I have a theory about why people say stupid things in meetings.  Having said a few stupid things in my own career, I went searching for an answer that didn’t malign overall intelligence.  So my theory is that most of the time when people say something dumb they’re doing it out of courage. They believe whatever they have to say has to be said.   

Of course it is important to encourage people to speak freely.  If the CEO has nothing but sycophants in the management ranks, he or she will never hear what’s wrong and the organization will fail.  However, there is a difference between speaking courageously and going on a mission that is doomed to fail because you lack perspective.

Stop right here - and let me explain, please. I’m not talking about the bravery of whistle blowers who speak up about illegal acts; I’m not talking about those folks on the front line that walk into the boss’s office and tell them something to save the company from doing harm to itself.  I’m talking about leaders who are on the fast track but get themselves into hot water because they aren’t thinking and speaking like leaders.  They are clinging to the view from their own perches and failing to look at it from the top down. 

If you come in guns blazing, complaining about issues that  the CEO and senior leaders already know, and worse, if you are convinced that the people at the top don’t know or care, you are doomed to take a trip around the proverbial corporate game board and you’ll be rolling the dice many times before you obtain that get out of jail card.

Of course, your top management can be insulated.  They may need a bucket of cold water dumped on the conversation from time to time.  However, one thing I’ve learned working with CEOs and senior leaders is that they sure as hell aren’t clueless.  They love their companies and most of the time they’ve already walked more than a mile in your shoes.  If you go into a meeting without appreciating that, then you’re not going to think clearly or have the impact you intend.  

Please, please, please don’t think I’m suggesting that you should be overly measured or soft pedal your important observations.  When something really needs to be said, say it.  When people need to be informed, inform them.  But before you decide to toss out a bomb you’d better be talking about the right problem, you’d better have your facts lined up and you’d better know what your senior leaders already know.        

As you know, Kamikazes were suicide attacks by Japanese military aviators against Allied naval vessels in in in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign in WW II.  Their intent was to cripple as many ships as possible by crashing a plane laden with explosives.  There’s no doubt that they believed in the mission; it was the ultimate act of courage.  Unfortunately they didn’t have the global perspective.

To demonstrate leadership you need to understand all aspects of the business.  You are expected to use critical thinking to help solve the problem, and in order to do that you need to analyze it from all business perspectives.  The fastest way to get promoted to a top job and get a seat at the big table is to analyze more than what’s going on in your own silo.  Gather information from all the people who have skin in the game, become a student of the business and people start to think of you as a leader.  

No comments »

The first big stumble of the Obama administration is about ethics and double standards.  The American Public still made it clear they won’t tolerate that. Former Sen. Tom Daschle was forced to withdraw from consideration for secretary of Health and Human Services after a mounting debate over his back taxes.  Nancy Killefer, earlier in the day withdrew her name from consideration as Chief Performance Officer – also over tax issues.

What’s distressing is that President Obama “got it” only after the public outcry.  “I’m here on television saying I screwed up …ultimately it’s important …to send a message that there aren’t two sets of rules. You know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.” 

It’s hard to imagine that this President didn’t anticipate how angry people would be.  Whether its arrogance or expediency Tim Geithner’s appointment as Treasury Secretary was rammed through and then the White House folks started believing they could massage these other flawed appointments, too.  Getting away with it once allowed Obama to fool himself that it didn’t matter, really. 

Harvard Business Review reports this month that when asked what they look for and admire in a leader and in a colleague, people put honesty at #1.  People can accept mistakes, poor judgment or missteps but they simply won’t consider you a good leader if you aren’t honest with them.  In the President’s case, I think there is a question here of intellectual honesty - did he really believe that it was okay to give powerful people a different set of rules to live by than every day Americans, who have to prepare their taxes, pay them on time, or suffer penalties if they don’t? 

This is a leadership lesson - not just about double standards, but about intellectual honesty.  When you are honest you have to make difficult choices - you have to walk your talk.  In Motivate Like a CEO, this is one of the eight principles of motivational leadership.  When you walk the talk, people believe in you and your organization.  Acting in a way that is consistent with your words is essential to your success as a leader.  A leader who acts with integrity generates confidence and enthusiasm, and ultimately builds a motivated workforce that gets things done.  When people see you mean what you say and that they can count on you to act in concert with your principles, they believe in you and they also behave in the same way.  You win their trust, and you can trust them.  You cannot have a motivated workforce or a successful company if there isn’t a reasonable high level of trust and integrity between management and employees.

If you would like a copy of the Eight Principles of Motivating Like a CEO, please email info@bates-communications.com 

No comments »

Here is a definition of honesty that I think every leader should read.  This isn’t my definition; I found it on the web, but I think it captures the essential nature of truth in communicating with others.

Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthfully related to truth  as a value. This includes listening, and any action in the human repertoire — as well as speaking.

Superficially, honesty means simply stating facts and views as best one truly believes them to be. It includes both honesty to others, and to oneself and about one’s own motives and inner reality. Honesty, at times, has the ability to cause misfortune to the person who displays it.

Source: Wikipedia www.wikipedia.com

No comments »