Three Star Leadership Blog

Boss's Tip of the Day: First things first

2012-05-18T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

First things first

Every day you've got important things to do. Don't simply put them at the top of your To Do list. Do the most important things first.

When you do important things first you make sure that the most important things get done.

When you do important things first you do them better because you've got your maximum reserves of attention, energy, and discipline available.

If you find these tips helpful, you should consider purchasing my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

If you're wondering how to master the world of social media, check out Becky Robinson's tips for ways to get better results from your social media investment in 12 minutes or less. Becky is my personal go-to source for ideas on how to use social media more effectively.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

Engines of Innovation

2012-05-17T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

What did Thomas Edison invent? Most people mention the electric light or the phonograph, but Edison didn't invent them. That credit goes to the "Muckers."

Thomas Edison received his first patent, for a vote counter, in 1868. He invented a stock ticker and a quadruplex telegraph. He set up companies to manufacture and sell them. By 1877 he'd earned $40,000 from his inventions, a bit over a quarter of a million in today's dollars. He used the money to set up an "Invention Factory" that he hoped would turn out a small invention every week and two big inventions a year.

Edison brought together people with diverse skills including scientists, machinists, secretaries and "unskilled" laborers. He put them into small teams and expected them to work as long as necessary to take an idea all the way to commercial application. Edison called them "Muckers" and they named him the "Chief Mucker."

Legend favors the lone genius as the brightest star in the innovation firmament. The current fashion is to suggest that all you have to do is create diverse teams and innovation will roll down like waters. The truth is you need something more. You need a boss.

Edison was the Chief Mucker. The Manhattan Project included Nobel Laureate scientists, but they wouldn't have done as well without General Leslie Groves. The Computer Systems Lab at Xerox PARC had Bob Taylor, Bell Labs had Mervin Kelly, and the Bauhaus had Walter Gropius.

Some of those people were among the innovators, but they all made it possible for others to contribute. They drove engines of innovation. The good news is that they did things every boss can do every day.

They established direction so that people could work toward the same goal. Then they communicated the goal to the team over and over and over.

They managed the interplay of personalities and priorities. When strong creative personalities rub against each other, sparks often fly. The trick is to use the fires for energy and not burn the house down.

They encouraged people to work, but they also set them free to work. Sometimes they acted like an umbrella that keeps upper management stupidities from raining on the team. They put up with idiosyncrasies and enforced the minimum of rules. When someone asked Edison what his rules were, he replied "There are no rules around here. We're trying to accomplish something."

That doesn't sound like much, but it's really everything. If you want an innovative team, you have to do the same things. You have to set clear direction and communicate the purpose, even when you're sure everyone has heard it a bazillion times. You have to work to keep the better angels of your team members' natures flying and the dark angels at bay, while you provide just enough structure and rules for great things to happen.

Boss's Bottom Line

Your job is to make your team and your team members as productive as they can be. It's a challenge every day.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Stay in touch with your "alumni"

2012-05-17T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Stay in touch with your "alumni"

People who used to be your team members are like your alumni. They can be a tremendous resource for you, but only if you stay in touch. Take a little time every day to contact one of your "alums" to say "Hi" and catch up.

If you find these tips helpful, you should consider purchasing my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

5/16/12: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs

2012-05-16T20:00:00Z

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Independent business blogs are blogs that aren't supported by an organization like a magazine, newspaper, company, or business school. Those people provide lots of great content, but they don't need any additional exposure. In this post, every week, I bring you posts of quality from excellent bloggers that don't get as much publicity.

This week, I'm pointing you to posts on the 6 passages of management and leadership, coaching, better meetings, asking whether you need one more "C" in the suite, and how happiness and engagement are not the same.

From Dan McCarthy: The 6 Passages of Leadership and Management
"Unless you are an heir to a throne, people usually don’t begin their careers leading a large organization. There’s a progression of passages, or at least there should be. Charan, Drotter, and Noel wrote about six leadership passages in their classic book The Leadership Pipeline. However, they use the terms “leadership” and “management” interchangeably. There’s a big difference, right? What if we took a simplified version of the Pipeline model, and mash it with a distinction between leadership and management? We’ll call it The Great Leadership & Management Passages Model (OK, so we need a catchier name):"

Wally's Comment: Several leadership writers, most notably John Maxwell, have outlined a similar progression. Dan McCarthy brings provides two interesting twists on the basic development theme. First, he uses the "pipeline" that many large companies use as an outline of their leadership development. Second, he brings leadership and management together, but treats them separately. I like the descriptions he uses at each gate.

From Gwyn Teatro: Good Coaching…Not for Sissies
"Coaching is one of those words that tends to lace everyday language at work. I wonder though, how many people who are supposed to be doing it, actually know what it means or what it takes to do it properly? Well, I don’t really know the answer to that question but here’s what it means to me. if I were to ask you to coach me, I’d be looking for:"

Wally's Comment: In one sense it's easy to become a coach. Just say "I'm a coach" and get yourself business cards and a web site. But if you want to do it well, it will help you to know what people expect from you. That's what you'll discover when you read this post.

From Mary Jo Asmus: In Praise of Compelling Meetings
"We hear a lot about how we need to get rid of meetings in our organizations. I would argue that we need to get rid of poorly planned and executed meetings. We still need good meetings; they are a way for everyone to be involved and engaged in dialog with each other."

Wally's Comment: Gosh, do we gripe about meetings. Peter Drucker even suggested that "an excess of meetings" was a symptom of malorganization. That's why so many people want to cut down the number of meetings. Mary Jo Asmus suggests that if we concentrate on having compelling meetings, we'll get better results.

From Stephen J. Gill: Do You Need a CCO and CLO?
"I agree with Hebert and I have similar concerns with having a CLO (Chief Learning Officer). Learning is what employees in high performance organizations must do continuously as part of their jobs. Companies don’t have CWOs (Chief Work Officer), so why do they have CLOs? I suspect CEOs appoint CCOs and CLOs because it makes them feel like they are doing something about the work environment and employee development. The risk is that responsibility for employee engagement and learning will be relegated to a department and not owned by every executive, manager, and employee in the organization."

Wally's Comment: It seems to me that the CEO title didn't start showing up until the 1950s, but since then all kinds of "Chiefs" have crowded into the executive suite. Do we really need them all? Stephen J. Gill builds on an excellent post by Paul Hebert and suggests that we really don't need all those Cs.

From Sharlyn Lauby: Happy Employees are not Engaged Employees
"Employee engagement is a hot topic. It made me focus on the true meaning of employee engagement. I sometimes wonder if engagement has turned into this catch-all term for everything that has to do with employees."

Wally's Comment: No, Virginia, happiness and engagement are not the same and not even necessarily present at the same time. Sharlyn Lauby sketches out the differences and why you should pay attention to them. She also gives you a look at what she calls "The Employee Trifecta."

That's it for this week's selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my regular post on "Leadership Reading to Start Your Week" which features five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to articles about Mark Zuckerberg, CEO pay, declining employee loyalty, your future workforce, and differentiation strategy and reality.

How I Select Posts for this Midweek Review

The five posts I select to share in my Midweek Review of the Independent Business Blogs are picked from a regular review of about sixty blogs I check daily and an additional twenty-five or so that I check occasionally. Here's how I select the posts you see in this review.

They must be published within the previous week.

They must support the purpose of the blog: to help leaders at all levels do a better job and lead a better life.

They must be from an independent business blog.

As a general rule, I only select posts that stand on their own, no selections from a series.

Also as a general rule, I do not select posts that are either a book review or a book report.

I reserve the right to make exceptions to the above.

Here, on Three Star Leadership, I post things that will help a boss at any level do better and live a better life. At Results vs Activities, I join other bloggers with posts on talent development. .

If you're a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Think small

2012-05-16T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Think small

The common advice is to think big and stretch your boundaries. That's good advice, but there are times as a boss when it's best to think small.

Catch problems when they're small and they're easier to solve.

Lots of small course corrections are easier than a few big ones.

Small wins maintain momentum and morale and add up to big improvements.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Supervisory Leadership Tips."

5/15/12: By and About Leaders

2012-05-15T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

I think that's one the best ways to learn leadership isn't studying "leadership" at all. Instead, study individual leaders in their natural habitat and decide what they do that you want to try. Articles by and about leaders and interviews with them are mini-case studies that show you an actual leader in a real situation.

That's why, every week, I bring you a selection of post about individual leaders. This week I'm pointing you to posts by and about Jeffrey T. Housenbold, Admiral Mike Mullen, Deborah Farrington, and Fred Smith.

From the NY Times: From Forklifts to Photography
"I GREW up in Brooklyn, on Flatbush Avenue near Prospect Park. One of my earliest memories is of learning to use a hand dolly to move boxes. My father, who was a truck driver, later taught me how to operate a forklift and, when I was old enough, to drive an 18-wheeler. "

From Fortune: Adm. Mike Mullen: Debt is still biggest threat to U.S. security
"After a 43-year military career, the former Joint Chiefs chairman is as outspoken as ever."

From the NY Times: C.E.O. or Not, You Always Need Feedback
"interview with Deborah Farrington, a founder and general partner at StarVest Partners, a venture capital firm in New York"

From Fortune: FedEx CEO Fred Smith on ... everything
"Smith sounds off on China, the U.S. economy, the value of a good name, and why the government shouldn't pay for a liberal arts education."

Boss's Tip of the Day: They pay attention

2012-05-15T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

They pay attention

You may think they're not paying attention, but they are. If you're the boss, your team members listen to what you say and they watch what you do. They're looking for clues to what you like and approve and what you don't like so they can choose the best way for them to act.

As George Patton said, if you're a boss, "You're always on parade." You're setting an example every day. Make it a good one.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Self-Development."

The CEO as Liar

2012-05-14T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

The Wall Street Journal headline doesn't say it all, but it does say most of it: "Thompson Resigns as CEO of Yahoo." The short story is this. Scott Thompson was hired as CEO by Yahoo in January. They evidently didn't take a real close look at his credentials.

Thompson claimed a computer science degree that wasn't even offered by his college until after he had graduated. Yahoo called it "an inadvertent error." That's BS. Writing down a degree you don't have and signing a regulatory document that says so are not inadvertent. They are purposeful. They are lies.

Once the lie became public there were essentially three reactions. Some wanted to fire Thompson. Others recommended something less.

In an article titled "Little Lies; Big Lies," Davia Temin downplayed the severity of the transgression. She asked, "Really… does it make that much difference if someone receives a BA in accounting or computer science?" If that were the question, the answer would be "No." But the question was whether Thompson lied about his credentials.

If the answer to that one is "Yes," then we can be pretty sure of two things. He's done it before. And he'll do it again. You may be OK, with that, but I'm real sure that investors and regulatory bodies do not want to guess when Thomson is lying about something substantive. Neither do strategic partners.

Jena McGregor, in "Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson’s incorrect resume raises questions for tech company’s board" took a different tack. She suggested that "If Thompson allowed false information about his educational background to linger in his bio, he should be treated just like any other employee who did the same." Nope. I disagree with that one, too.

The CEO is not "any other employee." That makes the situation different. CEOs should be held to a higher standard.

What kind of example do you set if you keep a known liar as a CEO? We talk a lot about "leadership by example." That's a bad example.

Boss's Bottom Line

Integrity matters. When you lead, it matters even more.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Remember who you work for

2012-05-14T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Remember who you work for

You work for an organization that has rules and a culture. Your actions should follow the rules and match the culture. That's how you accomplish the mission and care for the people without worrying about rocks raining down on you.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

5/13/12: Leadership Reading to Start Your Week

2012-05-13T18:00:00Z

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Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Here are five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about Mark Zuckerberg, CEO pay, declining employee loyalty, your future workforce, and differentiation strategy and reality.

From the NY Times: The Education of Mark Zuckerberg
"His audience this Monday morning, a Who’s Who of Wall Street heavy-hitters, with untold billions to command, shifts in its seats. Papers rustle. BlackBerrys buzz. Cue Mr. Zuckerberg and — Wait: where the heck is Zuck? Mr. Zuckerberg, the hoodied man-child of Facebook, is stuck in the men’s room. Apparently, the suits can wait. Up on the stage, Sheryl K. Sandberg, Mr. Zuckerberg’s No. 2 and the polished, corporate yin to his nerdy, coder yang, vamps a little: You know Zuck, she shrugs. And the money types laugh: yes, we know Zuck."

Wally's Comment: Many writers have wondered about what kind of CEO Mark Zuckerberg will become. For my money, he's already shown one of the most important traits of successful leaders. He chose Sheryl Sandberg as his COO and, more importantly, has developed a working partnership with her. "Mark Zuckerberg’s Most Valuable Friend" is a great background piece, but if you really want a sense of how the two work together, take the time to view Charlie Rose's interview with them.

From the Washington Post: Crazy data point of the day: How much CEO pay vs. worker pay has grown
"But the truly eye-popping number in EPI’s study isn’t how much exponentially more CEOs make than their rank-and-file employees. It’s how exponentially their salaries have grown. Average CEO compensation, according to EPI’s calculations, rose 726.7 percent between the years of 1978 and 2011 — more than double the percentage increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. Meanwhile, pay for the average private-sector nonsupervisory worker rose a startlingly meager 5.7 percent"

Wally's Comment: In an articled titled "Inside the Head of an Overpaid CEO," Jeffrey Pfeffer says that "High CEO pay is like a zombie that will not die." Pfeffer's article was part of a "Roundtable on CEO Pay." Other articles were "The Original Sin of Executive Pay" and "Why we can’t seem to cure CEO pay." The NY Times had a series on the subject in 2008 titled "A Brighter Spotlight, Yet the Pay Rises." And the Wall Street Journal's Scott Thurm reminds us that, "For CEO Pay, a Single Number Never Tells the Whole Story."

From Wharton: Declining Employee Loyalty: A Casualty of the New Workplace
"If loyalty is defined as being faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution or product, then there seems to be a certain amount of infidelity in the workplace these days. Consider some recent studies: MetLife's 10th annual survey of employee benefits, trends and attitudes released in March puts employee loyalty at a seven-year low. One in three employees, the survey says, plans to leave his or her job by the end of the year. According to a 2011 Careerbuilder.com report, 76% of full-time workers, while not actively looking for a new job, would leave their current workplace if the right opportunity came along. Other studies show that each year, the average company loses anywhere from 20% to 50% of its employee base."

Wally's Comment: One thing to keep in mind as you read about declining employee loyalty is that people are wired to be loyal to each other and to organizations. That's human nature and human nature hasn't changed lately. What has changed, beginning with the great reengineering craze, is that companies have treated workers as disposable, just at the time when the long term value of a person, complete with knowledge and relationships, began rising.

From Bersin: A Glimpse of Your Future Workforce – Now in Middle School
"Six months ago Thomas Suarez, a 6th grader from Los Angeles, spoke at a TEDS event about the making and sale of an "app" he created on his own - "Bustin Jieber" (a whack-a-mole type anti-Justin-Bieber game.) (There's nearly 2 million views of the video on YouTube so you may have seen it.) Anyway, he's quite eloquent and now owns his own company. While he's clearly much further ahead than the majority of 6th graders I know, his actions offer a glimpse of our future workforce. "

Wally's Comment: This is a delightful piece that has insights sticking out all over it.

From Freek Vermeulen: Let's face it: in most industries, firms pretty much do the same thing
"In the field of strategy, we always make a big thing out of differentiation: we tell firms that they have to do something different in the market place, and offer customers a unique value proposition. Ideas around product differentiation, value innovation, and whole Blue Oceans are devoted to it. But we also can’t deny that in many industries – if not most industries – firms more or less do the same thing."

Wally's Comment: What could be going on here is that companies are paying too much attention to what the competition is doing and then matching it. That creates industries where companies look more and more and more alike. Of course, that leaves opportunities for companies that are willing to be dramatically and meaningfully different. One way to get there is to set aside the market and competitive research for a bit and wander out among your customers.

Studying individual leaders is a great way to learn about leadership. That's why my weekly post points you to posts by or about individual leaders. Last week I pointed you to posts by and about Aubrey McClendon, Carl Bass, Adrian Benepe, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, and Steve Jobs speaking from the wilderness.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to check back on Wednesday when I select five excellent posts from the week's independent business blogs. Last week I highlighted posts on influence without authority, peer coaching, change fatigue, the next version of you, and best companies for leadership.

"Change Requires Emotion," "Heroes and Inspiration," and "Weekend Imagination Igniters: Dare, Dream, Do Edition" were popular posts on my blog last week.

If you want to get a book done, improve your blog posts, or make your web copy more productive, please check out my blog about business writing. My coaching calendar for authors and blog writers currently has time open. Please contact me if you're interested.

If you're a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

5/12/12: Wally's Writing on Leadership and Talent Development

2012-05-12T18:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Here's a review of my writing on leadership and talent development this week. There were posts on change and emotion, the need for conversation, heroes and inspiration, and the importance of dreams. There were also pointers to other resources, imagination igniters, and my Boss's Tips of the Day.

My posts at Three Star Leadership on Leadership and Becoming a Better Boss

5/6/12: Leadership Reading to Start Your Week
Here are five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about the network readiness of nations, two levels of strategy, the high cost of executive "bullying," succeeding in uncertain times, and McDonald's big comeback.

Change Requires Emotion
If you want important change you must inspire.

5/8/12: By and About Leaders
Studying individual leaders is a great way to learn about leadership. This week I'm pointing you to posts posts by and about Aubrey McClendon, Carl Bass, Adrian Benepe, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, and Steve Jobs speaking from the wilderness.

5/9/12: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs
Every week I select five excellent posts from this week's independent business blogs. This week, I'm pointing you to posts on influence without authority, peer coaching, change fatigue, the next version of you, and best companies for leadership.

Heroes and Inspiration
Our heroes gave us an idea of what we can become. Now it's our turn.

5/11/12: Weekend Imagination Igniters: Dare, Dream, Do Edition
Here's a thought starter and reading recommendation to ignite your imagination this weekend, sparked by Whitney Johnson's book, Dare, Dream, Do.

Boss's Tips of the Day from This Week
These short tips for bosses are based on Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit . Follow the link for more on each tip.

Favor behavior

Forget "Attitude"

Help team members succeed

Default Decider

Stand up!

My posts at Results vs. Activities on Talent Development

Let's Talk
Back when I was in my corporate period, I visited our field facilities regularly. The visits had two purposes. One was to raise the corporate flag and remind everyone that we were all in it together. The other was to work on manager development.

Hay Group Study on Best Companies for Leadership
Hay Group's seventh annual Best Companies for Leadership study is now out and ready for discussion. Go to the firm's site to learn more. Start on the page, "How do the Best Companies fill their talent pipeline and develop leaders?" where there are pointers to more information about the study. The study always draws comment and analysis. Here are three looks at what it all means, starting with Dan McCarthy's comments. I think that Dan does the best job, every year, of setting the study in perspective. There's also analysis from Forbes and Human Resources Executive.

When you follow me on Twitter you'll receive a stream of pointers to interesting blog posts, articles, and resources throughout each business day.

Client Projects

I'm writing blog posts for one client. I'm helping a strategy consultant write his book, and working on a book about what Professor Clay Christensen says could be "more important than disruption." I'm also coaching two other authors through the process of writing and publishing their first book.

If you're interested in writing a book, hiring someone to write for you, or just improving your own writing, you should check out my Zero Draft blog about creating or acquiring the writing that makes a business or career grow.

If you want to get a book done or improve your performance as a boss, let's talk about options. My coaching calendar currently has space open.

What can I do for you?

Information Products

If you're a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

5/11/12: Weekend Imagination Igniters: Dare, Dream, Do Edition

2012-05-11T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

For most of us, the weekend is less agenda-driven and more relaxed than our usual weekday. You're more likely to slip into that state of relaxed alertness that psychologists call "alpha." That's when you're most likely to have creative thoughts. This week, inspired by Whitney Johnson's book, Dare, Dream, Do , we're thinking about the fragility of dreams.

When I asked Whitney Johnson why she titled her book, Dare, Dream Do, instead of "dream, dare, do," here's what she said.

"If I had written this to young children, it would have been, dream, dare, do. But once we are old enough to been punched in the stomach by life, the dare typically must come first. For women, in particular, daring on our own behalf is discouraged, often in subtle ways, from a very young age. Research indicates that a woman is considered feminine only within the context of a relationship or when she is giving something to someone. This creates a double bind. If we get in the doing game, we are seen as not feminine and vice versa, and this discourages women from taking that step."

That reminded me of a day when I noticed my daughter, Debbie, looking sad. That wasn't usual.

Debbie was in the first grade and seemed like she was happy most of the time. Her school picture from that year is dominated by a giant smile, showing the gaps where she'd knocked out several teeth while playing with her brother. If she was sad, I needed to find out why, so I asked.

"I'm going to be a nurse."

"You don't look happy about that," I said, "Besides, I thought you wanted to be a doctor."

There was a long pause.

"Mrs. S says I can't be a doctor."

"Why not?"

"She says girls have to be nurses."

"Well, she's wrong."

"Daddy," Debbie said, in that tone that children use when they're wondering how adults can be so stupid, "She's a teacher ."

So she was, and a very good teacher at that. Mrs. S was one of those teachers who loved teaching and loved kids. This didn't seem like something she would do. It might have been something Debbie misunderstood. So I made an appointment to talk with Mrs. S.

There was no misunderstanding. Mrs. S told Debbie that girls couldn't be doctors. When I asked her why, she told me that she "didn't want Debbie to set her sights too high." Mrs. S made a dream-destroying statement out of love. Mrs. S wasn't trying to destroy Debbie's dream. She was just being "realistic."

Nobody gets up in the morning and thinks to themselves "I'm going out and destroy a few dreams today." Instead they're just being realistic like Mrs. S. and trying to protect the person with the dream.

Everybody dreams. And everyone, men and women both, can have their dreams destroyed. But there is a special situation for women. Debbie's teacher didn't tell the boys in the class who wanted to the doctors that they could only be nurses.

As you go your way this weekend, let me suggest four questions as thought starters.

Have you ever, with all good intentions, destroyed someone's dream?

Is there are situation where you treat the dreams of one gender differently than the dreams of the other?

Is there a dream in your past that you need to dare to dream again?

Is there are dream from your past that needs an update or a makeover?

Since you have more time for serious reading on the weekend, why not get hold of a copy of Dare, Dream, Do ?

Boss's Tip of the Day: Stand up!

2012-05-11T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Stand up!

Want to improve your writing and project work? Try standing up. How about keeping your meetings shorter while getting more done? Try standing up. There's a bonus, too. Standing more and sitting less is better for your body.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Even Bad Examples can be Good for You."

Heroes and Inspiration

2012-05-10T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

It was almost like an out-of-body experience. There, on the front of a greeting card was a quote from me.

"We need heroes because they draw us on to become better versions of ourselves."

I wrote that as part of my old Monday Memo series. The title was "Risk, Romance, and Heroes," and I wrote it right after shuttle Columbia, broke up on re-entry, just sixteen minutes before the end of its flight, killing seven fine people.

Now, there was a line from that piece on the front of a greeting card. I wondered what was inside and it turned out that the card company had picked the perfect message to go with my quote.

"You're an inspiration."

You are, you know. But the fact is that the people you inspire probably will never tell you.

There's a person I know whose success and high standards give me an example of what the word "gentleman" is supposed to mean. When I want to act like a gentleman, I think of him and how he would act. I told him that he inspired me. He chuckled.

"Inspired." He chucked some more and shook his head.

"Inspired. Now, how the heck will I be able to live up to that?"

Our heroes do draw us forward to become better versions of ourselves. And we, in turn, become role models and examples for others.

How the heck are we going to live up to that?

Boss's Tip of the Day: Default Decider

2012-05-10T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Default Decider

Many bosses have the job of "Default Decider" on most team issues. That doesn't mean you have to be a control freak, but it does mean you can't duck responsibility.

Consensus is great, but it's not always possible. Participative decision making is great, but it doesn't always work in the time available, and sometimes it's the wrong choice. Use those methods when you can, but when it's your job to decide, do your job.

If you find these tips helpful, you should consider purchasing my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

5/9/12: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs

2012-05-09T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

This week, I'm pointing you to posts on influence without authority, peer coaching, change fatigue, the next version of you, and best companies for leadership.

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: How to Influence Without Authority
"Back in the good old days, if you were in a position of authority, you could just announce what needed to be done and assume it would be carried out. But times have changed."

Wally's Comment: Influence is the key. Influence is always the key. Jesse Lyn Stoner outlines eight ways to influence without relying on authority.

From Scott Eblin: Show Up and Shut Up
"My observation is that peer coaching is the most underutilized leadership resource there is in most organizations. It’s free, it’s available, it’s easy to do and it makes a difference."

Wally's Comment: I think peer support of all kinds is powerful and effective. So does Scott Eblin.

From Kate Nasser: Leaders, Are You Confusing Change Fatigue & Change Resistance?
"I see a great deal of change resistance as I consult to organizations. Most leaders and consultants focus on this for it is the big challenge of moving an organization forward. I also see some leaders whose leadership philosophy breeds change fatigue. They are either very high drivers or high idea generators and often quite unaware that they are pulling the trigger far too often."

Wally's Comment: Too many organizations are members of the "Change of the Month" club. Kate Nasser tells you why what you perceive as change resistance may simply be change fatigue. It's worth remembering that Jack Welch, one of the most effective business leaders in my lifetime, only had four major change initiatives in twenty-plus years as CEO of General Electric.

From Mary Jo Asmus: The Next Version of Yourself
"I remember distinctly my first reaction to learning that all of my hard work on becoming a better human (and therefore a better leader) wouldn’t result in reaching a particular end goal. I’d thought there was a time of arrival when I couldn’t possibly do any more or get any better. In that moment, I was caught off guard when my mentor gently told me to prepare for a lifelong journey. A particular finality or a destination just wouldn’t happen. It’s safe to say that as someone who was driven toward reaching goals, I was disappointed."

Wally's Comment: Personal development is never done. That can be a little scary, but it's also one of the joys of life.

From Dan McCarthy: New Study IDs Best Companies for Leadership, Innovation
"Hay Group just released its seventh annual Best Companies for Leadership Study. Is this just another one of those touchy-feely, nice to do awards? Not at all. The Best Companies for Leadership consistently outperform their peers. Over a 10 year period, the Top 20 companies produced a 5.39 percent shareholder return, compared to a 2.92 percent shareholder return generated by the S&P 500."

Wally's Comment: Every year Hay Group makes a list of the Best Companies for Leadership. And, every year, Dan McCarthy helps us tease lessons out of the results. Here's this year's helpful post.

That's it for this week's selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my regular post on "Leadership Reading to Start Your Week" which features five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to articles about the network readiness of nations, two levels of strategy, the high cost of executive "bullying," succeeding in uncertain times, and McDonald's big comeback .

How I Select Posts for this Midweek Review

They must be published within the previous week.

They must support the purpose of the blog: to help leaders at all levels do a better job and lead a better life.

They must be from an independent business blog.

As a general rule, I only select posts that stand on their own, no selections from a series.

Also as a general rule, I do not select posts that are either a book review or a book report.

I reserve the right to make exceptions to the above.

Here, on Three Star Leadership, I post things that will help a boss at any level do better and live a better life. At Results vs Activities, I join other bloggers with posts on talent development. .

If you're a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Help team members succeed

2012-05-09T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Help team members succeed

One of your jobs is to accomplish your team's mission, through the team. The other job is to help team members succeed.

Help team members succeed today by making sure they have the skills, resources and support they need to do their job.

Help team members succeed tomorrow by helping them develop the skills and confidence they will need then.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

5/8/12: By and About Leaders

2012-05-08T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

I think that one of the best ways to learn leadership isn't studying "leadership" at all. Instead, study individual leaders in their natural habitat and decide what they do that you want to try. That's why, every week, I bring you a selection of post about individual leaders. This week I'm pointing you to posts by and about Aubrey McClendon, Carl Bass, Adrian Benepe, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, and Steve Jobs speaking from the wilderness.

From the Wall Street Journal: The Many Hats of Aubrey McClendon
"Aubrey McClendon built Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK -1.52% from a flyspeck operation that teetered on the edge of insolvency to an energy giant, a company that each year drills more oil and gas wells, by far, than any other company in the U.S. But the 52-year-old Mr. McClendon is coming under increasing fire for his stewardship and his many outside ventures and investments."

From the NY Times: Never Swerve When Driving the Bus
"Carl Bass is president and chief executive of Autodesk Inc. , a maker of 3-D design, engineering and entertainment software"

From Fortune: How NYC parks emerged from their lawless days
"NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe discusses how the city's 29,000 acres of parkland have changed over the years, right alongside New York itself."

From the Washington Post: On a product-safety mission: An interview with CPSC leader Inez Moore Tenenbaum
"Inez Moore Tenenbaum is the chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is responsible for protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of consumer products. She previously served as South Carolina's state superintendent of education, and practiced health, environmental and public interest law. "

From INSEAD: Steve Jobs: Speaking from the wilderness
"Nearly 16 years ago to the day, I interviewed Steve Jobs at an investment conference in San Francisco, California. He was “out of favour,” in-between his bifurcated tenure at the helm of Apple, revolutionising movie-making as chairman and CEO of Pixar. In retrospect, we see that Jobs brought his Apple technology approach to the movies and took movie marketing with him back to Apple.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Forget "Attitude"

2012-05-08T14:25:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Forget "Attitude"

The basic rule is that you can only manage what's observable . "Attitude" is not observable. It's a summary judgment based on the behavior and performance you can observe.

When you're tempted to work on a team member's bad attitude, ask yourself: "What does this person do that makes me think he or she has a bad attitude?" Then manage the behavior. You get better results that way.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Karen's Problem."

Change Requires Emotion

2012-05-07T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

For a long time, my father refused to use email. There were two reasons, neither of which involved being a Luddite.

First, he never really saw how email could give him benefits that letters and phone calls already provided. Also typing was hard for him. My father used a slow, two-finger, hunt and curse system, made more uncomfortable by his Dupuytren's contracture.

That's a disease that contracts the muscles of the palm, pulling the fingers inward. The disease and discomfort became irrelevant when he found a compelling reason to use email.

Dad had several friends from his college and Lutheran seminary days and they, with their wives formed what they called "The Gutwasser Society." There's a wonderful double meaning there.

"Gutwasser," in German, means "good water" and the group drank more than their share of beer. Also, Johannes Gutwasser was one of the first Lutheran pastors sent to the New World. He lasted about six weeks. They thought that was a pretty good example of how the Church picked people for various assignments.

Anyway, the members of the Gutwasser Society had a round robin letter that they passed around for several decades, so they could keep up with each other. Today, they would probably use Facebook, but it wasn't available when my father was alive. He and his friends began using email to stay in touch, which became more and more important as many of them could no longer travel.

No argument persuaded them. Typing was still hard for my father and every email session was a trial. It didn't suddenly become easier. What changed was emotional. My father had a strong, emotional reason to use email and so he did.

For change to happen, you need more than reasons. You need the power of emotion.

When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that day in 1963, he understood that perfectly. That's why he didn't offer a proposal and a five point plan. He didn't support his remarks with the best academic research available. He shared a dream.

It was a powerful one. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was almost a decade in the past then. The dream had been shared with and shaped by many along the way. It radiates out from that day to us.

Facts don't do that. Only dreams have the power to inspire people to change.

Boss's Bottom Line

If you want people to change, remember that they will need a reason that resonates deep inside. Facts and arguments and slick communications will not do it.

Special Note

Tomorrow, May 8, 2012, my friend Whitney Johnson's book, Dare, Dream, Do, goes on sale. Please check it out.