Leadership: at Amazon, Apple and Facebook

published: 2011-11-28

Amazon’s amazing. Apple’s the apple of everyone’s eye. Facebook’s the face everyone wants to know. In a recent blog, Seth Godin copied their org. charts as seen by Manu. Perhaps these charts also sum up their leadership styles. If so, what can you and I learn from each – and their differences. Here are some characteristics and then my takeaway. ... read more

Leadership: jargon is your ally and your enemy

published: 2011-07-18

My wife and I recently visited the Venice Biennale including the key national pavilions plus 30 smaller exhibits across the city. As with most expositions (artistic or other), this one ranges from the amazing to, yes, the abysmal. But the explanatory handouts fall within a narrower range: from dismal to abysmal. Full of phrases like “subtracted singularities”, “coloured epiphanies”, “discursive modalities” and “the temple of our contemporaneity”. Jargon can be useful. It facilitates high-value, coded communication between close colleagues. But, it can equally be a smokescreen that sounds smart but is empty of meaning to others. So, how does your own leadership jargon rate? Here are six words, which often come across like Biennale waffle. And, with each, some actions you could take to give your words operational meaning. ... read more

Leadership: sparking up your personal creativity

published: 2011-07-11

“Only by forcing our brains to … move beyond our habitual thinking patterns can (leaders) begin to imagine truly novel alternatives.” So say the authors of a recent McKinsey Quarterly article – and it’s hard to argue. They focus mostly on improving team creativity but there are two segments of their article I’ve re-refocused towards personal innovation. Rapid technical, cultural and social changes mean that leaders, who fail to generate new approaches will become victims of change, not its drivers. How would people say you perform on the items in the two checklists below? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: 12 FACETS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

published: 2010-08-23

A valuable gemstone has many facets, each finely polished. To be a valuable leader, you similarly need a range of carefully honed capabilities. For some people, these attributes fall broadly into two categories. First, the technical (or IQ-driven) ones: for example, professional expertise, market knowledge, financial acumen or analytical skills. Second, interpersonal (or EQ) ones: such as showing empathy, listening well, being self-aware, developing successors and creating teams. With regard to the latter, below is a list of 12 EQ actions. Why not re-order them into a list that starts with the one you do best, through to the one you do least well! And, perhaps plan what you’re going to do to improve the bottom couple. After that, I’ll tell you where the list comes from. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHEN IN DOUBT, DISAGGREGATE

published: 2010-05-31

Seth Godin is part blogger, part public intellectual. Some days, he really nails a topic. Here’s an abbreviated introduction to a recent posting*.

“The typical American buys precisely one book a year … (but) when it comes to books, there is no typical American. There are a lot of Americans who buy zero books … and then there are people like me who buy 400. The average is irrelevant.”

It’s the old warning of the non-swimmer, who drowned in a river of one-metre average depth. So, what’s the equivalent for your leadership? Are you just taking “average” one-size-fits-all actions? Here’s a three-step alternative.

LEADERSHIP: THINK BIG BUT ALSO SMALL

published: 2010-05-24

Successful leaders offer both an uplifting goal and the steps to get there. The secret’s in the balance. If you’re only visionary, your legacy may well be just that: a high-potential but unrealised dream. People love it, but nothing happens. Equally, if you’re only focused on action and implementation, your people may be busy as hell but going nowhere. On long flights, I sometimes cook up an idea and enjoy the experience of what the outcome might look like – truly the view from 30,000 feet. But later, back at my desk, I have to think about how we’ll get there and my interest wanes. Too much hard work. Which would your people say you are: the dreamer or the detailer? Test yourself: which of the following two statements is more your home territory? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: TRUST ME, TRUST ME NOT

published: 2010-02-15

In his first year as Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd enjoyed unusually high poll ratings. He represented a change of both priorities and approach that many voters welcomed. That was 2007. But now in 2010, a survey of five capital-city talk-back hosts* gives us the following quotes. He "talks about taking tough decisions, but I don't think our audience necessarily buys that he's made any tough decisions." "They see his language as contrived, his personality as plastic and they don't think he's got a sense of humour." They "can't understand what he's on about." Assuming you're past the honeymoon phase of your current leadership role, what are people saying about you? What do they want you to do differently? Here are six actions I've read that journalists or other commentators have suggested for Kevin Rudd in recent months. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: FOR GOODNESS SAKE MOVE ON

published: 2010-02-01

As John Maynard Keynes so aptly put it "The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones." An example is how old technology always colonises the new. Initially, TV news was just talking-heads - radio newsreaders filmed reading the news. Until, of course, producers realised the new medium allowed them to cut away to the accident, political leader or fashion show being described. Today, many businesses struggle to reinvent themselves online and exploit its new and hugely different potential. Is the same true of your leadership? Are you stuck in old approaches - even some perhaps, which may never have worked all that well for you? Here are six things to check. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: POWER AND PURPOSE

published: 2010-01-28

US decline and China's inexorable rise are much talked of.  But, in a recent article, Josef Joffe* concludes his rebuttal thus.  "Gainsayers will still dramatise China's growth rates as a harbinger of a grand power shift.  But as the 21st century unfolds, the US will be younger and more dynamic than its competitors."  Whether right or wrong, it's an important issue.  And, his arguments have resonance for the durability of leaders, as well as nations.  He stresses the requirement for "requisite power and purpose."  If asked, would your colleagues say you still have these? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY INEFFECTIVE MANAGERS

published: 2009-10-26

I'm no techo, nor a digital native.  But Langdon, V|E|C|T|O|R's technology manager, tries to educate me.  And, recently forwarded an article by Nari Kannan from www.it.toolbox.com* - and, I've borrowed its title for this Potshot.  It's a play on a famous book title and the seven negative habits he lists are all too common - and, not just in IT.  So, why not check below and rate yourself - and see what options you have to overcome such habits! ... read more

LEADERSHIP: OF MID-LEVEL AND FRONT-LINE TEAMS

published: 2009-06-15

Team leaders split their time between "leading" and "doing".  But daily pressures (particularly now) drag leaders towards the latter: getting things delivered, resolving technical challenges, responding to HO demands, and keeping the admin. flowing.  Too often, they stop leading; and, become managers at best or merely operatives at worst.  Sounds familiar? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: HAS GEITHNER GAGGED?

published: 2009-03-16

The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, hasn't asked my advice.  But, he looks as though he needs some.  He's like a stalled driver on a railway crossing and the runaway financial express is already on top of him.  His lack of resolve is worrying both Americans and investors across the world.  Obama's land of "hope" and "yes, we can" is at risk of becoming a desert of "nope".  Many CFOs (and their CEOs) face similar challenges - albeit smaller.  So, how are you going?  Perhaps this advice may be of help to you as well! ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?

published: 2009-02-23

High (often unreasonable) expectations await newly appointed presidents - whether taking the helm of a company or a country. For President Obama, this is multiplied manyfold. His personal story, and the dreams it creates for others, breaks hugely with the past. And, he steps up in the face of challenges of hurricane proportions. How will he go? Sadly, if his current economic and financial initiatives fail, the dreams of many may end almost before they're born. So, let's take stock of your leadership (of your team, project or business): how difficult are things going forward? And, what the hell are you doing about them? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: FIRST, CREATE THE SKELETON

published: 2008-08-25

Our skeleton provides the structure for our body.  Without it, we’d be a wobbly heap of flesh on the floor.  The same is true for organisations.  If the structure isn't clear, it's hard to make things hold together.  What am I responsible for?  Who's my boss?  Who are my peers?  Who are the subordinates I'm responsible for?  These are amongst the first questions we ask in relation to a new job.

LEADERSHIP: A STEP UP FROM MANAGEMENT

published: 2008-04-14

Are you a leader or a manager?  And, what's the difference?  For me, the distinction is one of degree not kind.  Most managers spend time leading; and, leaders also manage. 

LEADERSHIP: CARVING UP THE BUDGET

published: 2008-02-11

Frugality is admired. And, necessity (as they say) is the mother of invention. But often, too much is made of scarcity. The extreme being the romantic notion of the starving artist slaving in a garret and producing works of enduring social value.

LEADERSHIP: MOBILISES TALENT AND KNOWLEDGE

published: 2008-02-04

“The formal structures of companies, as manifested in their organisational charts, don’t explain how most of their real day-to-day work gets done.” That’s what the authors of a recent article claim; and, many would agree. But, being consultants, they have a solution. Establish “formal networks” – and more about these below. But, let’s keep it simple. Why not appoint more appropriate leaders to run the company as it’s already structured? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHERE AND HOW DO WE ALL FIT IN?

published: 2008-02-04

The golden rule of property is position, position, position. And, leadership is similar. But, in this case it’s people, people, people. And the bottom line is simple: you’re not a leader if you don’t have followers. How would your team rate their commitment to you and your plans: high, medium or low? ... read more