'Aay Leader Mon; Lively Up Yourself!

Bob Marley's Lesson for Leaders

When this 'pre-post' idea started rattling around my head on Friday, I had no idea that a 'Bob Marley Tribute' was on tap for the 55th Grammy Awards but the timing couldn't have been better.

Reggae, the colors of the Ethiopian flag, green yellow and red horizontal fields, the floppy knit 'Rasta' caps, the cannabis leaf, dreadlocks and Jamaica contribute to the known legacy of the devout Rastafarian Bob Marley evidently was.

One look at me and you'll conclude I'm obviously not a Rastaman and although I did inhale several decades ago, I cannot lay claim to doing so in the pursuit of finding the answers to deeply spiritual concerns.

Here's another thing; for most, cannabis is associated with being laid back, way back. Admittedly, Marley's music held deep meaning as he addressed social concerns, but his performances were not anything close to being laid back. High energy, soulful from the Island Heart is more like it.

DON'T BE NO DRAG

"Lively Up Yourself" is not among his most remembered, I've always liked it.

"You're gonna lively up yourself and 
Don't be no drag... You rock so you rock so
Like you never did before..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDnNqsy7rYE

Leading a company as an owner or Chief executive is also anything but a 'laid back' easy-as-you-go responsibility. Everyone that's been there or is currently doing so gets that. What some miss though is the need to "Lively Up Themselves" and avoid being "no drag" on the organization they lead but instead, to figure out how to "rock like they never did before."

The core competencies required of an executive are many and well documented and this isn't to discount any of them. It has been my experience that one key, one very important key or core competency to superior performance is lost in a leader's lack of 'liveliness' or more plainly, a sense of humor.

HUMOR AS AN EMOTIONAL COMPETENCY

David McClelland's study; "Identifying Competencies with Behavioral-Event Interviews,"[1] concluded that "Several of the emotional Intelligence (EI) competencies most strongly tied to humor were in the social awareness or relationship skill domain, as one might expect, since these are the most visible socially."  Further the author(s) noted, "... that for these gifted leaders the expression of many or most EI competencies often came via the artful use of humor - and that this was in itself a basis for their success as leaders."

Let this sink in. Goleman et al found that, "What's particularly telling, though, was that those successful leaders use of humor strongly correlated with the very emotional intelligence competencies we have found to be key to a leader's superior performance." (Underline, italics, mine.)

You've met enough leaders in your day to know the difference between one who understands the artful use of humor and one that doesn't. You've also worked with or alongside persons who, perhaps by default, are granted or assigned leadership roles that are a drag, personally and professionally. What is striking though is that many leaders, when away from their business responsibilities, possess a sense of humor but find it unthinkable to allow that to be enjoyed with their colleagues, direct reports, customers or whoever may benefit from it.

I've taken some liberty with equating "liveliness" with a sense of humor but, here's the deal; you may be a well-intentioned, skillful, competent and successful leader in your own right. You may even rank high on an Emotional Intelligence scale. The bad news is that if you don't have and don't believe you are able to acquire a sense of humor, you may just have to accept good results. Superior results may elude you.

For those who are recognized by friends or family for possessing this important asset, if it's not being utilized artfully within the scope of your work-a-day responsibilities, readjust your thinking. "Lively Up Yourself" for superior results.

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] David C. McClelland, "Identifying Competencies with Behavioral Event interviews," Psychological Science 9 (1998): 331-339; cited in Primal Leadership; Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Annie McKee; Chapter 3, pg  34; Harvard Business School Press

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

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