Lion? Eagle? Or… May 8, 2009
Posted by Chuck Musciano in Leadership.Tags: Animals, Best Of 2009, Leadership, Public Speaking
4 comments
As a leader, what kind of animal are you? Of all the members of the animal kingdom, which one demonstrates the very best qualities of leadership?
My predecessor, a very good CIO, once had the opportunity to answer this question. He was invited to speak as part of a leadership panel, with an audience of several hundred fellow IT executives. The moderator had provided some of the seed questions to the panel in advance, so he had some time to think about his response. He actually did some research and came up with the perfect answer.
Now, most people are quick to answer this question with “lion” or “eagle.” Lions, of course, have great strength and sit near the top of the food chain. Although naturally lazy, especially the males, the lion’s leadership aura has been greatly enhanced by teams of Disney animators and the fact that the best lions apparently sound a lot like James Earl Jones.
An eagle is a better choice. Soaring high above the landscape, eagles have great vision and react quickly when detecting prey or enemies. Unfortunately, eagles are pretty much loners and do very little actual leading of anything. Although Disney has not yet made the equivalent of “The Eagle King,” the eagle gets good PR from being on money and various state and national seals.
The real answer, as my friend discovered, is the giraffe. Before you scoff, consider: the giraffe is the tallest animal, able to see threats at great distance. Other animals rely on this skill, gathering near the giraffe to capitalize on its early detection ability. As a result, the giraffe is recognized by all the other animals as a natural leader. Just as a good leader looks to the horizon to guide their team, a giraffe brings safety and surety to the world of the other herd animals. Giraffes, in fact, see the lions long before an attack is possible. Giraffes are also too large to be carried off by an eagle, or even a team of cooperating eagles, should the eagles ever get their act together.
So my friend went into the panel discussion sure that he had the killer answer. The moderator poses the question, and much to his astonishment, the guy next to my friend answers “Giraffe!” He goes on to explain all the great reasons, and the crowd is suitably impressed. When the moderator turns to my friend, all he can say is “I chose giraffe, too.” Even though we knew he had, half the audience was thinking “yeah, right.” Who would say “eagle” after hearing the great giraffe answer?
So today’s blog offers not one, but two crucial bits of leadership advice. First, when you get the question about the best animal leader, you know now that the answer is “giraffe.” And two, make sure you get to answer first.
Three Envelopes April 20, 2009
Posted by Chuck Musciano in Leadership.Tags: Best Of 2009, Denial, Leadership, Management Skills, Responsibility
10 comments
According to the apocryphal story, a person is hired to replace someone who was fired for poor performance. Excited about his new job, he arrives in the recently vacated office to find the desk empty except for three envelopes left there by the now-departed predecessor. Numbered 1, 2, and 3, a short note explains that they are to be opened only when the owner has really messed things up at work. Our new hire sticks them in a drawer and forgets about them.
That is, until six months later, when he really messes things up. Facing a tough situation, he remembers the envelopes. He tears open envelope #1 to find a slip of paper that reads, “Blame your predecessor.” Perfect! He concocts a story that pins the problems on the previous employee and deftly sidesteps blame for the issue.
Another six months go by, and again our friend is in trouble. This time, the envelopes are fresh in his mind, so he opens #2. “Blame your coworkers,” it advises. He does, and once again avoids taking the fall for a problem he caused.
It should come as no surprise that six months later, he’s in trouble again. Fortunately, there is still another envelope. He opens number 3, to find one last bit of advice: “Prepare three envelopes.”
A person’s character can be neatly judged when we see how they handle mistakes. We are all human; we all fail. When confronted with that failure, our next move paints a picture of how we handle responsibility and blame. Do you step up and own the problem, or do you reach for an envelope?
Good people step up. They acknowledge the problem, accept the blame, and work doubly hard to correct the problem. It is a sad commentary on our world today that most people are pleasantly surprised when you do this. While you may not be able to completely rectify the problem, you will earn some measure of respect by taking ownership of the issue. The problem may not be fixed, but your character is intact.
Bad people step away. They look to blame anyone except themselves, and will sacrifice anyone to protect themselves. Blaming predecessors and coworkers will work for a while, but you will eventually run out of envelopes. The problems remain, but you will not. And your character will be irreparably tarnished.
We all have three envelopes available to us, every day. We’ll all make mistakes at some point. When that happens, don’t reach for an envelope. Own it, fix it, and move on.
Your Next 10,000 April 17, 2009
Posted by Chuck Musciano in Leadership.Tags: Best Of 2009, Leadership, Management Skills
2 comments
In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell explores why people are really successful. I’ve included the book on my reading list, but can save you the full read by cutting to the chase: Luck and timing.
OK, to be honest, there are a few other factors that make the book worth reading. One of them is the magic of 10,000 hours. Gladwell found that, regardless of the field, it takes about 10,000 hours to get good at something. Violin, hockey, computer programming: whatever the skill, the very best put in 10,000 solid hours of practice before achieving real success in their field.
This holds true for leadership as well. For years, I’ve noticed that job postings for management positions often require a minimum of five years management experience. Hmmm. Five years is equal to 10,000 hours of management experience. While not explicitly stating it, people have intuitively recognized the 10,000-hour rule for a long time.
Getting your 10,000 hours takes commitment, no matter what your field of expertise. My concern is not with the 10,000 hours you’ve managed to amass at this point, but with the 10,000 you’ll need to get to the next stage of your career.
Are you content with your current position? Do you aspire to take on more responsibility and to accomplish more things? Most people, no matter how happy they may be, desire to do more and contribute more. Among those with such aspirations, some actually have a plan to get there. But I fear that even among those with a plan, few have realized that they need to amass 10,000 hours to be really good when they get there.
If you are a technical contributor who aspires to be a manager, how are you accumulating 10,000 hours of management experience? If you are a team leader who hopes to lead larger groups, how are you getting your 10,000 hours of managing other managers? If you are a CIO who hopes to take on other operational responsibilities, how are you getting 10,000 hours of finance or operations experience?
10,000 hours is a lot of time, especially when your current job occupies 2,000 hours of time each year. How do you make this happen? Even if you put in an extra 4 hours a day, it could take 10 years to get those hours!
First the good news: you probably don’t need the full 10,000 hours to make a career transition. But you do need some experience, probably on the order of 2-4,000 hours, to make a successful change that will let you get the remaining 6-8,000 at a faster pace. Even so, 2-4,000 hours is a big investment of time. How do you do it?
First, simply recognizing that you need it is a good first step. Armed with that daunting realization, you can develop a formal plan to put in your time. While some people have jobs that allow them to take on additional responsibilities independent of their main commitment, most of us do not. In that case, you need to seek out opportunities to combine your current job with your desired job. The technical contributor should look for project management opportunities, while the team lead could seek out ways to lead their peers. C-level executives can look for cross-organization openings, and CIOs in particular can often find ways to get deep exposure to other parts of the company. And anyone can volunteer in a local charitable organization; that’s a whole different kind of leadership experience that would serve anyone well.
It won’t be easy, but success never is. That’s the other side effect of the 10,000-hour rule: only those who really want it badly enough will get the hours. Everyone else will fall by the wayside. And that is one of the other big lessons of Outliers: success comes to those who work really hard for a long time. Are you up to it? Are you an outlier?
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Big Stretches April 1, 2009
Posted by Chuck Musciano in Leadership.Tags: Best Of 2009, Leadership, Management Skills, Mentor
2 comments
Early in my management career, I ran the Unix portion of a large corporate data center. There were close to one hundred people there, managing all the things you need to run a big, multi-vendor environment. It was fun, challenging, and educational, in more ways than I expected.
It came to pass that one of the senior managers had a new opportunity and would be moving on to a different part of the company. As was the tradition, there was a send-off event at work, which was always structured as a roast of the honoree. I had never been to one before, as I was still relatively new to the group.
Imagine my surprise when the Director of Operations pulled me aside and told me that I would be one of the speakers! I was expected to get up and speak for three or four minutes, telling jokes and entertaining the crowd. Refusing was not an option, so I started putting together a routine of sorts.
People who know me know that I can speak to large groups at the drop of a hat. I’ll get up and speak even if you don’t have a hat. For me, “staff meeting” is just corporate-speak for “captive audience.” However, “speaking” and “entertaining” are two very different concepts. I enjoy the former; the latter is in the ear of the listener. Coupled with being the new kid on the block, this seemed to be an overwhelming challenge. In short, I was terrified.
But I did it. I got up, started talking, and they actually laughed! No one was more surprised than I was. And the benefits of the experience extended beyond overcoming extreme stage fright. I became accepted into the group, developed more relationships, and became a more effective employee.
Later, I asked my director why he asked me to speak. After all, he didn’t know me very well, and he was taking a bit of a risk. He told me he thought I could step up to the challenge and that I would do a good job.
For me, it was a big stretch that had a big payoff. Because my boss had faith in me, I showed I could succeed in a difficult assignment. That success translated into other opportunities that helped me and the organization.
When is the last time you gave one of your people such a stretch opportunity? When did you roll the dice and let someone really go beyond their comfort zone? This is incredibly hard to do. A few posts back, I talked about letting people solve their own problems; that is hard enough for some leaders. Now we’re talking about letting people take on big, public challenges with a high-risk/high-reward payoff.
Can you do it? Do you have people ready for that challenge? Are you mature enough as a leader to let them try and support them if they fail? It’s a test of their mettle to see if they can hit that stretch goal; it’s a test of your leadership skills to make it possible.
The Effective CIO 