TRUST is A Leadership Must

“It’s time to stop talking about trust and start doing something about it...”[1] wrote +Barbara Kimmel, Executive Director, Trust Across America as an introduction to +Frank Sonnenberg's Managing with a Conscience: How to Improve Performance Through Integrity, Trust, and Commitment (2nd edition). It's no wonder in that Sonnenberg refers to the quality 100 times in his book. [Don't mistake the following for a review, however, I will highlight a few additional points Sonnenberg makes.]

"Trust" shows up on everything from US currency to who knows how many corporate mission statements and untold number of leadership-themed books, not to mention endless philosophical and moral relationship treatises.

Willing to make an uneducated guess, it may be that 80-90% of CEOs and business owners give lip-service to trust and may even believe in their heart-of-hearts that they both trust their employees and can be trusted themselves. If that appears to be hyperbole to you, forgive me.

This topic of trust, particularly as it relates to business governance and leadership, is important enough to talk about often. As a TEC Chair, I work with a terrific bunch of business owners and CEOs and all are challenged when it comes to trust. On the flip-side of what I stated above, many owners and CEOs find themselves vulnerable because deep down inside they may actually distrust some of their colleagues. We could go round and round on that but for the leader who actually does trust his direct reports and senior managers, that leader must make it absolutely clear that's the case.

A real-life example that comes to mind is that of a CEO who, for several months, was having misgivings about one of his senior managers. The problem arose from the sense that this manager didn't seem to bring much "to the table." The manager had been on board prior to this CEO's tenure and as far as she was concerned, she was performing every bit as well as she had always been. Neither knew what the other was thinking.

I listened to this through several meetings. Influenced by what was being shared, the only normal thing to do was to ask, "Why?" Why hadn't something been done about this? Why hasn't this been discussed specifically with the manager? Why are you allowing this concern to affect the team? Why don't you just get rid of this problem? Quit procrastinating!

Then one day, something very important occurred.   A vendor was visiting the company to discuss a significant matter that involved this manager's department and was worthy of including our CEO. During the course of the presentation and ensuing exchange, the manager noticed that our CEO had little to add to the conversation.  Call it insecurity or whatever you'd like, but during the next one-to-one meeting between them, the manager shared that she had grown very uncomfortable during the meeting and suggested the CEO had chosen to remain silent in an effort to allow her to just "hang out there;" play the fool, so to speak.

Our CEO wasn't sure how to respond but was smart enough to share the experience with his wife who brought up the issue of trust.

It became clear to our leader that a genuine conversation with this manager needed to take place. Clarity of expectations and the groundwork for trust had to be established. You see, he didn't question the skill and the ability of the manger and actually trusted her expertise and judgment. He had not bothered to communicate that but mistakenly assumed she knew it was so.

Soon thereafter another meeting was scheduled and the CEO humbly requested an opportunity to set matters straight. With care and forethought, he expressed that, indeed, he did trust this manager. His silence during the vendor meeting was due to his sense that he just didn't have anything to add and, in fact, he was a bit sheepish due to the reality that he hadn't spent enough time educating himself on the subject. He apologized for that.

He also took the opportunity to 'reset' with the manager. They discussed their mutual expectations of each other and both agreed to work at improving their communications.

Sonnenberg wrote, "Employees have the right to know that their employers have confidence in them and in their abilities. People do not like being second-guessed or micromanaged. They want to know that management trusts and respects them to do a responsible job. This leads to superior employee performance. "[2]

You guessed it. There was no need to replace this manager.

This is just one simple example. Our pursuit of  high-performance leadership must include trust and a forum that provides opportunity for the leader to teach, to coach, mentor and express his or her confidence in the team chosen. The CEO must allow for and demand the same of his direct reports and their direct reports all the way downstream.

It may be easier said than done for many but let me share one more piece of sage advice from Sonnenberg's book;

"Changing to a more open and trusting environment requires letting go, unlearning many management practices of the past. That is not easy and does not happen quickly. It requires managers to leave behind many skills, sources of status and power, and implicit assumptions about the workplace that were formulated during past experiences."[3]

Barbara Kimmel couldn't have been more right and if you, as a leader, haven't given this some serious thought lately, revisit the subject. Chances are, your performance and theirs', will greatly improve.

Jim Naleid is a Life-long Entrepreneur, Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates and Regional TEC (“The Executive Committee”) Chair leading a group of executives to become Better Leaders, Making Better Decisions with Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid

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[1] Sonnenberg, Frank K. (2011-12-22). Managing with a Conscience: How to Improve Performance Through Integrity, Trust, and Commitment (2nd edition) (Kindle Locations 9-11).  . Kindle Edition.

[2] Sonnenberg, Frank K. (2011-12-22). Managing with a Conscience: How to Improve Performance Through Integrity, Trust, and Commitment (2nd edition) (Kindle Locations 648-652).  . Kindle Edition.

[3] Sonnenberg, Frank K. (2011-12-22). Managing with a Conscience: How to Improve Performance Through Integrity, Trust, and Commitment (2nd edition) (Kindle Locations 2456-2458).  . Kindle Edition.

The "Combative CEO" Model ...Not for Our Purposes

It's an interesting day in the United States. Martin Luther King Day is being commemorated across governmental institutions, finance and  banking systems. Politically motivated combatants are debating the real meaning of King's message.

Yesterday afternoon the CEO of the free world was administered the oath of office during a quiet family and close-friends ceremony in the White House. Today, maybe a million or so will gather along the parade route and in the grand stands erected for the observance of the public inauguration of Barack Obama in the nation's capitol.

At our home yesterday morning, for the first time in many weeks, we tuned into the Sunday morning talk shows. In the past we even DVR'd one or two and would watch them after returning home from Sunday services. Several months ago we concluded there were just too many more important things to do...Green Bay Packer games, autumn walks and bike rides, a round a golf, time with the grandkids. Weary of the ongoing combative nature of everything political, we resolved that whatever would rise to the level of importance could be read about later in the day, or the next.

 

COMBATIVE, PERHAPS - QUESTIONABLE OUTCOMES 

What struck me though, as I flipped between networks, was a fascinating question posed by different moderators that went something like this; "Given the tone of the President's recent comments and speeches, will what appears to be a combative determination, succeed in changing the course of Washington?"

Be reminded, that is not a quote. I'm simply paraphrasing what I heard asked of the guest or panels these moderators were addressing. Heck, I don't know if the  44th POTUS is combative. All I know is that the Gallup organization released its latest poll today that shows this country's CEO four-year approval rating at 49%, third worst since WW II -  just above Ford and Carter. Some may argue that "approval" is not an indication associated with successful leadership and we could go round and round on that topic. But, if a Board of Directors or a lending institution's loan committee had anything to say about that weak a showing, I'm afraid an executive search or a called loan would result.

Then again, things could change. Historians may be a position to record something that is quite different, quite better, four years from now.

It seems fair to say that in today's world, politics and business are worlds apart. Do we all agree on that or am I missing something? Good, then lets' go with that.

NO LONGER JUST "SELF-HELP"

You are either reading this post of mine because you are a leader determined to become a better leader or you are as I am, an experienced leader, coach or consultant interested in how our community is working to assist those we work with in their pursuit of becoming better at what they do.

Due to the fact that my childhood included a great deal of team play and competition and that I had some terrific mentors like my grandpa, my mom and some memorable coaches along the way, I am elated that "player development" is fully embraced by the industry and its ultimate beneficiaries, executives and business owners, along with their charges. We are rapidly moving beyond "self-help" to helping others becoming better at what we need them to do.

MORAL  AUTHORITY TO LEAD

This is a great time to be a leader and as great a time to be in a position to work with leaders who are self-determined, life-long learners. My experience of once owning hundreds of wonderful books but facing the reality that I couldn't take all of them with me when we made the decision to down-size and join the condominium 'circuit' is not a concern. Now I can re-capture, re-stock and reunite with any of those older books and combine them with all the current thoughtful stuff that's right here in an ethereal library.

For instance, the subject of  "Emotional Intelligence" (EI) as a leadership quality wasn't in the forefront of leadership attributes when I was thrust into my first business leadership role. Servant Leadership, as a leadership quality, though conceptually dating back to the late 70s, escaped the notice of many of us who may have been in leadership positions. For me anyway, "moral authority" wasn't yet on the radar screen, so to speak. All of these subjects and great thinking are at my fingertips. I am grateful.

[We were young entrepreneurs, brash and admittedly, (of course I should speak for myself only) in the school of having "more guts than brains."]

Take the late Robert K. Greenleaf's "Servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness," first published in 1977, now in its 25th edition with collaborations with Larry Spears, Peter Senge and Steven Covey in 2002. Greenleaf is said to have coined the term, "Servant-leader" and passed away in 1990. In 1970 he published "The Servant as Leader," an essay which launched the servant leadership movement in the United States.

Note the book's jacket description of the March 1977 edition: "Servant Leadership helps leaders find their true power and moral authority to lead. It helps those served become healthier, wiser, freer, and more autonomous. This book encourages collaboration, trust, listening, and empowerment. It offers long-lasting change, not a temporary fix and extends beyond business for leaders of all types of groups." (Italics, mine)

When moral authority is exercised accordingly, prosperity of every kind, follows.

LEADERSHIP MATTERS

Today's leaders have a tremendous opportunity to learn how to become outstanding leaders not only by embracing that which people like Greenleaf believed and taught but by paying close attention to what great teachers are teaching and what the very best leaders are doing to succeed.

Nothing I've ever read, not Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and its various "For Mangers" editions or any other purposeful lesson on leadership has suggested a combative approach to management will succeed. I'm happy about that and I for one would not be comfortable if the example being set by the CEO of the largest, perhaps unwieldy organization in the world, would ever become lionized. Political will aside, leadership matters and the more real leaders learn to lead, the less the unknowing will be led.

Our mutual responsibility then is to collectively move one another to better ground whether in our endeavors to become better leaders, better teachers, mentors, friends, husbands, wives and grandparents.

Jim Naleid is a Life-long Entrepreneur, Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates and Regional TEC (“The Executive Committee”) Chair leading a group of executives to become Better Leaders, Making Better Decisions with Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid

COMPENSATION MODELS

 What's Wrong With This Picture? 

DISMISS GOVERNMENT and LARGE CORPORATE MODELS

The compensation model I'm concerned about doesn't include either the Federal Government or large Corporate models. Both are untenable, inexcusable and unlikely to ever be changed. People that end up in government cannot relate to entrepreneurs and vice versa. Bureaucrats rely heavily on the success of the entrepreneur but have absolutely no concern or an interest in what drives the entrepreneurial spirit that results in a small to mid-sized business compensation model to begin with.

Large corporations are led by very smart, well educated people. Publicly-held corporations tend to be governed by Boards of Directors who create compensation models for those in the very top-tier as well as generous remuneration 'stipends' for fellow board members.  They may comply with corporate law and government regulations but show a disdain for shareholders and more importantly, the hard-working folks 'downstream.'

Those just part-way downstream within the large corporate model may not be particularly fond of what they do for a living but have resigned themselves to the task of gaming the system, navigating upstream through a maze of challenging pay-grades structured by a sophisticated HR department.

Statistics indicate that in either of these large systems a vast majority of the employed are not particularly happy or motivated to do anything more than what is defined for them to do. With the stroke of the keys in front of me then, I dismiss these for reasons that should be obvious. I have little hope that either is going to change.

I am much more concerned about the compensation models that small to medium-sized, privately-owned companies must create in order to retain talent and in the end, sufficiently reward the entrepreneur who has taken the risk to do so. This cannot happen if such an entrepreneur were to borrow from the government or large corporate models

THE OWNERSHIP MODEL

Ownership brings with it a great many things, good, bad and ugly. Genuine entrepreneurs have to keep going, get up after getting knocked down, and start all over again, if necessary. They go off the rail, however, if they begin to think that the company owes its success to them alone and the compensation model gets all 'skewed up'...to the top of their org chart.

Don't get me wrong, it is my firm belief that entrepreneurs, business owners and those who owners appoint as leaders should be compensated handsomely for what they accomplish. The challenge of the day happens to go far beyond that.

Let's assume the statistics we're aware of that suggest the greater number of people working in these companies are feeling unappreciated, without serious challenge and little accountability are undeniable. That means a good number of people are restless, unhappy and unfulfilled. 

The question to ask of the person most dependent upon their productivity is;

"Do you know who these people are?"

Every now and then employers are blind-sided when what they believed was a happy, highly productive direct report or second-tier manager leaves for greener pastures. What we've learned is that this happens for a variety of reasons with money rarely being the predominant influence in the decision.

Among several studies that have crossed my screen recently, Laura Entis at INC.com cites one commissioned by Dale Carnegie ( @DaleCarnegie ) through MSW that reinforces the notion that compensation models call for more emotional currency than leaders tend to think necessary. The study, as others I've seen, reinforces the reality that 29% of employees are fully engaged, 26% are disengaged and the big bunch in between are "putting in the minimal amount of effort to achieve expected results." 

http://www.inc.com/laura-entis/employee-engagement-is-costing-you.html

The study goes on to indicate the real cost to business as a result is $11 billion a year. Worse, in my estimation, is that with this in mind, small to mid-size companies are no better off than the government or large corporations when it comes to creating complete compensation packages. To make matters worse, company leaders, in many cases, have no one to blame but themselves.

COACHING TO SUSTAINED PROFITABILITY

It should be clear by now that small and mid-sized companies have a distinct advantage over their government and large corporate competitors when it comes to finding and retaining talent. What many leaders have so much difficulty with though is coming to grips with how vital it is to develop their coaching and leadership skills. I haven't met a business leader yet who wouldn't rather work On the business rather than In it.

That's easier said than done, especially for one who may have started the business, has performed every function necessary and has subconsciously overlooked the need to shift gears and simply learn to lead the team they've assembled. Any who have, at one time or another, participated in an effort that led to good results by a wise coach or leader knows what's it's like to experience the compensation of satisfaction.

As it turns out, the very best compensation models in force today, yes, must be monetarily competitive, but to a far greater degree must be associated with a working environment or culture wherein the leader leads. The most successful organizations, with the most competitive compensation models, are those that get it and do it. And, guess what? If you are the one in that position and understand what this means, your employee engagement quotient will soar. Your profits will be sustainable and as the word gets out, talent will come knocking on your door rather than walking out through it.

Jim Naleid is a Life-long Entrepreneur, Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates and Regional TEC (“The Executive Committee”) Chair leading a group of executives to become Better Leaders, Making Better Decisions with Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid

LEADERSHIP DISTRACTIONS

Leaders cannot afford to be distracted from their primary objectives by world and national events. Lord knows there are plenty of them. It happened to me over the past two weeks. With the main calendar holidays falling on a Tuesday, many of us just felt out of sorts, so to speak.

TAKE YOUR PICK OR ADD TO THE LIST

Hurricane Sandy, an election, Sandy Hook Elementary School the "Fiscal Cliff" and who cares to add to a long list of others led us to yearend, perhaps a bit numb and well, distracted. At our place, we chose to occupy our down and quiet time reading. Besides interacting with family and close friends, We ignored the nightly news and Sunday talk shows - tired of it all. We reengaged with the world to some degree on January 2.

Since then my conversations with business leaders planted the theme of this post in mind. Leaders cannot afford to be distracted but that doesn't mean they aren't concerned about all of the above. It won't surprise you to know that to a person, they are very concerned about Leadership, theirs' and that of the POTUS, to say nothing of the political morass that swirls thickly around him.

MASTERING THE SKILLS - EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND MORE

Thinking about those leaders I have the privilege of working with; they accept the serious responsibility of leading effectively and diligently incorporating new things learned as societal norms and attitudes shift. All, to one degree or another, possess an emotional intelligence, not unlike that which is discussed in a fine work now dated by some years but pertinent nonetheless , Primal Leadership (Daniel Goleman  @DanielGolemanEI;  Richard Boyatzis  @RBoyatzis, Dr. Annie McKee  @anniemckee; Harvard Press).

They realize that despite whatever regulations, executives orders and government mandates that are imposed upon them, they still must hone their strategic and tactical skills that lead them to become better leaders, making better decisions with better results. With this in mind, as much as I tried, I could not distance myself from wondering about these men and women and how their determination to lead for the greater good would be compared to the tactics of the Leader of the Free World.

HISTORICAL PRECENDENT - NOTHING LIKE IT

I won't dwell on this but it does confuse me because I go back to Eisenhower's days and while admittedly I was much too young to fully appreciate much of anything, from my age of reason on, I haven't observed anything like what we all are watching today. I am thankful for the internet for giving me access to literally thousands of bright, articulate thought-leaders. In the old days, there was a reliable portfolio of great teachers, but today we can learn from untold numbers of them and that's a good thing.

I'll let the historians chronicle the leadership attributes of our current President but I also don't believe that any professionals I work with would attempt to use  or recommend that his model as one for success in their worlds. http://www.franksonnenbergonline.com/blog/counterfeit-leadership/

CORPORATE v. POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

One of the four books I took on over the New Year's long weekend was Managing With A Conscience, 2nd Edition; (Frank Sonnenberg  @FSonnenberg). Frank's one of the folks I'm alluding to above and as you've likely noted, wrote a terrific post to his blog entitled Counterfeit Leadership. When I first came across some of Frank's thoughts, to be honest, I concluded that while well-intentioned, he was perhaps a bit naive. Happily, I read on and began to follow Frank. In so doing, I found that he believes not only in the goodness of humanity but is convinced that leaders must and can lead with "goodness" intact. It wasn't that I thought otherwise, it's just that I had not come across anyone who put it out there in the same way. That's high praise when you consider the many renowned authors that most of us have read.

While time management and priorities require discipline, it is the leaders I speak of who take advantage of the speed and easy access with which we gain the insight shared by so many that leaves us with little excuse than to attempt to become the best leaders we can possibly be.

Leaders cannot afford to be distracted and must go on leading regardless of how difficult and challenging a national or local government may make it. Whether it's a 5-point this or a 10-point that, it is in the thirst for knowledge and better ways of doing things that will be passed from this group of leaders to the next and perhaps it is a foregone conclusion that relying upon government of any kind will distract but will not destroy free enterprising and life-long learning leaders altogether.

Jim Naleid is a Serial Entrepreneur, Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates and Regional TEC (“The Executive Committee”) Chair leading a group of executives to become Better Leaders, Making Better Decisions with Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid