How do people who are comfortable with finite games like football or chess learn to flourish in a world that operates with an infinite mindset? In his latest book, The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek explains how leaders must learn to operate with the understanding that business isn’t about winning or losing—it’s about being ahead or being behind.

With finite games, players are easily identified, rules are fixed, and there is a clear end point. In the infinite games of business or politics, players come and go, rules are changeable, and there is no defined end point. The keys to navigating with an infinite mindset are to focus on innovation and to remain resilient during constantly changing times.

We can all too easily see the results of leaders who operate with a finite mindset—mass layoffs, cut-throat work environments, shareholder supremacy (placing stock prices above a person’s worth), and unethical business practices. These practices are so common that many have come to accept them.

But Sinek believes the situation will change when leaders operate with an infinite mindset. These leaders leave the company better than they found it because they serve and foster employees’ willingness to show up, work hard, and take care of each other. These leaders build trusting work environments where people depend on each other to make remarkable things happen.

Above all, Sinek wants to build a world where most people wake up inspired every morning, feel safe at work, and return home fulfilled at the end of the day. With leaders who think beyond short term and focus on the long term, this kind of world is possible. Leaders who operate with an infinite mindset will build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations that will lead us into the future.

To hear host Chad Gordon interview Simon Sinek, listen to the LeaderChat podcast, and subscribe today. Order The Infinite Game on Amazon.com.

“People’s lives change in two ways,” says bestselling business author and syndicated columnist Harvey Mackay, “the people they meet and the books they read.”

In his new book You Haven’t Hit Your Peak Yet! Uncommon Wisdom for Unleashing Your Full Potential, Mackay shares advice he’s learned over the years from coaches like Sam Walton, Peter Drucker, John Wooden, Lou Holtz, and others. His straight-shooting, humor-filled approach to success in business and life is covered across 27 different topic areas that include accountability, discipline, persistence, setting goals, ethics, and trust.

Here are eight key takeaways from Mackay’s book:

1. Attitude is key. “One of the most powerful things you can do to have influence with others is to simply smile at them. On the flip side, of all the human failings that can destroy a person or a business, arrogance is the deadliest.”
2. Your customers matter. “Taking care of customers is taking care of business, which is why you need to create a service culture. And when you do screw up—and everyone does—you need to know how to correctly apologize.”
3. Get hiring right. “You cannot be a leader under any circumstances unless you understand one four-letter word in the dictionary: hire. The single greatest mistake a manager can make is to hire the wrong person. And when it comes to getting hired, the most important thing to remember is that getting a job is a job in itself.”
4. Develop your people skills. “People skills are so important—including manners, watching your language, friendship, and being a class act.”
5. There is no substitute for quality. “Doing something that’s ‘just good enough’ never is. Our values and eye to detail determine who we are. It’s important to do things right the first time to gain trust.”
6. Compete to learn and grow. “Rivalries and opposition make you better and lead to creativity and innovation, which are critical for growth.”
7. Believe in your ability to improve. “There are many things you can do, such as strengthening your memory and learning from your mistakes, to build new skills. In my public speaking, I hammer home the point that people achieve to the degree that they believe in themselves. It doesn’t matter if someone says you can’t do something. The only thing that matters is if you say you can’t do it.”
8. Balance and perspective. “Be sure not to let making a living interfere with having a life!”

Ready to learn more? Visit the pre-order page for You Haven’t Hit Your Peak Yet! at Amazon.com.

Need a little extra incentive? Every person who orders Harvey’s book by noon on Friday, January 31, will get two additional e-Books: “The Harvey Mackay Network Builder” and “Harvey Mackay’s ABCs of Success.”

All you need to do after ordering You Haven’t Hit Your Peak Yet! is send an email to harvey@mackay.com and mention you learned about the book through Ken Blanchard. No proof of purchase is necessary.

PS: Not familiar with Harvey Mackay’s work and legacy? Check out this post from Jeffrey Gitomer sharing his experience spending a day with Harvey Mackay and Ken Blanchard.

The first edition came out in 2006 and featured the best thinking from 18 different authors, summarizing the key concepts from all the Blanchard programs at the time.  The new edition continues that tradition. Now featuring the work of 25 authors, this edition includes four new chapters: Building Trust, Mentoring, Collaboration, and Organizational Leadership.

“The umbrella concept,” says lead author Ken Blanchard, “is servant leadership—the idea that people lead best when they serve first.

“There are the two parts of servant leadership,” explains Blanchard.  “First, the strategic or leadership part of servant leadership is identifying the target: the purpose of your business, your picture of the future, and the values that will guide your decisions.

“Once a target and vision are set, how do leaders execute or accomplish that vision? They must turn the traditional hierarchical pyramid upside-down to begin the operational or servant aspect of servant leadership. This is when you diagnose the individual or team in terms of their skills and motivation to get the job done. You identify the competencies and commitment that need to be developed.  Now your role as a leader is to provide the direction and support people can’t provide for themselves.

“Using a situational approach to leadership through SLII®, leaders must diagnose development levels, says Blanchard. “If individuals or teams are new to a task, the leader needs to provide direction.  If individuals or teams are lacking confidence or commitment, the leader needs to provide support.”

Blanchard points to the new chapter on Organizational Leadership, where the same concept can be applied to an organization as a whole.

“Organizations, like people, can be at different levels of development.  As a new C-level leader, you need to identify the organization’s development level, so you can apply the right leadership style.  We’ve seen too many situations where new CEOs—wanting to make a quick impact—enter organizations and immediately go to their favorite leadership style rather than to the one that is needed. We include two well-known case studies in the new chapter that show the benefits of a good match and the negative consequences of a misdiagnosis and bad match.

“We’ve all seen the negative consequences of poor leadership. Our goal with this book is to provide the next generation of leaders with a road map and curriculum for great leadership.

“This involves focusing on both people and results,” says Blanchard. “You cannot sustain performance over the long term with an either/or approach. The market demands innovative, agile solutions. This requires a both/and approach to management that places equal emphasis on results and the needs of people.  That’s the success formula today’s top companies are using to attract the best and brightest.

“When you lead at a higher level, people work together in a way that excites customers and gets results. Leadership is something you do with people—not to people,” Blanchard continues.  “And profit is the applause you get for creating a motivating environment for people so they will take good care of your customers.

“We hope to inspire leaders to go beyond short-term thinking and zero in on the right target. We want to teach leaders to empower people to unleash their incredible potential. Finally, we want to encourage leaders to ground their leadership in humility and focus on the greater good. It’s a tall order, but we think this book provides everything a leader needs to get started.”

Would you like to learn more about creating a higher level of leadership in your organization?  Join Ken Blanchard for a free webinar on January 23!

Ken Blanchard on 4 Keys to Leading at a Higher Level

January 23, 2019

9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern / 5:00 p.m. UK Time / 5:00 p.m. GMT

In this webinar, best-selling business author Ken Blanchard shares key concepts from the newly released third edition of his book, Leading at a Higher Level. Ken will share a four-step approach to building an organizational culture that leads to engaged people and improves long-term business results.

Participants will explore:

How to set your sights on the right target and vision. A compelling vision tells your organization who you are (purpose), where you’re going (picture of the future), and what guides your behavior and decisions (values). Ken will share how a compelling vision creates a strong organizational culture where everyone’s interests and energy are aligned. This results in trust, customer satisfaction, an energized and committed workforce, and profitability.

How to treat your people right. Without committed and empowered employees, you can never provide good service. You can’t treat your people poorly and then expect them to treat your customers well. Ken will explain how treating your people right begins with good performance planning to get things going. It continues with managers who provide the right amount of direction and support that each individual employee needs to achieve those goals and performance standards.

How to treat your customers right. To keep your customers coming back today, you can’t be content with simply satisfying them. Instead, you must create raving fans–customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell everyone about you. Ken will share how companies that create raving fans routinely do the unexpected on behalf of their customers, and then enjoy the growth generated by customers bragging about them to prospective clients.

How to have the right kind of leadership. The most effective leaders realize that leadership is not about them and that they are only as good as the people they lead. These leaders seek to be serving leaders, not self-serving leaders. Ken will explain how once a vision has been set, leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager for the people who report to them.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to create a culture where leaders who are grounded in humility and focused on the greater good can create organizations where both people and profits grow and thrive. This both/and philosophy, Blanchard contends, is the essence of leading at a higher level.

Use this link to register for 4 Keys to Leading at a Higher Level.  The event is free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

Dear Madeleine,

There are always recommendations for best summer reading and the lists usually point to fiction best-sellers. 

Any suggestions for top business books? 

I love a good novel but I also want to keep developing my skills.

Business Minded

Dear Business Minded,

There are so many great development focused books out there. I wrote a series of four blog posts earlier this year identifying some of the best in four categories. Take a look at the links below.  I know you’ll find a title that will pique your interest and keep you growing!

9 Books About Coaching, Chosen by Coaches

I asked a select group of coaches their picks for the best books about coaching.

12 Books NOT About Coaching, Chosen by Coaches

I went out to my network again and asked people what books—not about coaching—have made the biggest difference for them as a coach.

8 Top Leadership Books, Chosen by Madeleine

My son was an intern at The Ken Blanchard Companies last summer when he asked me “What do you think is the best book on leadership?” Here’s the list that came out of that question.

7 Best Books on Neuroscience, Chosen by Madeleine

Neuroscience has entered the coaching and leadership development conversation in a big way. This is a short list of books that will help you get up to speed.

I think these great reads should get you through the summer! Please let me know your favorites!

Love, Madeleine

About the author

Madeleine Homan Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

Let’s give a nod to the great political leaders whose journeys of provoking and leading change on a massive scale provide worthwhile leadership lessons: King Solomon, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth, Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a mere handful.

Then we have to acknowledge the modern writers on leadership specifically: Drucker, Bennis, Maxwell, Blanchard.

But this is about the leadership books that have made the biggest difference for coaches. I have asked several of our Blanchard coaches and many of my peers, and here are the results:

Tony Klingmeyer, one of our Blanchard Master coaches, chose Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson. Tony says “It is wonderfully written, about many of the dilemmas and paradoxes our clients face when leading in organizations.” In this short and sweet book, Farson details the complexities of navigating human beings and debunks some well meaning management advice.

Renee Freedman, MCC, former director of The SupporTED Coaching Program, says her favorite book is The Leadership Dojo by Richard Heckler Strozzi. Renee says “Although there is much great guidance here, two primary things about this book sucked me in and made me fall in love with it: 1) it treats leadership as a somatic experience and that’s how I experience it; and 2) it has a 5-step leadership process of entering, centering, facing, extending, and blending—which I find extremely simple, effective, and trainable. It changed leadership for me from believing that only 1% of people can lead to understanding that anyone can lead, including me!”

Ann Marie Heidingsfelder picked Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization by John Wooden.

Many coaches on a recent webinar chose Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. It is essentially the application of the concepts of emotional intelligence to leadership. How many clients really need to understand the fundamentals of self awareness, self regulation, awareness of others, and modifying self to be more effective with others? All of them.

Then there’s Leadership BS by Jeffrey Pfeffer. A recent addition to the canon, I personally love the devil’s advocate position the author takes against some of the baloney being peddled by leadership companies out there. No nonsense, brass tacks, and really useful for coaches helping clients navigate the insanity of the global business world. My particular favorite moment is when the author debunks the notion that leaders need to be “authentic.” This book is validating for natural subversives and required reading for idealists.

Why Smart Executives Fail by Sydney Finkelstein is one of my all time favorites and should be required reading for anyone aspiring to senior leadership—and those who coach them. You might think because it came out in 2003 that it is obsolete, but you would be wrong. Finkelstein examines some of the whopping business failures and teases out the mistakes that were made. These lessons are timeless. But my favorite chapter is “The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People.” Just the title makes me laugh out loud.

Another great book is Coaching for Leadership by Goldsmith, Lyons, and McArthur. This one is kind of a no-brainer, because it is an anthology with writings from leadership and coaching experts with extremely targeted practical advice for all kinds of situations (understanding purpose, gender differences, working cross generationally and culturally, etc.). Of course, Goldsmith’s entire body of work is must-know—particularly What Got You Here Won’t Get You There—but this is a different resource altogether.

Finally, a crowd favorite: Leadership and Self-Deception from The Arbinger Institute. A fairly fast and easy read that outlines the effects of self-deception and how to fix it. The fundamental premise is that when we behave in ways that do not match our values, we betray ourselves.

How does that match up with your list? Any books you’d add? Just include them in the comments section!

This guest post is by Judd Hoekstra, Blanchard vice president and coauthor of the new book,

In today’s hypercompetitive world, we all face significant pressure to perform. We want to be our best when it matters most. But something happens when the pressure rises. In too many cases, we get in our own way and perform far below our capabilities.

When we’re under pressure, we can think about the situation in one of two ways—either as a threat or as an opportunity. Seeing the pressure situation as a threat cripples our performance. Seeing the pressure situation as an opportunity helps our performance.

Here’s the problem: Our reflexive, instinctual reaction is to perceive pressure situations as threats. While this fight, flight, or freeze reflexive reaction serves as valu­able protection to survive physical threats, it hurts us when applied to most modern-day pressure situa­tions where the threats are psychological in nature.

Fortunately, there is a solution. In writing Crunch Time, I teamed up with former Major League Baseball pitching coach Rick Peterson to share the secret to being your best when it matters most.

What does a pitching coach know about pressure? A pitching coach is the only coach in professional sports who provides in-game coaching on the field of play. He must calm his pitcher down with millions of people watching, with the game on the line, in 30 seconds or less. Also, everyone watching will know within minutes whether or not the coaching worked. See YouTube clip.

What’s the secret of clutch performers? Reframing. At its core, reframing describes the skill of consciously and intentionally thinking about a situation from one or more different perspectives. Reframing isn’t about donning rose-colored glasses or pretending everything is fine when it’s not. It’s about finding different ways of interpreting a sticky situation. The resulting new frame leads to a different meaning, which leads to better actions, and better results.

Better Thoughts & Emotions -> Better Actions -> Better Results

Consider the following example. When President Ronald Reagan was running for reelection in 1984, he was the oldest president to have ever served. At age 73, there were many questions about Reagan’s capac­ity to endure the grueling demands of the presidency. On October 7, Reagan performed poorly in the first debate against his opponent, Democratic candidate Walter Mon­dale. Among other mistakes, Reagan admitted to being “confused.”

Two weeks later, in the next debate, Mondale made a com­ment that implied Reagan’s advanced age was an issue voters should be concerned about. Reagan’s comeback was price­less. He joked, “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my oppo­nent’s youth and inexperience.” Mondale himself laughed at Reagan’s joke. With that humorous reframe, Reagan effec­tively neutralized the age issue, ended Mondale’s campaign, and steamrolled to reelection. See YouTube clip.

Learn to thrive under pressure by reframing from trying harder to trying easier, from tension to laughter, from anxiety to taking control, from doubt to confidence, from failure to a learning moment, and from prepared to overprepared. Should you have any doubt about the value of reframing pressure, consider the following:

1. Reframing is not a matter of “you have it or you don’t.” It’s a skill that can be learned.
2. Reframing is a powerful life hack that doesn’t take hours to master. While the 10,000-hour rule to master a new skill is true for many skills, who has 10,000 hours to spare? Reframing is as quick as coming up with a new thought.
3. In addition to being quick, reframing is efficient. It redirects your attention away from what could go wrong and toward the opportunity before you.
4. Unlike dunking a basketball or becoming a supermodel, reframing is not limited to those who have won the genetic lottery. You don’t need to be rich, well-educated, or ultra-talented. Reframing is available to everyone.
5. Reframing can help you anytime, anywhere. The skill resides in our mind: you don’t need to be in an office, or in front of a laptop or smartphone.
6. Reframing applies in any pressure sit­uation. It applies at work as you seek to solve problems, make presentations, or beat your quota. It applies in your personal life as you sing a solo in the church choir or play in a big golf match.
7. In addition to being a skill you can use to help yourself, reframing is a key skill you can use to coach and positively influence others.

At crunch time, you can experience the pain of choking or the pure joy of coming through in the clutch. By reading Crunch Time, you’ll have the knowledge, skill, and confidence you need to consistently be your best when it matters most.

About the Author

Judd Hoekstra is a leadership and human performance expert, sales executive, bestselling author and speaker. Crunch Time, Judd’s most recent book coauthored with professional baseball pitching coach Rick Peterson, reveals the secrets of how to perform your best under pressure. For additional resources and to download a free book excerpt, go to www.juddhoekstra.com.

Consider these five statements. True or False?

1. Money cannot buy you happiness.
2. Money may not buy happiness, but it will buy things that make you happy.
3. The more money you have, the happier you are.
4. Seeking wealth, status, or image undermines interpersonal relationships and connectedness to others.
5. Pursuing money or other materialistic values results in feeling pressured and controlled.

Did you answer True to #1? Most of us have held a programmed value since childhood that money doesn’t buy us happiness. If it did, we reason, we wouldn’t see rich people with substance abuse issues, struggling with their weight, or defending themselves in court against character or behavior accusations.

Ironically, I find that people also answer True to statements #2 and #3. Despite believing that money cannot buy happiness, they believe that money can buy things that make us happy and that the more we have, the better off we are. But that isn’t logical. If money doesn’t buy you happiness, how can having more money buy you happiness?

Research supports the notion that money and happiness are related, but not in the way you might think. If it were true that money buys the things that make us happy and that the more we have the happier we are, then we would expect happiness scales to increase when per capita wealth increases. But that isn’t the case in the United States or any other country in the world. Pursuing and achieving material wealth may increase short-term mood, but it does not increase one’s sustainable happiness.* Both statements #2 and #3 are False.

Not only does money not buy happiness or the things that make you happy, but the more that materialistic values are at the center of your life, the more the quality of your life is diminished. This lower quality of life is reflected in a variety of measures including low energy, anxiety, substance abuse, negative emotion, depression, and likelihood to engage in high-risk behaviors. 

The Problem with More

Interestingly, when individuals are asked what level of wealth they need to be happy, both the poor and the rich respond with relative amounts of “more.” No matter how much you have, you always want more—more money, belongings, toys, status, power, or image. But here’s the thing: No amount of riches will buy security, safety, trust, friendship, loyalty, a longer life, or peace of mind. Moreover, thinking you can buy these things destroys any real chance of experiencing them.

Therein lies the problem. We’ve been programmed to believe that our well-being depends on the quantity of what we have. There is a current TV commercial where a little girl tries to explain why more is always better—which is the message the advertiser is trying to convey because that’s what they are offering you—more. The irony is that the little girl simply cannot explain why more is better. It really is funny. But it disproves the very point the advertiser is hoping to make. More is not always better—it is simply a belief that most of us have yet to challenge. 

Quality Over Quantity

What if we were to turn the table and focus on quality over quantity? Consider your answer to statement #4. Did you answer it True? One of our most basic and crucial human needs is for relatedness with others. This longing for connectedness is obvious in the explosion of social media and online dating services. The lack of relatedness is detrimental to everything including the quality of our physical and mental health. Research indicates that relatedness is thwarted by the pursuit of materialism.* Yet we rarely link materialistic values and goals to the undermining of interpersonal relationships that influence the quality of our life.

Statement #5 is also True. If you follow any of the popular culture regarding the effects of extrinsic motivation, or what we call suboptimal Motivational Outlooks, you understand the negative impact that feeling pressure or control has on creativity, discretionary effort, and sustained high productivity and performance. And yet, organizations are hesitant to generate alternatives to pay-for-performance schemes and incentivizing behavior, despite the proof that those systems based on materialistic values generate the pressure and control that undermine the quality of our work experience—and our results. 

Our Values Shape Us

And here is a great sadness. When you operate from materialistic values, it not only undermines your well-being, it also negatively affects the health and well-being of others. When our focus is on material pursuits, we become less compassionate and empathetic. Our values shape the way we work, play, live, and make decisions. And those decisions impact the world around us.*

Each of us has an amazing opportunity with the understanding gained through recent research and the evolution of human spirit. We can shift our focus from the value of materialism to the more empowering values of acceptance, compassion, emotional intimacy, caring for the welfare of others, and contributing to the world around us. Not only will this shift in focus improve the quality of our own lives, it will also create a ripple effect that ultimately will improve the quality of life for others. For the reality is that the most important things in life cannot be bought. Indeed, they are priceless.

* For supporting research and more information on this topic, I highly recommend the following resources:

• The High Price of Materialism by Tim Kasser
• The Handbook of Self-Determination Theory Research by Deci and Ryan
• The Price of Inequality by Joseph E. Stiglitz
• Website:  www.selfdeterminationtheory.org

About the author:

Susan Fowler is one of the principal authors—together  with David Facer and Drea Zigarmi—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Optimal Motivation process and workshop.  Their posts appear on the first and third Monday of each month.

In a special presentation on Don’t Let Your Ego Hijack Your Career: 4 Warning Signs, David will be sharing some of the latest research on ego, personality, and its impact on leadership behavior.  You’ll learn four warnings signs of an overactive ego and three ways to keep your ego in check. The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 500 people expected to participate.

Immediately after the webinar, David will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes.  To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.

Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat

• Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
• Type in your question
• Push SUBMIT COMMENT

It’s as easy as that!  David will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received.  Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.

We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.  Click here for more information on participating.

Here are the top reasons Fournies heard most often and which he described in his book, Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed To and What You Can Do About It.  As you review the list, consider what you believe might be some of the root causes and solutions for each road block.

In Fournies’ experience, the root cause and solution in each case rests with the individual manager and employee.  Fournies believes that managers can minimize the negative impact of each of these potential roadblocks by:

1. Getting agreement that a problem exists
2. Mutually discussing alternative solutions
3. Mutually agreeing on action to be taken to solve the problem
4. Following-up to ensure that agreed-upon action has been taken
5. Reinforcing any achievement

Are your people doing what they are supposed to be doing?

What’s the level of purpose, alignment, and performance in your organization?  Do people have a clear sense of where the organization is going and where their work fits in?  Are they committed and passionate about the work?  Are they performing at a high level?  Take a look at the conversations and relationships happening at the manager-direct report level.  If performance is not where it should be, chances are that one of these roadblocks in getting in the way.

PS: You can learn more about Ferdinand Fournies and his two books, Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed To and What You Can Do About It, and Coaching for Improved Work Performance here at Amazon.  Both books are highly recommended for your business bookshelf.

As reported in (2005) The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave by Leigh Branham, page 21, Figure 3.1

Yes, compensation was a factor in 12% of the cases, but look at some of the other issues that drove people away—growth, meaningful work, supervisor skills, workload balance, fairness, and recognition—to name a few.

What type of environment are you providing for your people?

Author, speaker, and consultant Leigh Branham, who partnered with PwC to analyze the results of the study identifies that trust, hope, worth, and competence are at the core of most voluntary separations.  When employees are not getting their needs met in these key areas, they begin to look elsewhere.

Wondering how your company would stack up in these areas? Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself.  How would your people respond if they were asked to rate their work environment  in each of the following areas?

• I am able to grow and develop my skills on the job and through training.
• I have opportunities for advancement or career progress leading to higher earnings.
• My job makes good use of my talents and is challenging.
• I receive the necessary training to perform my job capably.
• I can see the end results of my work.
• I receive regular feedback on my performance.
• I’m confident that if I work hard, do my best, demonstrate commitment, and make meaningful contributions, I will be recognized and rewarded accordingly.

Don’t wait until it’s too late

Better compensation is only a part of the reason why people leave an organization.  In most cases it is a symptom of a more complex need that people have to work for an organization that is fair, trustworthy, and deserving of an individual’s best efforts.  Don’t take your people for granted.  While you may not be able to provide the pay increases you were able to in the past, there is nothing stopping you from showing that you care for your people, are interested in their long term development, and are committed to their careers.

He shares that fact and some of the causes as a contributing author in Performance Management: Putting Research into Action. Using the results of a Metrus Group survey he identifies six gaps that get in the way of organizational alignment. While each factor on its own isn’t enough of a problem to explain the overall poor alignment figure, Schiemann believes that it is the cumulative effect of each gap that explains the overall misalignment.

How would you score?

Take a look at some of the key alignment factors that Schiemann identifies below.  As you look at the numbers from other companies, ask yourself, “How many of these alignment factors could I cumulatively answer “yes” to on behalf of my company?”

From Performance Management: Putting Research into Action (2009) page 53, Figure 2.2 “Why Strategies and Behavior Disconnect: Percentage of Rater Agreement.” The percentages represent the cumulative agreement of raters for each element and for the ones above that element.

Strategies for closing the gap

For leaders looking to close the alignment gap in their organizations, Schiemann recommends seven key steps:

1. Develop a clear, agreed-on vision and strategy.
2. Translate the vision and strategy into clear, understandable goals and measures.
3. Include and build passion for the vision, strategy, goals among those who are implementing them.
4. Provide clarity regarding individual roles and requirements and link them across the organization.
5. Make sure that people have the talent, information, and resources to reach the goals.
6. Give clear, timely feedback on goal attainment.
7. Provide meaningful incentives to encourage employees to develop or deploy sufficient capabilities to achieve the goals.

All good performance begins with clear goals

No organization can perform at its best with only 14% of its people rowing in the same direction.  Take some time this week to check in with your people.  Are their key goals and work objectives in line with the overall strategy of your organization?  Do they see how their work fits in and do they have the tools, resources, and authority to get the job done?

Take the time to set (or reset) a clear direction today.  It can save a lot of time, work,  and wasted effort down the road.

Scott Blanchard referred to this book and the importance of making sure everyone in your organization understands its prime objective as I interviewed him for an article that will be appearing in a leading business publication later this summer.  Scott is an Executive Vice President with The Ken Blanchard Companies and the co-founder of Blanchard Certified, a cloud-based leadership development program.

During the interview I asked Scott about accountability and a leaders role in it.  It’s an issue that comes up often, especially for new leaders.  They find it difficult to hold people accountable for results and to call them on it.

Blanchard caught me by surprise when he suggested that accountability is often a by-product of an alignment issue.  In his experience, accountability issues usually stem from an employee not truly understanding  the role that they play in helping the organization achieve its prime objective. He explained that the best leaders are the ones that make an organization’s prime objective crystal clear and then make sure that everyone knows how their individual roles tie-in.

One of the tools that Blanchard likes to use is an impact map that creates a very powerful line-of-sight where people can understand the results they are being held accountable for, the behaviors that achieve those results, and how those results contribute to the success of the organization.

Accountability

In Blanchard’s experience, accountability rears its head when people don’t have line-of-sight alignment and aren’t bought into the bigger picture.

As Blanchard explains, “We’ve been exploring extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation and what we’ve found is that holding people accountable pales in comparison to creating conditions in an organization where people are intrinsically motivated. You cannot crack the whip enough, or hold someone accountable enough, to achieve the kind of results you can if people understand the vision, care about it desperately, and see themselves as a part of it.

“Create that kind of alignment and you won’t have to worry about accountability.  Instead, employees will start holding you accountable as a leader to clear the way and help them get things done.”

Accountability issues?  Check alignment first

Cries for accountability are usually a clear indicator that things are out of alignment within an organization. Is accountability an issue in your organization?  If so, double-check for alignment first.

When people understand where their organization is going—including the role they play in it—they step up, work less selfishly and they tend to make better business decisions on behalf of the company. That’s because they can see the impact of every decision and how it impacts overall results.

Alignment helps people attain a sense of accomplishment. That’s a foundational concept and a key aspect of a satisfying job and a satisfying life.

What’s your approach to accountability?  In the organizations Blanchard works with that are outperforming competitors, they are not talking about accountability.  In these organizations accountability comes naturally from inside each of their employee’s hearts and heads.  You can do the same. Get the alignment right and you’ll get the accountability right.  Start today!  It’s good for the company and good for the individual.

Yet few organizations see personal well-being as an important focus for their business, nor do they understand the powerful connections between personal well-being and organizational success. Study after study has shown that when individual employees experience well-being, they consistently apply their skills and hearts in service of company goals and customers, adapt more flexibly to change, and are more creative and proactive problem solvers.

My colleagues at The Ken Blanchard Companies, Lisa Zigarmi and Chris Edmonds, have published a new book titled #POSITIVITY AT WORK tweet, that presents 140 short, actionable quotes on how to create and manage well-being in the workplace. Zigarmi and Edmonds present five “pillars” of well-being that are essential for positive workplaces. The five pillars are positive:

• Emotion – people function best in workplaces that provide a sense of satisfaction, achievement, and safety
• Relationships – human beings were created to live and work in community and our bonds of relationship are the most significant source of emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being
• Meaning and purpose – again and again research shows that a sense of meaning, purpose, and doing worthwhile work is more important to employees than pay, status, or title
• Accomplishment – achieving mastery over work and working in service to a goal, group, or purpose beyond one’s self is a key driver of personal well-being
• Health – more than the absence of sickness, health is the balanced approach of taking quality time for work, family, and self, including total body exercise

Tweet #45 is the one that stood out to me. Zigarmi and Edmonds say “When you maintain a safe, open, trusting work environment, people bring all their skills and all their heart to the work opportunity.”

The foundation of any healthy, positive work environment is a culture of trust. When trust is present, people are willing to take risks, go the extra mile, and offer the best they have to give. The sense of safety and security that comes with a high-trust culture allows people to focus on the goals at hand rather than spending time questioning decisions or doing just the minimum amount of work to collect their paycheck.

Well-being in the workplace begins with trust, and Lisa Zigarmi and Chris Edmonds provide leaders with actionable steps to create a healthy, affirmative work environment where every individual contributes, connects, succeeds, and thrives.

This is one in a series of LeaderChat articles on the topic of trust by Randy Conley, Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies. For more insights on trust and leadership, visit the Leading with Trust blog or follow Randy on Twitter @RandyConley.

That element of human personality is ego, and its power is seductive.

Early in a leader’s career, it helps a young executive seek new innovations, stay the course when others would quit, and push through to higher levels of excellence where others would settle for less.  But if a leader does not channel their ego properly it can also lead to a willful disregard of reality, a lack of self awareness, and an unquenchable need to be the best.

When that happens, the results can be disastrous. In their book Egonomics, authors David Marcum and Steven Smith point to Ohio State research that shows

• Over one third of all fatal business decisions are driven by ego.
• Nearly 2/3 of executives never explore alternatives once they make up their mind.
• 81% of managers push their decisions through by persuasion or edict, and not by the value of their idea.

So how can you draw on the benefits of ego while avoiding the pitfalls?  How do you find the combination of intense professional will and extreme personal humility that Jim Collins describes in his best-selling book, Good To Great?  For Collins, part of the solution includes

1. Self-reflection
2. Conscious personal development
3. Help from a mentor

Madeleine Homan Blanchard, cofounder of Coaching Services at The Ken Blanchard Companies agrees and recommends a similar course of action.  In a recorded webinar on Leaders: Avoid These Fatal Flaws, Homan-Blanchard recommends that leaders keep their ego in check through three strategies.

Name it and claim it—Without self awareness there can be no restraint or modulation. Know your least desirable traits and own up to them. Learn what triggers you and leads you to engage in your worst behaviors.

Get feedback and commit to development—Ask questions. Sit down with direct reports and find out what you could do to be a more effective boss. Listen carefully and say, “Thank you,” when they offer feedback. Take action on trouble spots.

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you—Be courageous when hiring. Make sure you have colleagues and direct reports who think differently from you. Also make sure you have at least one colleague you can count on for an honest opinion and who serves as your “truth teller.”

You can watch Homan-Blanchard’s complete recording of Leaders: Avoid These Fatal Flaws here courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.  Also be sure to see this week’s live webinar being conducted by Scott Blanchard on Cultivating Employee Work Passion: The New Rules of Engagement

Now, instead of a healthy confidence that is attractive to followers, you come across as “conceited, boastful or pretentious. You often monopolize conversations. You may belittle or look down on people you perceive as inferior. You may have a sense of entitlement. And when you don’t receive the special treatment to which you feel entitled, you may become very impatient or angry,” according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

How can you tell the difference?  Here are ten warning signs. While all of us could probably see something of ourselves in this list, identifying closely with more than five of these characteristics could signal an overactive ego and an at-risk leadership style.

10 Symptoms of Narcissism

1. Believing that you’re better than others.
2. Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness.
3. Exaggerating your achievements or talents.
4. Expecting constant praise and admiration.
5. Believing that you’re special and acting accordingly.
6. Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings.
7. Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior.
8. Being jealous of others. Believing that others are jealous of you.
9. Setting unrealistic goals
10. Having a fragile self-esteem. Being easily hurt and rejected.

Regaining your balance

Is your ego on overdrive?  If that’s the case, here are some suggestions for keeping things in perspective.

Practice humility.  Mathew Hayward, author of Ego Check recommends that before you make any big decision, ask yourself three questions.  “Am I getting the right input into this decision?”  “Do I have someone whom I can trust to tell me when I’m wrong?” “Am I the very best person to be making this call?” 

Be curious. David Marcum and Steven Smith, authors of Egonomics encourage you to, “Give yourself permission to test what you think, feel, and believe to be true.  Remember that you aren’t expected to know everything about anything.”  They also recommend that you seek the truth. Find out what is really going on.  It helps close the gap between your perception and reality.

Practice self-compassion. Authors Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell of The Narcissism Epidemic remind you to be kind to yourself while accurately facing reality. Also, be mindful. Practice living in the present. It keeps the self from entering every experience in your life. Mindfulness quiets the self-absorbed voice in your head so you can see the world more clearly. Finally, acknowledge commonalities with others.  Research shows that when narcissistic personalities discover something in common with others, egotism dissipates.

Best-selling business author Ken Blanchard often tells his audiences that EGO stands for Edging Good Out.  Don’t let an overactive ego limit your effectiveness as a leader.  Keep things in perspective for best results.

References

Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms from Mayo Clinic website

Ego Check by Mathew Hayward

Egonomics by David Marcum and Steven Smith

The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell

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The webinar is free and seats are still available if you would like to join over 600 people expected to participate.

Immediately after the webinar, Vicki will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes.  To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.

 Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat

• Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
• Type in your question
• Push SUBMIT COMMENT

It’s as easy as that!  Vicki will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received.  Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.

We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.

Now posted! View recording of 6 Keys to Creating Learning Experiences that Inspire and Engage

One of the basic requirements in today’s new connected world is “virtualosity” when it comes to responsiveness and engagement.

For HR, OD, and training professionals, “virtualosity” means acknowledging and meeting the needs of participants who are located across a widely-dispersed network, and using new technology and enhanced instructional design to keep your audience engaged.

Here are seven core skills to help learning professionals jump start their journey to training virtualosity:

• Set the context—Gain buy-in by explaining how the training is aligned with the organization’s vision, values, and goals. Make it relevant to how it affects each participant’s job, set expectations, and be clear on how the training will actually play out.
• Know your platform—If your virtual training runs on a Learning Management System (LMS), know your system and its requirements in advance and become thoroughly familiar with your platform.
• Utilize a technical producer—The producer is the logistical and technical expert who ensures that all platform functionalities and voice connections are working properly to support the success of the session.
• Use reporting features and analytics—Tracking and analysis tools are vital to measuring progress and results. Measure participants’ completion rates, attrition rates, and comprehension.
• Think global—If your audience is located in diverse geographical areas, you will need to consider translation capacity, cultural adaptation, and localization of your content as well as scheduling global rollout logistics.
• Keep participants focused—As Dr. Vicki Halsey, author of the new book Brilliance by Design recommends, deliver engaging content in easy to remember chunks and consider participants’ different learning styles. Keep it interesting, interactive, fast moving, and relevant.
• Follow up and reinforce training—Provide opportunities for participants to practice new behaviors with peers or mentors before they attempt to use them with direct reports. Allow time for action planning and send email reminders with assignments that reinforce the use the skills and behaviors learned.

Practice Makes Perfect

Engaging design, skillful delivery, and creative reinforcement of learning take on greater importance in today’s wired world. Like all good training experiences, if the basics are done well, the learning journey can be smooth and successful.

PS: To learn more about virtualosity in the training arena, be sure to download the free white paper, Virtualosity for Training Professionals.  And if you’re attending this year’s ASTD Conference in Orlando, Florida next week, be sure to stop by The Ken Blanchard Companies booth to meet Brilliance by Design author Dr. Vicki Halsey. Vicki, together with Ken Blanchard, Chris Edmonds, Jesse Stoner and other Blanchard authors will be conducting a series of in-booth presentations over the entire three day conference. You can access the complete Blanchard booth schedule here and also learn how to obtain a free Expo Hall pass if you, or a friend, would like to attend.

To illustrate his point, Blanchard shared one of his favorite stories by John Ortberg, a Presbyterian minister and best-selling author from Menlo Park, California.

Blanchard told how Ortberg used to play Monopoly with his grandmother every time she would visit. His grandmother was a good player and always won the game in short order.

One summer, Ortberg decided to change that. He spent the entire summer playing Monopoly with a friend until he understood the purpose of the game—the acquisition of property—and how to win consistently. That fall, when his grandmother visited, the young Ortberg was ready. Using everything he had learned over the summer, he soon acquired every valuable property including Boardwalk and Park Place. Beaming triumphantly, the young boy looked over the board and all he had accomplished. After congratulating him on his win, his grandmother then shared with John the one lesson which made the experience stand out in his mind.

Ortberg’s grandmother said, “John, now that you have learned how to play the game, there is one more thing you need to learn. At the end of the game, it all goes back into the box.”

Life is not about what you get, Blanchard explained. Life is about what you give. If your self-worth is tied up in the acquisition of status and power, you are in trouble warned Blanchard, because in the end, it all goes back into the box.

To read more about John Ortberg and how his experience with his grandmother changed his life, check out Ortberg’s book, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box. To learn more about Grand Canyon University and their focus on creating responsible leaders for the business world, visit www.gcu.edu

• Establish goals, objectives and performance standards. “People need to know what is expected of them,” he explains. “All good performance starts with clear goals. If employees don’t have dear expectations, they sit and quit, meaning they show up for work but do not give their best because they are unsure of what to do.”
• Provide day-to-day coaching—or what Ridge calls execution. This is where a manager observes and monitors the performance of his or her people, praising progress and redirecting where necessary. At WD-40 this process includes a series of formal, quarterly conversations during which employees sit down with their supervisors to discuss how things are going.
• Take a partnership approach to performance reviews. As Ridge explains, “What we do is have a one-on-one conversation during our quarterly meeting and review each person’s assessment of himself or herself. If the leader disagrees outright with an employee’s self assessment, we always ask, ‘What’s going on in your life and your business that is not allowing what we expected to happen? How can I help?’ No finger-pointing is tolerated. It’s a partnership. We don’t play the blame game, because we know leaders are accountable and responsible, too.”

When Leaders Help People Win At Work, Both the Organization and the Employees Benefit

Is employee performance a shared responsibility in your organization?

“When employees have clear expectations, meaningful work and day-to-day support, it impacts their level of engagement,” Ridge explains. ”At WD-40, our engagement score is 93 percent, which means that 93 percent of our people globally get up every day and go to work doing meaningful work–work they find is adding value to them and the company on a daily basis.”

To learn more about Ridge’s approach to performance management, be sure to check out Building a Performance-Based Culture in this month’s issue of Chief Learning Officer.

All of us have a genuine leader inside of us.  To help you get started with discovering and communicating who you really are as a leader, here are six questions to ask yourself from Ken Blanchard’s book Leading at a Higher Level:

1. Who have been the leadership influencers in your life?  People often point to former bosses or other organizational leaders, but also consider other people who may have influenced you such as parents, grandparents, friends, coaches or teachers. What did you learn from these people about leadership?

2. What is your overall purpose, and what do you want to accomplish? The most important thing in life is to decide what’s most important. What are you trying to accomplish as a leader?

3. What are your core values? Values are beliefs you feel strongly about such as success, integrity, or honesty. You’ll probably start with a long list of values but fewer are better, particularly if you want your values to guide your behavior. You’ll also want to rank the order of your values. Why?  Because values are sometimes in conflict. For example, if you value financial success, but integrity is your core value, any activities that could lead to financial gain must first be checked against your integrity value.

4. What are your beliefs about leading and motivating people? This is about surfacing your personal beliefs and assumptions.  In your experience, what do people want from work? What do you believe motivates people to give their best?  What is a leader’s role? Answering these questions about your beliefs gives you insight into how you will subsequently act.

5. What can people expect from you as a leader? Letting people know what they can expect from you gets at the core of transparency. Given your purpose, values, and beliefs about people and leadership, what can people expect from you?

6. What do you expect from your people? People want and need clear expectations from their leaders.  Be upfront—it’s imperative that you let people know what you expect from them. It gives them their best chance to succeed.

Answering the questions above helps you understand a little bit more about yourself as a leader.  What did you learn?  What are your strengths?  What are potential pitfalls? As you take your first steps toward authenticity, don’t be too hard on yourself. This might be your first time thinking about your beliefs about leading and motivating people. Incorporate the ideas above and keep working at it. Have open and honest dialogues with those you lead and with those who lead you. The world needs genuine authentic leaders. Be a leader who makes a positive difference. People are counting on you—the real you!

One of the biggest reasons why open leadership is feared and avoided is a concern that open leadership may lead to a lack of control. But in her book, Li explains that openness and control are not an either/or proposition. In fact, it requires a leader be both open and in command.

To help leaders get started with this, Li recommends evaluating where you stand on two important dimensions; Optimism versus Pessimism; and Individuality versus Collaboration. By assessing yourself in these two areas you can begin to understand your starting point on the journey to being a more open leader.

Optimism vs. Pessimism

The first dimension is optimism versus pessimism.  On this scale, Li asks leaders to evaluate their basic assumptions about people. In Li’s model, pessimistic leaders tend to see people as needing to be controlled because people can be harmful, negative, and untrustworthy with information. Optimists, on the other hand, believe that if given the opportunity, people will be positive and constructive, will do the right thing, and can be trusted with confidential information.

Key question: Where do you stand on this first important dimension?

Individually Focused vs. Collaboratively Focused

The second dimension is whether a leader is more individually or collaboratively focused. Individually focused leaders will believe in involving fewer, more knowledgeable people, and in relying on personal initiative—both in themselves and others. These leaders prefer to limit decision-making authority to people who have the knowledge and responsibility for that function in the organization. Collaborative leaders will believe more in the collective wisdom of the group, will tend to depend on others when times are tough, and will personally point to collaboration with others as a key reason for their own success.

Key question: Where would you put yourself on this continuum?

Changing your mindset

An open leadership strategy requires you and your organization’s leadership to be more open and collaborative. But transforming existing mindsets requires time, patience, and repeated small successes to build confidence. To help you get started, Li recommends four strategies: 

• Develop guidelines around the sharing of information. When you share information or push down decision-making, what are your expectations about what will be done with this power? What responsibilities do you want employees to take on? 
• Partner with others who are optimistic and collaborative. Seek out other leaders in your organization whom you regard as an optimistic and open leader. Sit down with this person understand his or her perspective and outlook on the world. What does this person do to ensure being in control while opening up? How does this person make openness work in your organization? 
• Examine your beliefs. As Li explains, “Your mindset is developed through crucial personal experiences, so talk with people who know you well on a personal level. Every person harbors some optimism, so turn to the people whom you trust to help you find that starting point where you will feel comfortable engaging with people.” 
• Start small and build.  Personal change is difficult and old habits die hard. You can’t simply announce, “From today forward I will be collaborative; I will be optimistic.”  It takes time to shift the mindset, and it happens only with repeated successes.

For leaders looking to be more open, Li recommends taking it one step at a time.  In doing so, you can build confidence in sharing information and collaborative decision-making with an ever widening circle of people.  To learn more about Charlene Li and her thoughts on open leadership, check out her book here, or visit www.charleneli.com.  You’ll find a host of great resources that can help you in your journey.

Immediately after the webinar, Ken will be answering follow-up questions here at LeaderChat for about 30 minutes.  To participate in the follow-up discussion, use these simple instructions.

Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat 

1. Click on the LEAVE A COMMENT link above
2. Type in your question
3. Push SUBMIT COMMENT

It’s as easy as that!  Ken will answer as many questions as possible in the order they are received.  Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.

We hope you can join us later today for this special complimentary event courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.  Click here for more information on participating.

That is the advice that Herb Kelleher, legendary founder of Southwest Airlines, offers readers in the foreword of a new book, Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success that looks at the leadership practices that have made Southwest a benchmark for great management.

As Kelleher explains, “…an infusion of love is an essential, but oft overlooked, ingredient in any business organization that wants to be superlative for a long period of time, rather than just “successful” for a limited time.

“Most people are looking not only for monetary security but also for psychic satisfaction in their work. That satisfaction is provided in our personal lives by the love and affection of family and friends. Why shouldn’t a business simply be an enlargement of our circle of family and friends?”

A large part of Southwest’s success is the servant leader attitude of its top executives as well as leaders through all levels of the organization.  And a great example of that philosophy in action is Colleen Barrett, president emeritus and coauthor of the book. 

“For more than forty years,” says Kelleher, “in her relationships with the People of Southwest Airlines, Colleen Barrett has ensured that no grief goes unattended; that no joy goes unshared; that each achievement is celebrated; and that those requiring help receive it.”

The result has been a corporate culture where Southwest’s employees feel the love and in turn, share the love, with customers.  And customers have responded with Southwest generating the same types of legendary customer service stories in their industry that Nordstrom’s generates in retailing.

Where does love fit in your organizational culture?  Do your people feel that someone has their best interest at heart—or are they just another cog in the machine?  Try a little caring.  You might be surprised at the difference it makes!

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To learn more about how Southwest has made love a part of their operating system, download the first chapter of Lead with LUV here.  And if you know of an organization that exemplifies love in action when it comes to treating employees and customers right, be sure to let others know at Spread the LUV –a special blog site for success stories.

PS: On January 26, Colleen Barrett will be presenting a free webinar together with Ken Blanchard, her coauthor on Lead with LUV.  The event is free and over 2,000 people have already registered, but there is still room for others to attend.  To learn more visit http://www.webex.com/webinars/Lead-with-LUV-A-Different-Way-to-Create-Real-Success

For Barrett, doing the work is a key ingredient to the success that Southwest has enjoyed in the tough airline industry over the past forty years.  It’s also one of the reasons why best-selling business author Ken Blanchard wanted to work with Barrett on a new book that captures the real-life leadership examples that have made Southwest Airlines a model of good management. Titled Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success, it’s just out in bookstores this month.

 “She does the things I write about,” says Blanchard. “The stuff that I’ve learned and taught over the years, it’s all in there with a real person who did it.”

And one of the things that Blanchard writes about often is the importance of celebrating both people and results.

As Barrett explains, “What’s important is the fact that you’re honoring people and acknowledging that what they do makes a positive difference. In the process, you are making heroes out of them. You are letting them know that you love them for their efforts and you want everybody to celebrate their success.”

But it does require doing the work.  And at Southwest, this means that officers hand-write notes to thousands of employees each year.

As Barrett explains, “Besides being loving, we know this is meaningful to our people, because we hear from them if we miss something significant in their lives, like the high school graduation of one of their kids. We just believe in accentuating the positive and celebrating people’s successes.”

You can learn more about the ways that Southwest Airlines takes the time to stop and recognize their people by accessing the first chapter of Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success here.

Also, don’t miss a complimentary webinar that Colleen Barrett and Ken Blanchard will be conducting on January 26.  Hosted by Cisco WebEx, click here to find out more about this free Lead with LUV event.

The problem, according to Ridge, is that most performance systems are used for the wrong reasons. They are either arbitrary, conducted out of habit, or they are used just in case it is ever necessary to document evidence to fire someone. Ridge thinks that performance reviews should be used to develop people—not to evaluate them.

It’s a philosophy he shares with Ken Blanchard and which they wrote about in their book Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A.”

According to Blanchard and Ridge, managers need to move away from evaluating people and instead focus on coaching and helping people get A’s.  For managers ready to embrace coaching instead of evaluating, the two authors recommend the following three steps:

1. Set clear goals. All good performance starts with clear goals. Make sure that objectives and performance standards are established.
2. Provide day-to-day coaching. This is where a manager observes and monitors the performance of his or her people, praising progress and redirecting where necessary.
3. No surprises at the annual review. The biggest difference in the Helping People Win at Work approach is that the annual review is not used as an end-of-the-year evaluation tool. Instead, it is used throughout the year as a guide to how managers and direct reports work together to help employees get A’s.

When you help people win at work, both the organization and the employees benefit.

As Ridge explains, “When employees have clear expectations, meaningful work, and day-to-day support, it impacts their level of engagement. At WD-40, our engagement number is 93%, which I believe is three times the average. It means that people come to work doing things that mean something to them, that they feel is making a difference in the world today, and that is developing them internally as well.

Download Free eBook version of Helping People Win at Work!

Between now and November 13, you can download a free Kindle copy of Helping People Win At Work from Amazon.com.  Just click on the link above to see how you can download a free copy to your computer or mobile device.

See if any of these bad habits are present in your organization:

1. Mimicking best practices instead of underlying values.  Organizations looking to learn from best-in-class companies often move immediately to copy the best practices of a leading company instead of taking a moment to understand the concept behind the practice.  Don’t substitute copying for thinking.  It’s not the foosball table that makes it a great place to work—it’s the corporate value that makes buying a foosball table a good idea that is the real best practice.
2. Staying conceptual instead of getting practical.  Theories and models have their place for understanding and organizing content, but they are no substitute for working on real business issues.  It isn’t until people put concepts into practice, with real consequences, that learning takes place. 
3. Planning and deciding instead of doing.  A slightly more sophisticated version of staying conceptual that only seems more action-oriented.  Remember the question, “If five frogs are sitting on a log, and one decides to jump, how many frogs are left on the log?”  (The answer is five until the frog actually jumps.)  Never mistake planning and decision-making with doing.  They are two different activities.
4. Punishing failure instead of encouraging initiative.  When people stretch and take action, it often ends up in failure—even under the best of circumstances.  How does your company react to failure?  Is it seen as a chance to learn and adjust, or is it time to punish and reprimand?  If you want your organization to have a bias for action, people need to have the freedom to fail occasionally.
5. Setting a poor example at the top.  People know to watch for actions instead of announcements when it comes to trying to figure out where senior leadership really stands on an issue.  Don’t announce an open-door policy: simply leave your door open.  Demonstrate desired behaviors through your own actions.  Nothing speaks louder.
6. Creating a competitive internal environment.  People need and want to collaborate but organizations often set up structures, policies, and incentives that create internal competition.  Encourage teamwork by designing policies that promote collaboration instead of competition.
7. Poor measurement and tracking.  What gets measured is what gets managed.  Be picky in deciding which key metrics to focus on.  Some organizations measure everything, or leave it to individual departments to decide what is measured.  This can lead to “siloed” thinking and a focus on departmental goals instead of the big picture.  Think overall and organization-wide when it comes to measurement.

Develop an attitude of action.  Understanding, planning, and deciding are just the first step.  Doing is what counts.  Take action today!

1. They set their sights on the right target and vision. Great organizations focus on three bottom lines instead of just one. In addition to financial success, leaders at great organizations measure the satisfaction and engagement levels of their employees and their customers also. Leaders at these companies know that in order to succeed they must create a motivating environment for employees, which results in better customer service, which leads to higher profits.
2. They treat their customers right. To keep your customers today, you can’t be content just to satisfy them. Instead, you have to create raving fans–customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell others. Companies that create this emotional connection with their customers enjoy the accelerated growth generated when customers brag about them to other prospective clients.
3. They treat their people right. You can’t treat your people poorly and expect them to treat your customers well. Treating your people right includes setting clear, meaningful goals, providing day-to-day coaching, and finally, setting up performance reviews so that there are no surprises.
4. They turn the organizational chart upside down. The most effective leaders recognize that leadership is not about them and that they are only as good as the people they lead. In successful organizations, once a vision has been set, leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, supporting and removing roadblocks for the people closest to the customer.

If leaders take care of the people who take care of their customers, profits and financial strength will follow. The result is an organization where people and profits both grow and thrive.

It’s an approach that allows Southwest’s leadership to expect more—and receive more—from their people than other airlines.  Because employees know that leadership is on their side, leaders can confidently challenge and hold people accountable for meeting expectations.  It’s a business version of tough love that only works when employees know you care.

Interested in trying a little leadership love at your organization?  Here are three tips for getting started:

1. Communicate your organizational mission and vision. Barrett explains that at Southwest, they are first and foremost in the customer service business—they just happen to express that service by providing airline transportation.
2. Define the values that will guide behavior. At Southwest values start with safety and practicing the golden rule–treating people as you would like to be treated–as a foundation.  Three additional values of Warrior Spirit, Servant’s Heart, and a Fun-LUVing Attitude guide employee behavior on a day-to-day basis.
3. Combine caring with high expectations. Leaders at Southwest treat their people with respect, strive to bring out their best, and love their people for who they are.  In return, employees are expected to buy into the company’s mission, and to practice the company’s values with each other and customers.

What’s the level of leadership love in your organization?  Do employees know that leaders truly care about them?  It’s an essential ingredient at Southwest that has helped to create long-term success and a fun-loving culture in a challenging industry.  What could it do for you?

Win an Advance Copy of Ken and Colleen’s New Book!

Would you like to get a sneak peek at the unbound manuscript version of Bringing LUV to Leadership?  Rarely made public, we have a small number of extra copies from the proofing and review process that we are giving away this Friday.  To be entered into the drawing, just sign on as a fan at Ken Blanchard’s new Facebook Fan Page by 12 noon Pacific Time, Friday, April 9.  Everyone who is signed up as a fan by that time will automatically be entered into the drawing.  Good luck!

McCain is part of a young generation of writers and columnists covering everything from current events to the latest in entertainment and fashion. She first began to receive media attention when she documented life on the campaign trail with her father Senator John McCain.  You can read McCain’s latest posts at The Daily Beast.

Hendley is a great example of a young man who, beginning at the age of 25, travelled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems.  Upon coming home and returning to school, Hendley continued working for clean water in developing nations through fund-raising at bars where he worked. By hosting wine tastings and providing information about the clean water crisis in other less-developed parts of the world, Hendley was able to later launch Wine to Water, Hendley’s organization that provides clean water to people in developing countries.  You can learn more about Hendley and Wine to Water at www.winetowater.org

Who are other examples of non-traditional leaders that you would like to highlight?

Let us know by posting your nominee on Twitter.  When you do, you’ll also be entered into our drawing for a specially chosen selection of Ken Blanchard best-sellers and new releases.

To participate, go to Twitter.com and “tweet” the name of the person you think is today’s top leader.  In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.

For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith

We’ll keep posting the latest nominees and keeping the survey/ book raffle open until October 13 when two random winners will be chosen from among all of the people who have participated.

Join us in this opportunity to recognize leaders who are making a difference .  Also, be sure to check back every day for updates, and to see who people are talking about!

• Leadership expert and author, John Maxwell
• Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh
• Oprah Winfrey
• Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally
• Molecular Biologist and 2009 Nobel Prize winner, Elizabeth Blackburn

As you look over today’s nominees and think about others who should be included, what are the traits that make each leader special.  Is it authenticity, humility, foresight, perserverance or something else?  How are these traits exhibited by the people listed above?  As you think about the great leaders you’ve known, what makes them stand out in your mind?

Survey/Contest Details

LeaderChat is partnering with Ken Blanchard on Twitter to conduct a fun and interesting survey/contest.  Through October 13th, we’d like you to Tweet the name of the person you think is today’s top leader.  In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.

For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith”

By doing that, you will be entered into our Twitter contest. After October 13th, we will randomly select two submissions for this contest on Twitter, and we’ll send each of these winners a gift pack of 7 of Ken’s best books, including best-sellers together with some of his newest releases. If you win, Ken will send you a direct Tweet to get your contact info, and we’ll also post the winners here.

For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: David Witt”

Okay, that may be a stretch… but pretty simple, huh?  By doing that, you will be entered into our Twitter contest. After October 13th, we will randomly select two submissions for this contest on Twitter, and we’ll send each of these winners a gift pack of 7 of Ken’s best books, including best-sellers together with some of his newest releases. You can read them all, you can give some away as gifts, whatever you like! If you win, Ken will send you a direct Tweet to get your contact info, and we’ll also post the winners here.

The second phase of this LeaderChat/Twitter partnership is right back here at LeaderChat. Each day, I’ll be posting some of the latest Tweet suggestions. Then, we can discuss here on the blog why those people are top leaders (or why you think they aren’t).

What is the criteria for a “top leader?” It’s whatever you think it should be… it could be your parents, a teacher, a local business owner, a sports star, a politician, etc. Really, its about what YOU think makes a top leader. Stop back here each day to talk about some of the Tweet suggestions, and the factors that are important about that particular person and leaders in general.

So start right now and go to Twitter, or directly to Ken’s Twitter page at www.twitter.com/kenblanchard, Tweet out your top leader suggestion with “@kenblanchard” included in your message, and come back here to discuss.

I think it’s going to be a lot of fun… check back tomorrow to see what leaders come up!

Based on their best-selling book The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, Blanchard and Miller (who is VP of training and development for quick-serve restaurant chain Chick-fil-A) will share five keys for being more effective in this dual role. 

• See the Future: Start by setting a clear vision for your organization. Leadership is about taking people from one place to another.  
• Engage and Develop People: Once the vision is set, you have to turn the organizational chart upside down.  Great leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager to the people who report to them. 
• Reinvent Continuously: Does your organizational structure serve the business, or are the people serving the structure? Great leaders understand that their organizational structure should be fluid and flexible to meet changing needs.  
• Value Results and Relationships: Great leaders value both results and relationships. Both are critical for long-term survival. For too long, many leaders have felt that they needed to choose.  
• Embody the Values: All genuine leadership is built on trust. The leader, above all, has to be a walking example of the vision and values of the organization.

As you think about the great leaders you’ve known, which of these characteristics most define them in your mind?  As you think about developing leaders, which of these characteristics is probably the most difficult to learn or change?

Authentic, Transparent, Emotional intelligence, Interpersonal effectiveness, Servant-leader, Humility, Leaders not managers, Know contingency theory by mapping response to situation, Live the 7 Habits, Build a vision, Ensure customer centricity

It was this type of experience that lead Smallwood, together with co-authors Dave Ulrich and Kate Sweetman to write Leadership Code: Five Rules to Lead By.  In their new book, the authors identify what they believe are some commonalities among all of the leadership theories out there today.  See if you agree:

Rule 1: Shape the future. This answers the question “where are we going?” Great leaders make sure that those around them understand the direction the company is moving in.

Rule 2: Make things happen. Turn what you know into what you do.

Rule 3: Engage today’s talent. Talent managers know how to identify, build and engage talent to get results now.

Rule 4: Build the next generation. Ensure that the organization has the longer-term competencies required for future strategic success.

Rule 5: Invest in yourself. Effective leaders cannot be reduced to what they know and do. Who they are as human beings has everything to do with how much they can accomplish with and through other people.

Do you have any other suggestions or ideas when it comes to effective leadership? Tell us what you think!

In Know What You Don’t Know: How Great Leaders Prevent Problems Before They Happen author Michael Roberto, a professor of management at Bryant University and former faculty member at Harvard Business School, advises managers to be on the lookout for small problems that could potentially lead to disaster down the road. 

BNET blogger Stacy Blackman recently interviewed Roberto to find out the four issues leaders need to be on the lookout for. You can see what he recommends by reading Blackman’s post on Why Managers Don’t See Problems Until It’s Too Late 

Blanchard’s own Madeleine Blanchard, who heads up our Coaching Services division, recommends a second book called Why Smart Executives Fail: and What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes by Sydney Finklestein.   Madeleine has been recommending this book to leaders because it does a good job illustrating how admirable leadership qualities can be a double edged sword. As Madeleine writes in her blog post, “Confidence and willingness to take risks is a hair’s breadth from arrogance. Will you know when you’ve crossed the line?”  

You can see what Finklestein identifies as the seven key mistakes—along with Madeleine’s commentary—by reading her post, What Not to Do

Garry will be stopping by right after he finishes his WebEx sponsored webinar on Helping People Win at Work.  In this special event, Garry will be sharing some of the key concepts from his book that he has used successfully at WD-40 to triple sales and elevate employee engagement levels to 93%!  Over 700 people will be participating in the webinar and most will be gathering here to ask follow-up questions. 

If you have a question that you would like to ask Garry, just click on the COMMENTS hyperlink above.  Once you’ve typed in your comment hit SUBMIT COMMENT.  Garry will answer as many questions as possible until he has to leave at 10:30 a.m. Pacific. 

And if you can’t stay, be sure to stop by later and see all the questions that were asked.  Or better yet, use the RSS FEED button on the right-hand column to receive updates on a weekly basis.

Drawing on his extensive experience leading a successful public company for over ten years, Garry Ridge will show you how to:

• Establish an effective performance management system
• Build an engaging, performance-based culture
• Share your leadership point of view
• Partner with your people

Garry will also be conducting a special after-webinar question & answer session here at LeaderChat immediately afterward starting at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.

Don’t miss this opportunity to improve retention, productivity and creativity in your organization by creating an engaging work environment with a strong sense of belonging. Too many companies still employ a performance management system that doesn’t help people because the process is more focused on judgment and evaluation than on coaching, supporting and helping people win.

Learn more about free webinar.

• Goal Setting—once you set goals, use timely recognition to identify progress towards those goals.  For example, if the goal is greater efficiency—recognize employee who are the most efficient—if it is accuracy—recognize the employees who make the fewest mistakes. 
• Communication—add recognition as an agenda item to all individual and weekly staff meetings.  It’s also a good way to communicate company values and culture on an ongoing basis.  
• Trust—recognizing the contributions of others shows direct reports that you care and appreciate their efforts.  It also lets people know that everyone will be recognized for their contribution on a project.  That goes a long way towards building trust. 
• Accountability—recognizing good behavior shows that you are paying attention to goals and progress.  It’s also a positive way to let people know that behavior is being tracked.

What’s your organization’s approach to reward and recognition?  You can learn more about The Carrot Principle by checking out this short video at BNET, one of our recommended web sites.

Part of the reason may be that people see trust as a “nice to have” cultural issue to work on once you have everything else in place. This is a fundamental mistake because the level of trust in your organization is a hard-edged economic driver that will impact just about every aspect of your organizations performance. 

Author Stephen M. R. Covey, in his book The Speed of Trust  describes this impact as either a high trust dividend that can add 40% to your organization’s performance or a low trust tax that can subtract up to 80% by adding to your costs. .

This dividend or tax impact occurs because trust is the ultimate determining factor whether individuals will be good team players, will make the commitment to change, and will work beyond minimum requirements to achieve desired outcomes.  

What’s the trust level in your organization? 

All relationships, personal and professional, are based upon trust. And there is a big difference between the way people work together when they trust each other versus how they work when trust is low or nonexistent. When employees who work together trust each other, they exert more effort in their jobs and expend less effort monitoring each other. This leads to increased productivity, lower costs, and greater satisfaction for workers as well as shareholders.

In Zigarmi’s experience of working with clients on organizational change initiatives over the past 20 years, a couple of common mistakes keep popping up when organizations go about launching large scale change in their organizations.   

What causes change to fail in most organizations?  Here are three that Zigarmi recommends keeping an eye on: 

1. People leading the change think that announcing the change is the same as implementing it.  So much energy in organizations is spent preparing to communicate the change and the reasons behind it, but not nearly the same energy is spent planning for the successful execution and rollout of the change after the announcement.
2. People’s concerns with change are not surfaced or addressed. If leaders do not take the time to specifically address individuals’ needs and fears near the beginning of the change process, they will find themselves fighting an uphill battle later on in the process.
3. Those being asked to change are not involved in planning the change.  Leaders need to gain the buy-in and cooperation of the people who are being asked to change. Without that, resistance smolders. This is because people feel that change is being done to them rather than with them. 

Interested in learning more about Zigarmi’s thoughts on leading people through change in your organization?  Be sure to check out interviews with Pat in the May 2008 and May 2009 issues of Ignite or Pat’s webinar recordings on implementing change. 

To learn more about Who Killed Change? including access to the first chapter, follow this link, Who Killed Change?

Ken Blanchard identified three strategies in his presentation yesterday to over 700 people who joined him online for a webinar on The Power of Collaboration. Ken believes that there are three ways that leaders can help their organizations become more collaborative.

1. Model collaboration. How do the senior leaders in your organization work together? Do different business units cooperate with each other, or is the situation more competitive? Behavior speaks volumes. When employees see their senior leaders work collaboratively, they know that this is an important value in the organization.
2. Adopt a learning attitude. You have to be curious and willing to learn. If you believe that you already have all the answers, you’re probably not going to see the value in collaborating.
3. Be a humble, high performer. In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies that the best companies have leaders that mix a resolve for high performance with an equal dose of humility. It’s a powerful combination that achieves results yet maintains perspective.

A recording of Ken’s presentation is available online at no charge. You can view the presentation and see everything that Ken covered by clicking here.

Most recently I saw the behind-the-scenes impact of ego described in Jim Collins new book, How the Mighty Fall.

In a section on The Dynamics of Leadership-Team Behavior, Collins explains some of the subtle changes that take place in the way teams operate once ego—expressed as “hubris” sets in.  The result is behavior that is defensive, self-promoting, comparative, and resistant to new ideas. See if you recognize any of these behaviors starting to creep into your team dynamics:

According to Collins, in teams on the way down: 

• People shield those in power from unpleasant facts, fearful of penalties and criticism for shining light on the rough realities
• People assert strong opinions without providing data, evidence, or a solid argument
• The team leader has a very low questions-to-statements ratio, avoiding critical input and/or allowing sloppy reasoning and unsupported opinions
• Team members acquiesce to a decision but don’t unify to make the decision successful—or worse, undermine it after the fact
• Team members seek as much credit as possible for themselves, yet do not enjoy the confidence and admiration of their peers
• Team members argue to look smart or to further their own interests rather than argue to find the best answers to support the overall cause
• The team conducts “autopsies with blame,” seeking culprits rather than wisdom
• Team members often fail to deliver exceptional results and blame other people or outside factors for setbacks, mistakes, and failures

Are you looking for a way out of this vicious cycle?  Start by looking at where your focus is as an organization.  Is it on serving yourself, or on serving others?  Ego plays a big part in this.  Looking for some ideas?  Be sure to check out Ken Blanchard’s interview in Ignite or better yet, join us for Ken’s webinar tomorrow on The Power of Collaboration.  You’ll learn some ways to get your organization back on track.

The problem, according to Ridge, is that most performance systems are used for the wrong reasons. They are either arbitrary, only done out of habit, or they are used to document evidence to fire someone. 

Instead, Ridge thinks that performance reviews should be used to develop people. It’s a philosophy he calls “Don’t mark my paper—help me get an “A” and it‘s a key concept in a new book he has coauthored together with Ken Blanchard called Helping People Win at Work. 

Helping People Win at Work is the first in a new series of books written by real-life CEOs describing how they have put the concept of “leading at a higher level” into practice in their organizations. 

For Garry Ridge that means having managers at WD-40 working together with their direct reports on Planning, Execution, Review and Learning. 

• Planning is all about setting goals and establishing the report card for the employee’s “final exam.”  It’s making sure that every employee knows exactly what he or she is being asked to do.
• Execution is where the manager has to keep up his or her end of the partnership relationship on a day-to-day basis, helping and coaching the employee to get an “A.”
• Review and Learning is a quarterly evaluation designed to answer the questions, “What did we set out to do? What actually happened? What should we do differently?”

 You can find out more about the concepts of Helping People Win at Work (including free access to the first chapter) by visiting the Blanchard website . You can also learn more by checking out an online interview with Dan Schawbel where Ken Blanchard discusses the book.

Has a change initiative ever “died” in your organization?  Who would you point to as the likely suspects?  Take our poll below, and also leave a comment and let us know about the biggest killers of change you’ve experienced.

Looking to be a little more coach-like in your conversations?  In their new book, Coaching in Organizations: Best Coaching Practices from The Ken Blanchard Companies, authors Madeleine Homan and Linda Miller recommend a 4-step process for managers looking to improve the basic structure of their performance and development conversations.

• Connect by building rapport and setting the context. The manager needs to take a minute from other things that they may be working on to give employee’s their full attention. This may sound simple, yet any manager knows that it isn’t always easy to turn away from the computer screen, tune out the phone, and be fully attentive.
• Focus by identifying topics and goals to be discussed. In this phase the manager needs to be sure that he or she has confirmed the specific focus of the conversation. This may seem obvious, but most conversations require refocusing a surprising average of seven times.
• Activate your conversation by determining strategy and tactics for specific goals. To activate effectively, a manager must speak simply and directly. The key is for the person being coached to be crystal clear about which actions he or she is committed to and why.
• Review by recapping the discussion to ensure clear agreements. In this final phase (which is missing from most conversations), the manager needs to make sure that clear agreements with timelines are in place.

At least that’s what I thought as I was looking through a small management book on my shelf entitled, Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed to Do and What to Do About It.  Written by management consultant Ferdinand Fournies, the book is based on years of research and interviews with thousands of employees. The book is still available online and in bookstores though it was originally published in 1988.  I was reading the updated version published in 1998 which made it on the business best-seller list that year.

In the book, Fournies identifies the sixteen reasons why employees get off-track.  In a descending order of frequency he shares all of the hidden influences that affect performance.  Here’s the top three.  :

1. They don’t know why they should do it.
2. They don’t know how to do it.
3. They don’t know what they are supposed to do.

For managers looking to open up a conversation about performance with a direct report, these three areas can be a great starting place.  Just be sure to reverse the order of these three questions.  Ask yourself:

1. Does this employee know what they are supposed to be doing?  (You might be surprised if you compare priority lists.)
2. Does this employee have the skills, tools, and direction they need to succeed at this task?  (In other words, what’s their development level?) 
3. And then finally, does the employee understand why this work is important? (Has it been connected to overall team, department, and organizational priorities?)

Part of the reason may be that people see trust as a “nice to have” cultural issue to work on once you have everything else in place. This is a fundamental mistake because the level of trust in your organization is a hard-edged economic driver that will impact just about every aspect of your organizations performance.

I’ve just been re-reading Stephen M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust where he describes this impact as either a high trust dividend that can add 40% to your organization’s performance or a low trust tax that can subtract up to 80% by adding to your costs.

 .

This dividend or tax impact occurs because trust is the ultimate determining factor whether individuals will be good team players, will make the commitment to change, and will work beyond minimum requirements to achieve desired outcomes. 

All relationships, personal and professional, are based upon trust. And there is a big difference between the way people work together when they trust each other versus how they work when trust is low or nonexistent. 

How’s trust impacting performance in your organization?  

One of the keys point in the book is that an out of balance ego doesn’t feel dramatically different from an in-balance ego and that is why it trips up so many leaders.

In fact, you might not even notice at first—even though other people will.  That’s because ego takes your strengths and subtly changes them into close counterfeits.  Now everything seems a little self-serving and things that people appreciated about you—like being able to come up with an alternative viewpoint, being able to objectively compare your point of view to someone else’s, brainstorm good ideas, and seek and welcome feedback—things that make you a good team member—are subtly changed. 

To help leaders identify when their ego might be getting the best of them, the authors offer four warning signs.

1. Being comparative—instead of focusing on being your best, you find yourself focusing instead on just being better than someone else. 
2. Being defensive—instead of defending an idea, you find yourself making things personal.
3. Showcasing your brilliance—you go beyond sharing good ideas to making your brilliance the center of attention. 
4. Constantly seeking acceptance—you find yourself becoming overly concerned with what other people think.

 So how do the authors of Egonomics recommend rebalancing your ego?  Three things:

1. Humility—don’t think less of yourself—just think about yourself less. 
2. Curiosity—ask, instead of tell.
3. Veracity—find truth-tellers in your life.  People who will be straight with you and tell you what you need to hear.

 Ego can be our greatest asset, or it can be our biggest liability. It’s all about keeping it in balance. 

1. The power of vision.  What’s your picture of the future?  What are the values that will guide you?
2. Peaks and Valleys.  It looks like Ken will be talking about a new book from Spencer Johnson that is coming out in March.  Spencer is the best-selling author of Who Moved My Cheese and was Ken’s co-author on the One Minute Manager.  (I read an early review copy of Peaks and Valleys and it talks about how to deal with the ups-and-downs of life.  Specifically how to prolong the peak periods, and how to minimize—and learn from—the valleys that we all experience.  It is very applicable to today’s economic environment and I think it will be another best-seller for Spencer.)
3. Focus on people and results. Pointing to research from Jim Collins’ Built to Last and Good to Great books, Ken will emphasize the importance of resolve and humility in today’s leaders and talk about “turning the organizational pyramid upside down” to become a servant leader.

Ken will also be trying something new after this event.  He will be stopping by this blog space immediately after the webinar to answer questions.  For those of you already signed up to participate in this webinar, be sure to stop by.

For those of you who haven’t registered yet, there is still time.  The event is free and you can register at http://www.webex.com/web-seminars/view_event/663894866?sid=KBC021109