Category: Authenticity

A Tale of Two Leaders (why humility matters)

After sitting 8 hours in the cold to watch the Broncos lose to the Ravens in a game in which they inexplicably abandoned everything that got them there in the first place, I was in NO mood to watch, listen, or read anything about football in general and the Broncos in particular.  (Seriously, we practically had a media blackout in the house – we only caught the end of the Atlanta/Seahawks game because it was on in the store where we were shopping for a treadmill.  But I digress.)

Despite my desire to avoid any and all stories about the Broncos, I couldn’t help but click on this  article when I saw it on Yahoo!  It describes the post-game meeting between Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis.  (Another great article on the story can be found here.)  What struck me as I read about it was how difficult it had to be for Peyton to be there…to wait for what had to be forever to say goodbye to a respected competitor.  And the feeling of respect was mutual (the Peter King SI.com article quotes Lewis as saying he was missing a “great warrior”).  This was humility in action – leading by example, respectfully wishing luck to a longtime rival.  Peyton Manning is a leader.  Not in words, but in behavior.

Let’s contrast that with the debacle of the Lance Armstrong fall from grace.  Using his stature and his money and his power, he bullied and sued anyone who dared to speak the truth about him.  He was the face of an amazing foundation that gave a lot of people with cancer hope and support…and yet his actions said anything BUT leadership.  During is “apology”, he showed no contrition and a distinct unwillingness to hold himself accountable for his actions over the years.  Rather than show humility, he showed defiance.  As Dan Wetzel wrote in his article about the event, “After the first session the only question left unanswered is how he ever found so many friends to stab in the back in the first place.”

Humility is a powerful tool in the leadership toolbox – not as a manipulation element; rather, as a real and honest emotion that leaders can and should display in times challenge and in triumph.  A humble leader is a leader people want to follow.  A humble leader understands his limitations, and welcomes the contributions of others. When mistakes are made (and they will be made), a humble leader accepts them and learns from them – regardless of who made them.  Peyton Manning, through his actions away from the spotlight, shows a humility that people respect. (Except for maybe New England fans, but that’s their problem. But I digress…again.)

Despite the power of humility, too many leaders take the Lance Armstrong route – pretending they’re invincible, bullying others when they dare speak the truth, deny and cover up mistakes in an effort to remain “perfect”.  This can work…for awhile.  But what happens when the story unravels?  Suddenly, those who followed that leader simply walk away, cursing the lie they defended for so long.

Think about where you land on the humility continuum.  Are you willing to wait for an hour after a crushing loss to congratulate your competitor?  Or are you offering hollow apologies in an effort to protect your personal gain?  Where do you want to be?  The choice you make will impact your ability to lead.

I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don’t mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them.
― John Ruskin

Embrace your inner geek! (finding authenticity)

Can you name all 6 Star Wars movies (tag line and all)? Are you aware of the Star Trek “odd numbered movie” curse? Have you seriously debated Kirk vs. Picard, BSG vs. Firefly, Tennant vs. Smith? (That’s a Doctor Who reference, in case you didn’t know.)*

If you answered yes to any (or all…) of these questions, you’re a geek. Congratulations!  Geek-dom boasts a proud and varied host of members – intelligent, successful, overly friendly at conventions.  And yet, how do you react when someone pegs your geek cred?  Do you proudly proclaim, “YES. I. AM.”?  Or (like most people in corporate America who don’t work in IT) do you laugh it off, saying you must have seen the reference on SNL or something?

I bring this topic up because leaders (and the led) benefit from the ability to admit who they are to each other.  It touches on a level of transparency that is often missing from the office world, which in turn impacts our ability to see each other as individuals rather than archetypes that pepper business literature these days.  We must be professional, dress for the job you want not the one you have, network even if you’re an introvert, cultivate relationships, etc.  This is all good advice; after all, there is a certain expectations that leaders have.  Layered on those expectations, however, should be a willingness to show who you are.

“Leadership authenticity” is a popular topic these days (a current Google search listed 10.9M results) – strive to identify your core values and lead by them.  I also think it means to be true to yourself, letting your freak (or geek) flag fly.  When I think back to the leaders I’ve admired, they were typically people who knew who they were and weren’t afraid to show it.  There’s an immense level of confidence, and trust, in being willing to share your true self with those at work.  Not surprisingly, employees often respond to your willingness to share by lowering their guard and sharing something with you.  This pays off beyond simple relationship building.  I’ve found that teams who share something of themselves work better together, are more creative and productive, are willing to hold each other accountable, and feel comfortable with productive conflict.  But you can’t simply tell your team to share – you have to set the expectation…and lead by example.

Embracing your inner geek (or sports fanatic/car junkie/Kardashian stalker/whatever) might sound scary to some of you.  And for some of you, the culture of your current workplace means sharing your geekosity (shut up, it’s a word) would pretty much guarantee you never get that promotion you’ve been working towards.  If that’s the case, you have a choice to make – find ways to share who you are without jeopardizing your standing, or maybe find a culture that embraces the idea people can be who they are…and STILL produce quality work.

Still don’t believe in the power of the Geek?  That’s cool, I get it.  It took me awhile to get my geek on, too.  To help get you started, I’ve shared my top 4 reasons for why embracing my inner geek was beneficial:

  1. Builds credibility among the people who get work done: It’s important to connect to leaders in a company, I get that.  But how do you gain visibility with leaders?  By getting things done.  And you get things done by building relationships with the people who do the day-to-day – facilities, IT, help desks, copy rooms, studios, the guys in the field, etc.  To many of the, I was just another person from corporate (worse, HR from corporate)…until I showed I could hold my own in conversations about Star Wars, D&D, movie trivia.  I showed that I was willing to be myself, and that I was a real person.  As a result, I built informal networks that allowed me to get work done quickly.
  2. Forges a connection with employees: When I facilitate leadership workshops, I always tell the participants that they have to find a way to connect with every single person on their team.  It’s a reality of life that we won’t always “like” the people we lead – but it is our responsibility to respect them as a person, and find a way to relate to them on a human level.  Embracing my inner geek (which also includes a love of useless trivia) has allowed me to find ways to connect to my employees on a personal level, which not only builds a relationship but also gave me a chance to learn more about them.
  3. Annoys those people who refuse to admit they have an inner geek: You know who I’m talking about.  The people who claim they “don’t watch television”, and then want to talk about The Bachelor for 3 hours.  Sure, it’s a little petty, but I admit to a little giggle when I’m able to just be myself and they feel they need to pretend to be someone else because they think it will make them look cooler.  [Editor’s Note: it does not make you look cooler.]
  4. I’m happier at work: Listen, we are at work a LOT.  When you do the math to realize how much of your time is spent on the job, it’s a little depressing.  On second thought, DON’T do that.  Okay, the point is that it takes a lot of effort and energy to keep trying to act like you don’t watch Top Gear or have a basement full of Star Wars stuff or watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a marathon to prep for The Hobbit.  (Just for the record, I didn’t watch ALL of them, but I did reminisce about the animated version.)  Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t have to apologize for who I am.  Do I adjust my topics of conversation based on who’s in the room?  Of course – that’s just being a smart person.  But do I shy away from my geek roots?  Heck no.

As a leader, I know my people look to me for permission to be themselves.  As a follower, I look to my leader for the right to be who I am.  This is authenticity.

Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.   ~ Simon Pegg

geek_pride**

 

*For the record, Kirk was cooler, Firefly kicks BSG’s butt, and Tennant is the only Doctor to tempt me away from Tom Baker.

**Image borrowed shamelessly from this cool post.

Accountability, or “How to use dirty words in the office and get away with it”

My colleague gave me a button a few months ago:

accountability

My first thought was, “This person really gets me.”  And then I started thinking…wait a minute.  This button basically is designed  for laughs – and that’s not cool.

I am a HUGE believer in the power of accountability.  Every person should be accountable for his/her actions, thoughts, behaviors, wardrobe choices (sorry, but have you SEEN some of the red carpet looks out there?), whatever it might be.  Accountability IS a dirty word right now – all you have to do is read the local news to see how little personal accountability people want to take.  People blame genetics, circumstances, parenting, allergies…we are a society rife with reasons it’s “NOT MY FAULT”.  Well, I’m not okay with that.  Since I don’t claim to be someone with a lot of experience in fixing society, I’m going to focus my Accountability Crusade on the business world.  Below are a few good reasons why accountability should be first and foremost in your leadership approach:

  • Accountability will set you free: As soon as you accept that you OWN your actions, you can actually do something about them.  When something is being done to you, there is very little that you feel you can do.  That’s why in grammar it’s referred to as the passive voice.  People often say they are powerless to take action…well, here’s your chance!  Take accountability for your role in life and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
  • Accountability as a motivational factor: When someone is accountable to complete a task, they automatically become eligible to receive credit when that task is completed correctly.  That’s how it should work, anyway.  Oh…did you think maybe accountability was only about people getting into trouble when something goes wrong?  A lot of your employees think that, too.  Help them see accountability as an opportunity to shine and gain that elusive “visibility” they’ve heard so much about.  I know from experience that when I was given the accountability for a process, I was much more motivated to ensure it was done well.  Top performers want to be owners – ownership breeds interest, and interest build engagement.
  • Accountability applies to EVERYONE – even you: Be honest, you kind of sort of clicked on this post thinking you could send it to someone else who really needs to learn more about accountability.  🙂  That’s okay – that just means you’re normal.  Normal doesn’t absolve you from taking accountability for your actions, though.  In fact, it highlights how powerful it is when the leader practices regular accountability.  So try it.  Am I perfect at it?  Heck no!  I would LOVE to be able to pin my mistakes on someone else.  But I actively work on my personal accountability, and I think it makes me a better leader and a better person to be around.  Oh, and by the way – I don’t care if that one employee is a jerk but brings in SOOOOO much business.  He/She needs to be held accountable, too.
  • “Accountability” rolls downhill: (I told you I’d show you how to use dirty words and get away with it.)  Nothing is more powerful than an organization in which accountability just is.  There are no Accountability Initiatives, no signs saying “The buck stops here.”  It’s simply the expectation and day-to-day is-ness of your way of life.  Doesn’t that sounds great?  Think of all the time you’d save, or the quality of your work.  Ahh… (take a moment.  we’ll wait)  So how to achieve this nirvana?  Well, it starts at the top and rolls down.    Hold yourself accountable.  Hold your senior team accountable.  No one gets a pass – and everyone has an opportunity to shine.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to accountability.  Leaders, don’t shy away from this “dirty word” – shout it loudly and often.  Start an “Accountability Jar” (with apologies to New Girl) and contribute to it when you see a remarkable display of accountability.  Use the jar to take the team out.  (I didn’t say accountability is its own reward…sometimes it needs a push.)  Whatever you do, make accountability a part of you and your team.

How do you practice accountability?  Share in the comments!