My good buddy Phil Gerbyshak over at Slacker Manager has an offer you shouldn’t refuse, “…a guest post from Michael Lee Stallard author of Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity, and Productivity. At the end of his article you will have the opportunity to win the book this post is based on.”

Well, what are you waiting for? Click on over and say hi to Phil.

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Ideas from Leadership Turn

Ignoring for the sake of this post that I think leading and managing are heavily intertwined, consider the biggest thing they have in common—people.

Call them followers or employees/volunteers/staff they’re all people. No matter their age, attitude, education, economic status, gender, etc., they’re still people. And it doesn’t change with country, industry, or situation.

So why do educators, pundits, the media, etc., insist on presenting so many things as specific only to the group under discussion?

Last December I wrote how ridiculous this was after reading an article about what turns Gen Y off in their leaders/manager. The list included

1. Inflexibility.
2. Judgmental attitudes.
3. Close-mindedness.
4. Unwillingness to listen to and respect Gen Y’s opinions, ideas and views.
5. Intimidation.

Well, duh. You show me anybody who likes these traits under any circumstances.

Today, I read about seven mistakes made by church leadership, including

1. stopping listening.
2. getting distracted.
3. getting complacent.
4. becoming arrogant.
5. failing to delegate.

Well, duh again. Same reason.

There seems to be a great commonality in how people want to be treated, so why is it so difficult for those in charge?

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Every subject needs some levity, but for real information visit Greener Assets.

What will the 21st Century look like?

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In the comments on Learning to lead Luke says, “…Anyway, after having the ability to look back with 20/20 hindsight I can see a great deal of improvements that could’ve been made if I had the benefit of some well thought-out guidance. At what point does doing need to be tempered by hearing and seeing (teaching)?”

Luke doesn’t have “…the ideal is to work for a leader, learn by watching, apply what you’ve learned and receive thoughtful critiquing…” so I suggested creating “an informal leadership advisory board.”

To reach their goals entrepreneurs and other small businesses are big users of advisory boards and there’s no reason you can’t create one on a more personal level.

Here’s how to do it, but don’t just think it, write it down.

1. Think through what you want to accomplish and how the advisors can/will help.
2. Describe specific areas in which you want assistance, e.g. leading, managing, career planning, job hunting, parenting, etc.
3. Describe in what you want from each advisor and how doing this may also benefit them.
4. For each area think about someone you respect, who will listen to you and to whom you will listen.
5. Present your request with enough context for them to understand the above points, the approximate time commitment and your specific reasons for asking them.
6. Discuss it with the person, don’t push them or guilt them into doing it. You want people who are excited/pleased to work with you.
7. In terms of benefits there are many things you can offer other than formal compensation, e.g., be appreciative; if appropriate offer to do the same for them, take them out and discuss stuff over a meal; send flowers; give them chocolate; use your imagination and knowledge of the person.
8. Never overload or abuse your advisors time/energy/interest

How many advisors do you need? That depends on a) what you want to accomplish, b) the people you can access and c) the time involved. Don’t put your advisory group together to impress others (yes, I’ve seen this done), because advisors don’t commit for life and don’t grow on trees you want to access them wisely.

Finally, your advisors aren’t there to stroke you—if you want strokes call your mom—they’re there to tell you hard truths, help sort out confusion and assist you to overcome challenges.

No matter their age they have wisdom, experience and smarts—otherwise why did you ask them in the first place?

Do you think a board of advisor could help you?

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Last week as part of the Odd Blog Couple, I wrote Can youth lead? and over the weekend I had an interesting email discussion with Jim Gordon over at BossHatch. (See all the Odd Blog Couples.)

Jim is midpoint in the youth demographic and mentioned that he had attended an Obama gathering at his campus.

Miki
How was the Obama meeting? Do you think the youth (18-29) crowd will go to the polls if “their” candidate isn’t doesn’t make it to the finals? I really am curious about this since it was my Odd Blog topic.

Jim
Well campaigning at colleges is total hit or miss. Half of the student body is registered to vote in another state, unfortunately. On the other hand, you find that people like him will really convert a lot of undecided votes. I, personally, don’t want Hillary to win (way to conform to the expectations of my age group?). I think the fact that Hillary wants MORE government involvement (and power?) really annoys me. She does not settle well with the young voters – at least in the southeast. Either way, Obama is very charismatic.

Miki
These days, I find that I go to the polls to vote AGAINST a candidate and for the person most capable of defeating him/her. Do you think that’s enough to motivate your generation? If they had done that in the last election GWB would likely not be in office (apologies if you’re for him:)

Jim
GWB is an idiot. Kerry is an idiot. We were choosing between two styles of crap, and the nation chose smell over texture. I think the main motivation is no longer “change.” “Change” is an overused buzzword. I think young voters ARE voting against and they are looking at the issues. My generation has been patronized by older generations and other candidates. Even races are being patronized. For example, a republican candidate came to Clemson University with Chuck Norris and Rick Flare (a wrestler). His whole speech was some stand-up routing… which, frankly, was insulting.

There have been articles on CNN that say “Who will win – the black candidate or the female candidate?” Young voters aren’t voting for race or gender – we are voting on issues, we are voting against issues, and some of us aren’t even voting. Our motivation is what can be done now. We are the online generation, so we are used to instant gratification – candidates need to be talking about short-term if they want to see results in the polls. As reckless as that sounds, that is how it is. We’re a generation of cynics.

Hope that gives you an idea of what we are thinking (or some material to write about).

Miki
As far back as I can remember the candidates have been idiots, that’s nothing new.

Your generation might give some thought to that fact that many of the big problems, such as global warming, exist because the thinking has been short term for too many decades. The ironic part is that you are saying exactly what every previous generation, starting with mine, have said about the current older generation. I don’t know about before mine, but probably. You guys have no monopoly on believing that the previous generations messed things up and that only you can fix them.

Is Jim right? Will the need for instant gratification drive the vote? Will it cloud the issues? And can the issues that engage youth—health care, the economy, social security—respond to short-term fixes?

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OKaaaaaaaay. Here’s Wal-Mart as white knight riding forth to save the masses and bring relief to the environment and health care crisis.Wal-Mart is positioning itself as a do-the-right-thing leader. In a speech yesterday “…president and CEO Lee Scott today said the company would continue to demonstrate leadership and work for change on major issues important to Wal-Mart’s customers, communities, associates and suppliers worldwide. …working to lead an effort by major global retailers to create common social and environmental standards for suppliers. The company will also require all of its suppliers to meet specific environmental, social and quality standards and it will make compliance with those standards part of its contracts… “What if we extended our mission of saving people money so they can live better…“”

Isn’t that great? Have you seen the ads for $4 dollar prescriptions? Terrific, right? Gee, maybe a leopard really can change its spots.

But before you get too excited take a look at another article in Business Week called The Ugly Side of Microlending.

And remember that CEO Lee Scott is at the top of the approval chain for this move.

Wal-Mart Stores, which obtained a Mexican banking license a year ago, began offering loans for purchases at 16 of its 997 Mexican outlets in November. In the U.S., the retailer markets itself as a friend to the budget-conscious. In Mexico, it charges interest rates that might set off popular and political revolts back home, although Wal-Mart describes its terms as appropriate to the Mexican market. At one store west of Mexico City, a 32-inch LG plasma TV with a price tag of $957 can ultimately cost as much as $1,474, thanks to a 52-week payment plan that carries an annual percentage rate (APR) of 86%.

Doesn’t that warm the cockles of your heart? Wring your profits out of the poorest of the poor while positioning yourself as the leader in “saving people money so they can live better.”

What do you think?
Is hypocrisy and social irresponsibility alive and well at Wal-Mart or have they truly turned over a new leaf?

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Regarding my Jan 17th post about why leadership training doesn’t provide leaders, Wally Bock comments, “Leadership is an apprentice trade.”

So true. His comment reminded me of an ancient Chinese proverb that holds the true secret of learning and growth.

As with most real wisdom, it hasn’t lost its meaning or its value over the ages.

I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.

How do you learn best?

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Don’t you just love it when a CEO charts a course that proves his belief in the intelligence and common sense of his employees? I’m not talking about a small company with a couple of people, but media powerhouse Tribune Co. with its 20,000 employees.

Sam Zell did just that.

Everyone who works knows what a typical employee handbook is like—a dense morass of legalese, incomprehensible to almost anyone without a law degree. But not at the Tribune.

The handbook is a mix of corporate earnestness, surprising folksiness and common-sense rules, free of the antiseptic training-module language that has become a part of corporate human resources culture…He wanted the handbook to “reflect our new culture, one that is more direct than its predecessor.”

I love it. Randy Michaels, the new head of Tribune broadcasting, was the primary author, but it couldn’t have happened without the Zell’s full backing. Here are some of the choice contents

“Rule #1: Use your best judgment.

“Rule #2: See Rule 1.

“That’s it. That is the one hard and fast rule. Unless a serious mistake was made when you were hired, you have pretty good judgment.”

“4.2. Working at Tribune means accepting that sometimes you might hear a word that you, personally, might not use. You might experience an attitude that you don’t share. You might hear a joke that you might not consider funny. That is because a loose, fun, nonlinear atmosphere is important to the creative process.

“4.3. This should be understood, should not be a surprise and is not considered harassment.”

“7.1. If you use or abuse alcohol or drugs and fail to perform the duties required by your job acceptably, you are likely to be terminated. See Rule 1. Coming to work drunk is bad judgment.”

“18.1.1. Under normal circumstances, Tribune will not snoop in your e-mail or track your internet usage.

“18.1.2. Remember that cyber-slacking is not good judgment.”

The lawyers interviewed for the article predict dire consequences—not surprising considering what they’re paid to produce the unreadable versions.

I especially like rules one and two. Want more? Check out the Tribune’s core values.

Do you think that Sam Zell’s approach will be duplicated by other CEOs?

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Image: ian_ransley

Being at the forefront and engaging the minds and hearts of others isn’t limited to people, companies and ideas themselves can lead, whether long-term or in the instance.

Three cheers for Alice Waters and her restaurant Chez Panisse.

The leader in all things sustainable, organic and environmental has stopped selling bottled water.

It’s about time a high profile business took the lead on this.

The restaurant used to sell about 25,000 bottles a year. Now Chez Panisse filters and serves tap, flat or carbonated, in a glass carafe for free.

Alice Waters isn’t the only one, but she carries a lot of weight among foodies and water buyers

A New York Times editorial last August contributed to objections. San Francisco in July banned spending of public funds on the product, and New York City is encouraging people to refill containers. Chicago this month imposed a 5-cents-a- bottle tax. Many restaurants in the U.S. still serve tap to guests, which is unusual in Europe.

I’ve never been a bottled water person, especially considering how much of it is plain old tap water.

Nestle, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola control 60 percent of the U.S. bottled water market, and use municipal supplies for three of the four biggest brands, Aquafina, Dasani and the Swiss company’s Pure Life.

So take a hint from Alice Waters, who’s forgotten more about food and drink than most of us will ever know and switch to a refillable container filter your own water.

Stay healthy!
Check the number in the triangle on the bottom of water bottles and
all plastic containers.
Keep if the number is 1 or 7 and
send numbers 2, 4 and 5 to recycle heaven.

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