewarded. At DreamWorks, with every movie we make, we start out with the ambition and the goal to exceed the expectations of our audience. We may not succeed every time, and you may not either, but we sure do try.

HOW TO ENCOURAGE THE LAZY AND DISENGAGED

How can you encourage the lazy and disengaged? The short answer… roller skates, or their metaphorical equivalent. Stay with me as we flashback in time.

I was arguably the most disengaged and “lazy” sorority pledge at Wake Forest University. I had rushed because I was warned that nearly all social life on campus centered around the Greek system. I had never viewed myself as a “sorority girl.” I was more of the studious, madrigal-singing type. But there I was skipping “mandatory” events that felt to me like a colossal waste of time and blowing off the requirement to interview every “sister” about her favorite foods and secret fantasies. When my advanced biology class started to crush my brain, I was on the verge of quitting.

Brig, the President. pulled me aside. I felt instant relief. Ahh, I wasn’t going to have to quit. I was going to get kicked out, even better.

“Karin, you seem athletic. Do you know how to roller skate?” I laughed. My friend Sabine would visit from Germany every summer and we strapped on roller skates most days until dusk swirling, racing and making up shows.

“Actually, I do,” I confessed.

“Great, we need someone to do the roller skate leg of the relay around the quad for the Greek games (think high energy, silly, yet serious olympics).”

“Oh, I’d love to, but I didn’t bring my skates to school.” Off the hook again.

“Oh, I’ll find you some skates.”

“Well, I’d have to try them out and I’m so busy studying for this biology exam,” even I knew how ridiculous that sounded as the words spewed out. Clearly I was still trying to get voted off the island.

Brig persisted, “What time are you done studying tonight?”

“Midnight.” (Yeah, I really was being that jerky.)

“Great, meet me on the quad at midnight. I’ll bring the skates. The race is at 3pm tomorrow.”

As I laced up the skates, she asked me how I was liking the sorority. I began to confess. As I skated and she ran beside me around the moonlit quad, I shared my fears of losing my academic scholarship if I didn’t pass biology, my resistance of the silly interviews, and my feelings that this just wasn’t for me.

Brig listened intently and asked questions. “Why did you join the sorority? What requirements are making this seem impossible? Do you know why we require you to talk to each sister?”

She explained the “why” behind every ritual. And then we worked together to create a reduced schedule of obligations that I could commit to and keep my academic standing.

When she returned for homecoming a few years later I asked her if she remembered that night. “Of course I do,” she smiled. “Good leadership is never accidental.”

“How crazy is it that I ended up being President?” I smiled.

Brig looked at me full of confidence and pride. “Karin, I knew one of two things was going to happen with you. You were going to quit, or you were going to be President someday. My vote was for President.”

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Series on Top CEO's Secrets of Success - Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

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Photo: Stuart Isett—Fortune Most Powerful Women

Chairman and CEO—Berkshire Hathaway

Advice for young women: “You do the same thing a male will do. You follow your passions. You find something you love. The truth is, so few people really jump on their jobs, you really will stand out more than you think. You will get noticed if you really go for it.”

5 Times When it Pays to Focus on the Negative

“Focus on the positive, not the negative.”

That’s pretty good advice…most of the time.

There are times when it pays to focus on the negative and when doing so is necessary. Here are five examples:

1. When it could turn into disaster.

Ignoring a threat is dangerous. Denying an attacking competitor, disgruntled customer, hostile employee or problematic situation won’t make them go away. Despite the bromide, ignorance is rarely bliss. Threats can escalate and end in tragedy. Attend promptly to those negative conditions that threaten your personal or organizational well-being.

2. When it can be remedied.

Even small problems are an annoyance and can drain away energy when left unsolved. Unless leaving a problem unsolved will makes no real difference, quickly deal with the ones you can..

Make a punch list of problems that can be remedied by yourself or someone on your team, then pick a timeline for resolution.

3. When it can teach you lessons.

We can learn from the good, the bad and the ugly. We need only to look for the lesson. Negative situations and results have causes. Finding those causes and dealing with them can literally turn a negative into a positive. More importantly, if we truly learn the lessons, we can eliminate or reduce future obstacles and negatives.

4. When you can help another.

Good people can turn in negative performances. You can help them by pointing out what isn’t working or can be improved. In this case ocusing on the negative becomes beneficial. Difficult as it may be, pointing out another’s negativity and the affect is has on others may be the first step towards a change of behavior.

5. When there is an opportunity within it.

Rob O’Brien focused on the negative: in 1999 he couldn’t find a place to get a good haircut. He didn’t like paying $40 at a salon and he wasn’t into the low price/low quality haircut options at the other end of the scale. So he and his brothers filled un unexploited niche and created Floyd’s 99where guys (and gals) can get a great haircut and terrific service at a price between the low-priced and the high end. By exploiting an unfilled opportunity, the O’Briens have created a thriving, growing business.

Saturday, 1 November 2014

Great work is hard work

Some people make great work look easy. Don’t be fooled. They’re just doing the hard work out of sight. If you want to do something great, be prepared to work hard.

Great work gets done with people

Most work in the business world is done by teams. Great teams don’t happen by accident, they take work. Be prepared to work hard at making sure everyone understands things the same way. Lavish time and attention on making sure that everyone is pulling their weight.

Greatness means finding new ways

If you do the same things everyone else does, you will get the results everyone else gets. You find the greatness by trying new things out, keeping what works well, and discarding the rest. That can be scary, but it’s essential.

Greatness is in the details every day

Greatness grows from countless, unexciting activities done well over and over, day after day, with unremitting diligence. It means stretching that performance out over weeks and months and years. It means doing good work, even when you don’t feel like it.

Greatness means reading the messages from reality

Greatness grows when you pay attention to how the work is done and what the results are. It means making changes if you need to. It means holding people accountable.

Greatness is not for everyone

Greatness takes preparation and hard work and realism. It’s not easy and that means that a lot of people will opt out of the quest. You have to decide if you’re willing to pay the price.