Leadership and Language

I was musing the other day while reading the headlines about the so-called Stimulus Bill. Politics aside, I was more interested in the various descriptions of the current economic malaise affecting the US. Apparently, our current economy is in “crisis” and on its way to “catastrophe.” If this legislation is not passed right away, apparently, our life as we know it will be over.

I will leave the pros and cons of this bill to the economists out there. So far, I see many of them weighing in, even though the specifics of the bill are far from settled. As a student, I am more interested in watching the behavior of our publicly elected leaders.

My thought for today centers on the importance of how a leader speaks. I am not talking about eloquence, delivery or style, which all have an impact on how a leader is perceived. What I want to speak to is the choice of specific language, the words that are utilized and their impact on listener/followers.

There is an old adage often offered to new parents; “The children are always watching!” To that I would add, that the children (and followers) are also always listening too! We all rely on language to understand and make sense of our world. If you don’t believe this, try thinking without using language as the medium.

So, when a political leader is inclined to use words like crisis and catastrophe, I would suggest that they proceed with caution. My reasoning here is quite simple.

There can be value in alerting people to danger or to serious situations. Clearly, leaders should not inappropriately downplay the seriousness of a situation. This will hurt their credibility, and in the end, their ability to be effective leaders. Integrity is a core essential of leadership and a wise leader knows and respects this.

Moreover, signaling the seriousness of a situation can be a powerful motivator. Change Management expert John Kotter calls this “creating a burning platform” and it can be a powerful way to initiate change. Clearly, if the room is on fire, it is important to impart a sense of urgency to head for the exits.

At the same time, there is a danger in yelling fire in a crowed building. Panic is an ugly thing and quite dangerous to all concerned. No reasonable person suggests that panic is conducive to problem solving, cool heads, and confidence.

Bringing this around to our current economic situation, the application is direct. Much of what dictates how well an economy will function is the level of uncertainty and risk that is perceived by all of its constituents. If the people who command center stage, our political leaders, appear to be in a panic, trying to avoid a catastrophe, well, the message to us regular folks is clear: “Things are terrible: stop, save, protect, head for the exits!”

Is this really what our leaders want us to do? If not, I suggest that they choose their words a bit more carefully. As FDR is famous for saying:

“All we have to fear, is fear itself.”

Great line, wish I had thought of it!

Another wonderful quote is attributed to Teddy Roosevelt. I will modify it just a bit for leaders to ponder:

“Walk (and talk) softly and carry a big stick!”

Be well and prosper.

The Fall of the Masters of the Universe

It is intriguing to me how rhetoric shifts as conditions dictate. One of the more interesting conversations right now is among our so-called "leaders", both political and business types. The "big brains" used to act as if they had all the answers and, to be fair, when times are good, it certainly seems like they do.

Alas, a rising tide raises all boats.In fact, some leaders are just beneficiaries of luck or good timing. Of course, this is not so right about now.

My grandfather used to say that "hard times bring out the best in men, and the worst." I think this is a accurate generalization. While the boastful have been humbled, many have walked away with their millions or billions. They are likely to come back some day when the dust has settled and the coast is clear.

The leaders with integrity will remain to pick up the pieces. They will admit that they clearly don't have all the answers. They will ask us to work with them to generate a game plan and to move, to get into the action. They will roll up their sleeves and do their own hard work and toil, right along side us, as one of us.

The fair weather leaders will re-emerge when the dust settles. They will seek to reassert their place as one of the "big brains." We need to reject these folks at every turn.

We should remember who they are and refuse to seat them at our table. We can do with a little less hubris, a little less bravado. We will be better for having worked through our own difficulties and not having relied on the big brains.

We should also remember to be compassionate. After all, as Tiny Tim remarked, "God bless us, one and all!"

Leading by Example

A recent nominee for the post of the Secretary of the Treasury has had his issues. It seems that this career Treasury official has not found a way to remain in compliance with the IRS tax code, a code that his organization is charged with enforcing. Whether this was related to a lack of knowledge or was intentional, we don't know for sure. To me, it makes no difference why or how this happened, only that it happened.

One can take any number of views of this incident. If you are NOT a politician or partisan, your view of this kind of behavior can be radically different from the standard party line. From a leadership perspective, I would make the following observations.

Do we want our leaders to be above board and beyond reproach? I think the answer is, indeed, we do. Given that, this type of incident simply should disqualify the candidate from further consideration.

Now, this may make me seem like some kind of a "harda**" or at least, lacking in compassion. Do we demand that our leaders be "perfect?"

My response is somewhat direct and to the point.

Yes, I am and I do. When it comes to the senior leaders within the Federal government and other similar institutions, my standards are extremely high indeed. You may ask, why such a high standard?

The short answer is, that these institutions only work when they are built on a foundation of integrity, rigor, and fairness. How the institution be taken seriously when it can it can simply slough off the tax related foibles of the nation's chief tax collector? Shouldn't this person, among all of us, have taken great care to comply with the very laws he is sworn to uphold.

To me, it is a sign of disrespect to the institution, and to we, the citizens, that this individual insists on pursuing this job. Integrity and self-respect would suggest that he withdraw his name from consideration.

Failing that, the President-elect should step in and do the right thing. The risk of embarrassment pales in comparison to the cost in credibility.

"Cognitive Frames" and Strategy Formulation

In academic business circles, there is much research and discussion around the concept of cognitive frames, or schema. This is a fancy way of referring to the fact that human cognition relies on the ability to sort, select, and screen in and out data and information (sensory input) in order to makes sense of the world. Too much data and we cannot move, we are frozen in time. Too little data and we seem to lose our bearings, our way.

We all do this everyday, virtually all the time, and as such, it is largely below our level of awareness. It is a good thing too, because if we were having to consciously manage this process, it would be quite overwhelming indeed.

However, there is potential power in paying attention to our cognitive framing apparatus at appropriate junctures. This is never more true as when we are dealing with strategy development.

It seems obvious that all effective strategy efforts need an goal or objective in mind and a good appreciation of the "current reality" that we find ourselves in. However, in organizational settings, most of us operate like there is one reality "out there" and we all kind of know and agree on what it is, and how it operates.

Research and experience tells us that nothing could be further from the truth. Versions of "reality" are usually as numerous as the number of folks in the room. Therefore, it is important in an organizational setting that attention be paid to building a robust picture of our shared or commonly assumed reality. If this is not done, the resulting strategy may look like a modern day Tower of Babel.

More about this process in future posts.

Leaders and Followers

When one reads or hears about Leadership, the gist is very likely to be about the Leader and his/her attributes. Often discussed are things like charisma, gravitas (for politicians) vision, inspiriation and the like.



To my way of thinking, this is all well and good. These elements can all be part of the leadership conversation. However, one very rarely hears about a leader in the context of their followers (notice I did not say constituients).



I believe that much can be learned about a particular leader by examining their impact on their followers. Interesting questions to ask can be:



How many followers are there? If a leader has no followers, then can he/she be considered a true leader.



What are the followers responding to?



How are they behaving? Does their behavior fit the leader's exhortations?



How long have they been this leaders follower, ie. have they been tested over time?



Would you like to join this group of followers, ie does their behavior inspire you?



Are these "willing followers?" After all, prison inmates may be complying but not really following in the way that I use the term.



If you are a leader, these and a few more questions are recommended!



Thanks.



RB

What is your most significant "leadership" challenge?

I am wondering if we can start this out by soliciting information about the most significant leadership challenges you currently face in your business/professional life? Contributors are invited to present a problem or set of challenges or to offer us input, suggestions, or possible solutions for discussion.

Opening Post

Hello and Welcome.



I am Richard Belloff and I have created this blog. The blog is an extension of my life's work and my life's study: namely that of leadership, strategy, and organizational culture. While the study and practice of business is virtually unlimited in its breadth, scope, and subject matter, I personally find these three topics to be the most intriguing.



For those who are interested in learning a little bit more about me and the work that I have done, and do now, feel free to visit http://www.leaderstrat.com/. There will be a link on that site shortly, which may bring contributors over this way.



I hope to enjoy these interactions in the "blogosphere" and hope you do too. Lets remember, its very easy to degrade a conversation and a bit more work to uplift and inform one. Please choose the latter, and welcome!