Consistency

"Most great leaders understand intuitively that consistency is an important part of leadership. That’s because the most effective leaders know that in order to be perceived as a strong leader they must maintain a strong set of values, live by a certain code of conduct, effectively communicate these to different constituencies, and then lead by example." Jeffrey Krames 


This quote by Jeffrey Krames is very profound. In my opinion, having a consistent leader makes life a lot easier in the workplace. I knew I wanted to write about consistency so when I searched for a quote about consistency, this one opened my eyes to other aspects of it.


My original premise was to discuss the consistency of personality.  I will use examples to demonstrate what I mean here.  


I had a former boss in the Navy who was very firm and often yelled.  His standards were high and he ensured he enforced them at every opportunity.  The image of our command was very important to him.  If we were away from work, he wanted to ensure we were on our best behavior and looked our best, because we worked for him.  At the time, I thought he was a real jerk.  Life was not easy working for him.  However, we knew what to expect every day. There were no surprises. Also, looking back, he was very competent at what he did and we were very successful. He was consistent and morale was relatively high.


I had another boss who was not consistent. When dealing with this person, you never knew what to expect; would it be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?  Sometimes this person would be so mean that it was quite intimidating. At other times, they would be the nicest person you would ever meet,and it would catch you off guard.  It was very difficult working for a person like this because you just did not know what to expect.  Sometimes life would be good and the work would flow and at other times life sucked and we struggled.  In this situation, we were not successful.  We would be hit and miss on inspections and our reputation was in the pits. Morale was low too.


The lesson I took out of this is the obvious one.  Be who you are all the time. It will really make a difference.


Going back to the quote above, maintaining a "strong set of values" goes a long way.  If you have a leader who consistently does this, you cannot have a better example.  I had one boss, who would falsify records to look good and pass inspections.  He did not garner much respect from me. That is one leadership example I made sure was not emulated.


Consistency is the key.  Do the right thing all the time.

Inspiring Action

Simon Sinek, author of the book Start With Why, is a marketing consultant known for developing "The Golden Circle," a model based on human decision-making that guides organizations on how to inspire people to buy or support any product, company or idea.


To learn firsthand about this concept, please view the short video.


The Golden Circle is an interesting way to look at how people think. Sinek states that most people think conventionally; from outside in, or from What to How to Why. Sinek proposes that thinking inside-out, is not only unconventional, but can produce remarkable results.


In his video, Sinek provides the examples of Apple and Martin Luther King to explain his theory. From a leadership perspective, what exactly does this mean?


From the conventional view (outside - in), here is an example. The boss comes down and states he just got an order for 1000 widgets. He tells his team that they need to build these by the end of the week. This order must be on time, or the company will lose a big profit. That is not very motivating, especially to the employees who already may be overworked.


Here is the example from the inside-out. The boss comes down and says, "You all do such great work and the quality of our product has really garnered a lot of positive attention. We just got an order in from one of our best customers and they are really counting on us to deliver this order on time." Do you see the difference?


In the Golden Circle, the Why is the purpose/cause/belief; the reason why we get out of bed each day; the reason why anyone should care.


I believe most inspired leaders I have encountered follow this line of thinking without thinking about it. They believe in the cause or purpose of their mission.


Sinek says, "People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it." He also believes the Golden Circle is ingrained in us biologically. He cited that if you take a cross section of a human brain, there are three major areas; the outer area is the Neocortex (the What) that is responsible for rational and analytical thought and language. The inner two regions are called the Limbic brain, which controls feelings (the Why), like trust and loyalty; human behavior and decision making.


Sinek says, "If you talk about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe. People who believe you will take your cause as their own." If every leader had followers that did this, life would be easy. However, as we know, it takes a lot of effort to inspire followers. "We follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to;" says Sinek, "not for them, but ourselves."


When a person is inspired as to the reason why they are doing something or understand the mission, they gain a sense of belonging or being part of the team, from which they gain their sense of importance to the team.


The Golden Circle is an interesting marketing tool that seems quite effective, which very much applies in the leadership world.

Respect

Respect is a very important attribute in every relationship.  When you think of a leader/follower or manager/subordinate relationship, especially in the military, respect from the follower/subordinate up is often assumed, based upon the hierarchy of the relationship alone.  However, is the same true from the top down?

A good leader should absolutely display sincere respect toward those below him.  You cannot beat mutual respect in a relationship to ensure it lasts and functions the way it was intended.

Most of the people I have worked for did gain my respect by treating me with respect. These leaders made me feel important, ensured I felt that I was part of the team, took a personal interest in me and my family, and encouraged me.  When I had the privilege of serving as a commanding officer, I worked hard to do the same to those in my command. To be honest, it just made sense to me.

The Golden Rule; treat others as you would like to be treated, is the basis for displaying respect toward someone.  The majority of the people I have encountered, live by this rule without thinking.

Unfortunately, I have met some people who have never heard of this rule.  I've worked for some people who seemed to look down on people who worked for them and basically treated them like crap.  It was obvious they had no respect for people "below" them, and I will admit, I had little personal respect for them.  Sure, I did respect their rank and position, but not the individual.

In relationships like this, where there is little respect, there is not a lot of motivation to go out of your way to do something for this person. Why bother, since it won't be appreciated.  When this happens on a large scale, for example, on a ship, this can be the root of low morale.

It is difficult for me to comprehend how some people can treat others so poorly.  Since I have no control over these types of people, I suppose I should just concentrate on what I can do and continue to follow that Golden Rule.



"If you have some respect for people as they are, you can be more effective in helping them to become better than they are." John W. Gardner

One CEO’s View on Leadership

On November 3, 2010, Walter P. Havenstein, CEO of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), spoke to students, faculty and staff at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business as part of their CEO@Smith Speaker Series. A segment of the event can be viewed here.

As a Naval Academy graduate, retired Marine Corps officer and successful leader in business, Havenstein shared his thoughts on leadership and his philosophy of how he leads SAIC. 


According to Havenstein, his four basic principles of management are partnership, safety, fact-based management, and continuous improvement.

• Partnership. Havenstein said he "looks at those who work at SAIC not as employees but as partners, or colleagues. As such, he said, they should be trusted and empowered to do what they do best."
• I do like this philosophy.  As an employee of SAIC myself, the company does empower us to do our jobs, which allows me to be much more efficient in getting the job done.  The sense of teamwork is clear and the support mechanism between divisions, operations and business units is very active.  From a military perspective, I would call this teamwork.  Because of the military chain of command, it is not feasible for everyone to be "partners" and "colleagues," but we can be on the same team. It is important for  the leader to make each person feel like they are an important member of that team; giving them specific responsibilities and empowering them with the authority to do their jobs.

• Safety. "One of the biggest responsibilities of a leader," Havenstein said, "is to provide a physically and emotionally healthy and safe place, where people can express themselves without fear of being criticized, ridiculed or ignored."
• This is important in any organization.  You don’t want your team worrying about their environment; they have far more important things to be concerned about like getting the job done.  It is the leader’s job to ensure their team is physically safe (unless in a war zone, of course) and free from any discrimination or disrespect.

• Fact-based management. "Leaders," Havenstein said, "must make decisions based on the facts, even while recognizing some uncertainty, and not just facts that support a single point of view, but all of the relevant facts."
• A good leader will base decisions based upon all the facts he/she knows. However, in some cases, the leader will need to make decisions based upon only what is known at a certain moment.  That is why they usually get paid the big bucks.  It is important for the leader to instill into the team the importance of not keeping secrets or from filtering important information as it goes up the chain.  It is also important, at times, for the leader to solicit discussion and recommendations from the team regarding important decisions.  This will also contribute to building teamwork.

• Continuous improvement. Havenstein said that he "believes that continuous improvement is crucial, but not in the sense of enterprise wide continuous improvement projects. What is most effective is creating a culture in which people are not afraid to ask two questions — "Why?" and "Why not?" While tools such as Six Sigma are important, they are just tools."
• I would hope that every leader would desire to continuously improve their team; to make them more efficient to increase output and reduce the required resources.  There are many tools out there, with just as many opinions on their application, that can aid in improvement.  However, from a military perspective, it is not wise to have subordinates question decisions and orders, unless done so tactfully.

Havenstein also addressed the importance of “principled leadership, life-long learning and continuous service.” He discussed six key traits that a good leader should possess to be successful.

·         Technically competent:  A good leader must “know their trade.” They don’t need to know the technical details of an engineer or scientist, but they must be able to understand what they are responsible for.

·         Must have energy:  A good leader must have “passion or the innate capability” to motivate the team and themselves.  A leader without energy will quickly fail.

·         Must have resilience:  Every leader will face difficulty at one point or another. The good leader will know how to face it, deal with it, learn from it and move on.

·         Must have passion for learning:  As I mentioned in a previous post, the good leader will continually learn every day to improve his/her knowledge.  Knowledge is power!!

·         Must have a moral compass: A good leader will not sacrifice his/her ethics or reputation to achieve success dishonestly.  What goes around will come around.

·         Service:  A good leader cannot be self serving; they must take an honest interest in the success of others.  This will strengthen teamwork and build morale. 

Walter P. Havenstein, SAIC CEO with an Old Sailor

“    "Leaders who are self-serving are usually those who don't succeed. When you take more interest in the success of others, you will be amazed at how successful you will become." Walter P. Havenstein, CEO, SAIC, November 3, 2010

Leadership Versus Management

Leadership and management. Should a good leader be a good manager? Should a good manager be a good leader? Can a good leader be a bad manager? Can a good manager be a bad leader? All these questions are touched on in Leadership 101.

In my experience, I have had good leaders who were not good managers. I've also had good managers who were not good leaders. I've also worked for bad leaders who were good managers. I can say, without a doubt, that the best people I worked for were good at both leading and managing.

A good leader must inspire people; to motivate them. They must have the "big picture" and set the goals of the organization.  The good manager needs to execute the plan to achieve the goals.

A good leader needs to have vision and think outside the box.  A good manager needs to be organized and possess good attention to detail.

I recall reading somewhere that leaders have followers; managers have subordinates. That sums it up pretty well, if the person in those roles is not dual hatted with their abilities.

Since most of my experience in leadership and management are from the Navy, the examples I refer to are Navy related.  To have a successful command, the commanding officer, or CO, should be a good leader.  The CO sets the tone for the ship by establishing the mission and priorities.  The good CO should inspire his or her crew to do their very best to accomplish the mission.

The executive officer, or XO, runs the ship.  The XO ensures the missions are met, by establishing and enforcing the daily routine and overseeing the administrative actions.  A good XO should be a good manager.

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, whom I had the pleasure of meeting when I was a midshipman at the Naval Academy, summed it up, "You cannot manage men into battle. You manage things; you lead people."

If you are lucky, you will be able to work for both a good leader and a good manager. There are a few out there. Is it necessary to be both? No, but the person with both skills has a far greater chance of success.

Fear and Intimidation

Fear and Intimidation. Not two words a normal person would consider when thinking about leadership. Can fear and intimidation be used to describe a leader? In my opinion, if a person has to use fear and intimidation to lead, they are not a leader.

If you follow military news, there are recent stories regarding a Naval officer who left command early (not by choice) due to cruelty and maltreatment of the crew, and conduct unbecoming an officer.

This Naval officer led by fear and intimidation. I've included several links below that describe the incidents and stories. If you read some of the comments on a popular military blog, I Like the Cut Of His Jib, you may be surprised and wonder how these stories could even possibly be true.

Even if half the stories are true, how can a Naval officer stay in the U.S. Navy for over 25 years with this type of personality? It sounds like several people complained about the wrath this Naval officer spread, but it fell on deaf ears.It is my opinion that the U.S. Navy failed here. They should not have allowed this person to promote or take command of two ships.

Working for a person in authority who rules by fear and intimidation is cruelty. Officers and sailors can be motivated by this, but it is negative motivation whose results are mediocrity. Who would want to do their best work when no recognition is afforded them. Who wants to go the extra mile if they will be ridiculed or embarrassed in front of their peers and subordinates?

This type of perceived leadership is ineffective. It is not conducive to good order and discipline and the results could be costly and deadly. This Naval officer should have been sent "home" long ago.

Regarding the Navy's stand, what type of leadership did this Naval officer's superiors exhibit when complaints were received. Why did the complaints fall on deaf ears? Was it because this Naval officer was a woman, a woman on the "fast track" destined to become an admiral?

I don't believe her misconduct was gender related, but her being put into positions of increasing responsibility was. Navy leadership failed!

Having served under this Naval officer for 18 months, I know first hand that every story reported and written is very plausible.  I lived through many of them.

There is one good thing from all this; I learned a lot about leadership from this Naval officer; I learned what is not effective when leading officers and sailors.


05 Dec 10: Update from Navy Times (see bottom link below):


"By a vote of 2-1, the board found CAPT Graf had committed misconduct; by unanimous vote, it found she had committed conduct unbecoming of an officer for the maltreatment and cruelty toward her crew as commanding officer of the Yokosuka, Japan-based cruiser Cowpens.  The panel unanimously voted to recommend she be separated from the Navy with a general discharge and be allowed to retire as a captain."

This recommendation will now go to the Secretary of the Navy for approval.


http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1971246,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1969602,00.html
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/nt_graf_to_dahlgren_030810w/
http://www.stripes.com/news/admiral-relieves-cowpens-captain-1.98063
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/11/navy-graf-board-convenes-112910w/
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/11/navy-graf-board-of-inquiry-cruelty-113010w/ 
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/12/01/reckoning-for-a-female-captain-bligh/#comment-220130
http://www.militarycorruption.com/hollygraf5.htm
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/12/navy-officers-in-graf-inquiry-say-they-feared-skipper-120110/
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/12/navy-panel-general-discharge-for-captain-holly-graf-120310w/

Are Leaders Born or Made?

Someone suggested this topic. Thanks Miss T.!!!!! This is a very good question and I'm sure many people have many different opinions about this.

I haven't done any research on this topic, but I believe it is probably a little of both. However, I would suspect that the environment the person is exposed to has a lot to do with it.

I do consider myself a leader. As a Naval officer, I held many positions of responsibility, including a very successful tour as a commanding officer. In my case, I don't believe I was born a leader. I was raised predominantly by my mother and two older sisters, and no, I really was not old enough to be considered the "man of the house." It wasn't until I got into high school where I became involved with clubs and sports, where I was exposed to my first instances of leading people and projects. I personally believe I learned the most about leadership while at the Naval Academy and as an officer in the Navy. My leadership learning curve never leveled; I was always learning something new about leadership. I still do today.

I suspect there are exceptions to every rule. I'm sure some men and women showed leadership traits as a toddler. I do know for a fact that I attended the Naval Academy with some people who were not leaders at all; at least early on.

You have probably heard the phrase that before you can lead, you have to follow. I believe this is true. It was for me.

What do you think? Do you know anyone who is a natural born leader? Can someone learn to be a leader?

"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." - Vince Lombardi

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." John F. Kennedy

This quote, by JFK, is very profound. In my experience, a good leader must constantly be in the learning mode. Though it is not expected that a leader of any organization should know the specific details of a subordinates job, they should have a very good understanding of what their people are doing.

I've worked for people who had a very solid understanding of what was going on below them. I've also worked for people who had no clue and did not bother to try. I can say, the former was a much better person to work for. I believe you can figure out who I respected more.

I strongly believe in the saying, you are never too old to learn something new. I think a person should attempt to learn at least one thing new everyday.

Leadership

The basic definition of leadership from Webster (see link). 

1. : the office or position of a leader

     2. : capacity to lead

  

     3. : the act or an instance of leading

     4. 

: leaders <the party leadership>

As a retired Naval officer, I've had the opportunity to study leadership, both as a follower and a leader. Leadership fascinates me; both good and bad. I've read quite a few books about leadership, but not as many as some. I am no expert on leadership by any means, but I do believe I have enough experience in the subject to talk about it. That is what this blog is all about; leadership.